Qatar MAP: World Cup Host Location, Pronunciation

Qatar has just been announced as the host of the 2022 World Cup, causing many to wonder: where exactly is that?

Qatar is a small Middle Eastern peninsula in the Persian Gulf bordered by Saudi Arabia. It has been ruled by the Al-Thani family since the mid-1800s, according to the CIA World Factbook, and has a population of about 840,000 people. It is slightly smaller than Connecticut. This tiny nation holds the world's third largest oil reserves, and oil and natural gas account for over 50 percent of the GDP.

Also, it is pronounced so that it sounds roughly like "cutter."

Comments

[Macready]

06:05 AM on 12/03/2010

I am happy for Qatar . . .

[Atif Ahmed Choudhury]

12:04 AM on 12/03/2010

to settle the debate on the pronunciation of Qatar:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-september-12-2007/oliver-s-travels---qatar

[LMPE]

11:22 PM on 12/02/2010

The Arabic equivalent of Q is qāf, written ق. It's an emphatic K sound.

[q8]

03:49 AM on 12/05/2010

or in most gulf countries they pronounce it with a "G" instead of "K"

[Dr Juan]

08:30 PM on 12/02/2010

Hey I'm American and we have no interest in geography! If it isn't in Canada or Europe, were not paying it any attention.

World Cup? is that a yacht race? Or that other waste of time where they run back and forth across an empty field kicking and butting balls?

[liblizard]

11:57 PM on 12/02/2010

Go dribble on your stylish boots.....

[MarcEdward]

11:12 AM on 12/03/2010

I think he's making a joke about Americans.

[captainsubtle]

06:41 PM on 12/02/2010

"Where is Qatar?" came up so much in the office after the FIFA announcement that I actually made a site for it - http://www.whereisqatar.com

[jqcitizen]

06:27 PM on 12/02/2010

Might be a nice place to visit, if you want to pretend it is a paradise. -Of course, it is for such corporations like 'Blackwater'. All that is necessary is change the name of your company to 'XE' and take 'stolen' money from the US Treasury (via sole source contracts as a security company) and set up office there.
Cheney is a wanted man in Nigeria and Eric Prince is unwanted in the US. -Both have something in common. They laugh at the US taxpayer.

[blutigeroo]

08:09 PM on 12/02/2010

Eric Prince is in the UAE & Cheney also has a house ('safe house') there.Qatar is NOT part of the UAE.

[Tony Hillman]

05:23 PM on 12/02/2010

Silly Australia didn't offer a big enough bribe.

[LaSweetPoison]

08:01 PM on 12/02/2010

Bitter much?

[mcshaggy]

08:47 PM on 12/02/2010

He speas the truth.

[MarcEdward]

11:13 AM on 12/03/2010

Australia is too dangerous. People might fall off, as they are on the bottom of the world.
DOH
You want to see football players falling into the sun, don't you?

[noirblanc]

03:23 PM on 12/02/2010

And women probably aren't allowed in the stadiums. They definitely can't drive according to their Sharia law.

[messy]

03:58 PM on 12/02/2010

That's Saudi Arabia.

[Princeton123]

05:20 PM on 12/02/2010

Sharia does not say anything about women driving.
US have a huge military base in Qatar. Should we pull out since women allegedly can't drive there?

[noirblanc]

08:00 PM on 12/02/2010

There are U.S bases in many places I have issues with. But as I posted, I got my Qatar info wrong. my bad on that.

[namewithheld]

03:18 PM on 12/02/2010

Now representing the United States of ExxonMobile in the pole vault, it's...

[DanSc]

03:06 PM on 12/02/2010

Now everyone together: "GO BIG OIL! GO BIG OIL! GO BIG OIL!"

[Dye]

03:04 PM on 12/02/2010

WOW what a risky choice. by 2020 there may not be a country in the Middle East that ANYONE will want to visit !!!

[Princeton123]

05:21 PM on 12/02/2010

Is God talking to you also just like He talks with Bush?

[jtmoney]

02:27 PM on 12/02/2010

i got my vuvuzela ready!

[mccena]

01:52 PM on 12/02/2010

The inaugural regional conference is the first in a series of open houses planned in order to reach out to members and governments across the Middle East. Qatar Map http://usspost.com/qatar-map-23309/

[trccommission]

01:51 PM on 12/02/2010

Gotta love these articles that remind us of the stereotype of Americans having wretched geography.

[MarcEdward]

11:14 AM on 12/03/2010

We know where the USA is!

[rachelannmorris]

01:37 PM on 12/02/2010

OK, I can see this is going to be tedious.

As an Australian woman calling Qatar home for some time now...I want to make something clear about the "repression" of women.

see that amazing and strong woman standing next to the Emir of Qatar with the trophy? That's Sheikha Mozah...she's chair of the multi billion dollar Qatar Foundation. businesswoman. Philanthropist. Role Model...oh and she's the wife of the Emir.

[DanSc]

03:05 PM on 12/02/2010

Good thing she's straight because otherwise she'd never be chair of anything

[RaWash]

04:53 PM on 12/02/2010

"see that amazing and strong woman standing next to the Emir of Qatar with the trophy?"

which one is the trophy?