Doha: Difference between revisions
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For most visitors, Doha is synonymous with Qatar, as the vast majority of the country's population resides in the capital city. Doha has an astonishingly diverse population – just 13% of residents are native Qataris. Although Arabic is Qatar's official language, English is the ''lingua franca''; most retail and service staff are foreigners and do not speak Arabic. Doha is also now one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, as workers continue to pour in to help build the developing economy.
Doha is fairly liberal by the standards of the Islamic world, though less so than its main rival Dubai and most Western countries. Alcohol and pork are legal for non-Muslim foreign residents, and non-Muslim women are not required to wear the hijab, though dressing in very skimpy outfits is still illegal. That said, Qatar is an absolute monarchy, so criticising the Emir is a crime. Homosexuality is also a crime that carries the death penalty (though not actively enforced), so gay visitors should be as discreet as possible.
If you've visited before, be assured that Doha today is not the same as it was just a couple of years ago, and will be very different again in a few years time.
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