A brief geographical and geological background

Qatar is a small, flat, limestone peninsula. Resembling an open hand, it stretches north from the Saudi Arabian peninsula into the Persian/Arabian Gulf. It contains 11,427 sq.km. within its coastline and borders, and its highest point is a little over 100 metres above mean sea level. The only natural resources are the oil and gas found on and off-shore, though pearling was once important to its economy.

Incidentally, the official name of the Gulf is the ‘Persian Gulf’, however, on the Arabian peninsula it is virtually always known as the ‘Arabian Gulf’. Here I will attempt to call it either the ‘Gulf’, or the ‘Persian/Arabian Gulf’. It will probably make nobody happy.

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Land and soil characteristics of the country

There is a common perception that the surfaces of the countries of the Gulf are comprised of materials in which plants will not grow. This is obviously not so, however it is true that the top soil is unable to support much planting due to its character, depth and the lack of water. It may surprise many, for instance, that there is considerable cultivation and that this includes small fields of plants such as wheat. It is also significant that, when the rains come to the country, the desert blooms with plants that lie dormant during the dry part of the year.

The land available for cultivation is estimated at about 28,000 hectares, or 2.5% of the total area. The FAO have estimated that, in 1994, 8,312 hectares were cultivated compared with 2,256 hectares in 1980. Of those 8,312 hectares, two-thirds were annual crops, mainly green fodder, vegetables and cereals, and one-third permanent crops, mainly dates. It should be noted that the agricultural land is owned by the government, the farms being worked with immigrant labour.

The areas of rawdha or sweet soil as they are commonly known, are relatively small and so the farms based on them tend to be intensively cultivated in terms of the density of planting if not in the selection and treatment of crops. This creates a dramatic contrast with the desert outside their boundaries. This is a psychological effect which really has to be experienced to be properly understood, though this photograph gives a good idea of what a typical farm looks like. Generally farms are surrounded by a wire fence to keep out predators and, on their north and west sides at least, a line of trees, usually eucalyptus, to provide some protection from the shamal. In addition to their functional use they are havens from the desert as well as being refuges from the increasingly hectic life of the cities. Families and friends visit them, particularly at weekends, and enjoy sitting under the date palms, effectively using the space as a majlis.

There are considered to be five types of soil in the country:

• those soils associated with cultivated areas and which are a mixture of types and treatments,
• rawdha soils,
• sabkha soils,
• lithosol – rocky – soils, and
• sandy soils.

to which might be added the significant amount of

• marine fill

that has gone into creating much of the New District of Doha.

The soils most commonly found over Qatar are the lithosol. They are relatively shallow, 10-30 cms being a typical depth and are a calcareous sand loam, covered with rock debris, overlying a layer of rock fragments over limestone bedrock.

In addition to this, within the country there are a little less than two thousand depressions which contain colluvial soils made up of calcareous loam, sandy loam and sandy clay loams to depths of between 30-150 cms. Generally these soils are known as rawdha and are the main source for the agriculture of the country.

Having said that I should add that the badu refer to the main northern limestone plateau as barr qatar. Within this area, which undulates gently, lie the areas of rawdha together with areas known to the badu as jiryan to which water moves in the rainy season, led there by widyan. The jiryan contain the manqa’ where the water settles, surrounded by an area of hard pan mistah, known as suna’, on which no vegetation grows.

This diagram illustrates the pattern of rawdha soils within the country. It is notable that there are only two areas of rough grazing but that there are many small areas that have been developed for farming. The rest of the country is mainly undevelopable for farming or even grazing or, of course, urbanised.

The nature of the rawdha soils is unfortunate in that they have only a small amount of organic matter, low water retention properties and poor structural properties. This gives rise to surface crusting which interferes with the plant-air-water relationship and inhibits the emergence of seedlings. Water generally available for irrigation contains between 1,000 and 2,000 ppm of total dissolved solids and this discourages filtration and leaching causing the soil to become saline rapidly. This, together with the inundation of saline water into the underlying aquifers and the unauthorised extraction of increasing amounts of water from these aquifers, is increasing the problems of landscaping the peninsula. Generally, fertility is low with respect to nitrogen and phosphorous, and the soils are also deficient of iron, manganese and zinc.

I mentioned earlier the rough grazing that is a feature of the desert, notably in the northern part of the country. The poor quality of the soil will not support much but it is not uncommon to see small flocks of goats and sheep being moved around the country to take advantage of what little there is. Here a goatherd on a donkey moves his flock along close to the sea in the north of the country. Lying dormant, it springs to life with the winter rains.

This lower photograph shows a shepherd walking with his flock across the flat, northern desert in winter. If you look carefully, you can see in the foreground some of the sparse grass that comes to life in winter and provides adequate feeding for his grazing animals – along with some of the country’s wild life. It comes as a bit of a surprise to find the number of animals living in what appears to be such a bleak landscape.

Having said that, it comes as a great surprise to many expatriates at the extent to which plants can spring to life with the watering received from the winter rains. Expatriates from the West are relatively familiar with meadows and thick grass, but in a country which is generally desert, these areas stand out dramatically – though I have to admit this is an extreme example of winter growth. These areas are sought both for the feed they can prvide for animals as well as being destinations for urban dwellers picnicking or camping for a short time. What is significant – and this is similar to the experience of farms – is the drama of moving out of or into the surrounding desert.

As I have written elsewhere, Qatar was used as a resource for camels belonging to the badu tribes that lived in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and camels are still brought into and out of the peninsula in the right season, but usually at some distance from the road system, so they are not always noticed. Despite the value of camels and the skills of the badu in caring for them them, the desert is a harsh climate and the occasional dessicated remains of camels can sometimes be seen to remind the traveller, this photograph being taken in the sand dunes in the centre of the peninsula, further south than the more fertile plain shown in the photograph above.

Along parts of the coast there are a number of areas of sabkha. They appear to be ideal for driving over being, in the main, wide and flat, but their appearance is deceptive. They are composed of areas of saline sand or silt, lying just above the water table and generally deposited over a long period of time by the action of wind-blown sand falling into areas of low sea. Their flatness is controlled by the humidity associated with the presence of the relatively high water table which, commonly, is about half a metre below the surface.

Usually this material has a crust of halite and gypsum through which it is possible for a vehicle to drop if it moves away from any established path, as did the car in the photograph to the side. What is surprising to drivers unfamiliar with the problem, is how difficult it is to find a new route. It is imperative to follow existing tracks, though even this might not save you. Generally speaking, Qataris know exactly where they can drive in order to avoid the same fate but it is not uncommon to find the remains of a vehicle that was impossible to extract. The saline content of the material quickly destroys the exposed metal parts of cars caught in it.

I recommend anybody interested in sabkha to read this article on the sabkha of Qatar from which most of these notes on sabkha were taken.

One of the features associated with sabkha is the presence of gypsum crystals formed within the sabkha. These appear as two crystalline forms. The first takes the shape of fans of needle-like gypsum sand and appear where the stronger structures are exposed as the lighter sands are moved away from them. These tend to be found in the area south of Umm Said towards what is known as the Inland Sea.

The second form have the appearance of agglomerated shells and are familiarly known to English speakers as ‘desert roses’. They tend to be found in low areas in the north and east of the country. They are delicate and can be easily broken or affected by water. This individual example is about 40mm in width and illustrates the roughness of its granular sand construction.

This photo illustrates a more typical arrangement of similar crystal structures. There is no standard shape of these agglomerates, and they tend to be found in any numbers of crystals usually with just a part of them exposed. Those who dig to find them may go to a metre or so in order to uncover them. Obviously they are extremely sensitive to weathering and mechanical damage.

In addition to desert roses, geodes can be found in Qatar, particularly on the west side of the country around Dukhan, and not in sabkha but in areas where the winter rains have washed them loose. This small example, to the side, is about 75mm in diameter but I have seen far larger geodes with both white and blue internal crystals. When found it is obviously not possible to see their interiors which are only visible when the geodes are broken or cut open.

Externally they have the appearance of a rough stone quite different from that of broken limstone. When broken open or, preferably sawn through, they typically exhibit a hollow interior surrounded by gypsum crystals. Geodes are familiar to many all over the world, usually sawn through and polished to exhibit the cross section as a decorative artefact, a favourite element of the vocabulary of interior designers…

Related to this, I should mention the larger scale geological features, the duhul or sinkholes of which there are a small number in Qatar. They can be categorised as one of the three karstic features of the country:

• sinkholes,
• simple depressions, and
• complex depressions.

I have suggested elsewhere, with regard to the materials available for construction, that the limestone rock which forms the country is relatively soft and not always suitable for building works, particularly any works exposed to heavy wear associated with water, such as roads and marine construction.

Over a period of time a combination of groundwater and rainwater have reacted with these relatively soft surface and sub-surface rocks, dissolving gypsum and limestone. Generally, it is believed that this has come about at the interfaces between different characters of rock.

This seepage and consequent chemical reaction has dissolved the rock and created underground cavities, some of which have had their ceilings collapse, exposing the interior of the dahl, or sinkhole such as shown in these three photographs taken in and around the dahl al hammam a little way to the north of the New District of Doha. This dahl has now been incorporated within a small tourist park.

While a number of duhul have been open some time, some have only been exposed when loaded from above. One such, smaller, dahl I saw exposed when a bulldozer, working on the New District of Doha, broke through the surface and fell into it. It is obvious that it is difficult, if not impossible, to know where the duhul are located without making specific tests. For this reason it is imperative that foundation work for new developments should be properly investigated.

The depressions associated with duhul are caused by the sinking of the surface following sub-surface collapse and, as the name implies, can be of a simple shape or, by the amalgamation of a number of simple depressions, complex. Depressions may also be created by sinkholes being filled with sand over a period of time. As you may be able to see in the photographs above, the plug of ground which drops typically leaves an annular hole which goes into the ground at a steep angle.

While I’m about it, and admitting this hasn’t much to do with soils, I should mention that in the same area – on the west side of the peninsula, and also in the south – prehistoric sharks’ teeth can be found. The teeth shown here come from more than one species of shark, including tiger and sand tiger, and have been dated to fifty million years ago, though sharks have been in existence, apparently, over four hundred million years.

The teeth are also better spotted after rains and, once you have seen one it is relatively easy to see more. What is surprising to the lay person is how modern they appear with the enamel surviving that length of time, and the cutting edge remaining sharp. In some cases, for instance in the tooth top right of the upper photograph, the dentine has rotted away leaving only the enamel outer shell.

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Plants

Although there is little to be seen in the desert it is surprising what can be seen in the winter months, particularly when there have been sufficient rains to bring out the dormant plants. Six types of plant community have been identified in the peninsula. These community types are:

• coastal sabkha,
• coastal sand,
• rawdha depression,
• sand dune,
• acacia tortillis, and
• ziziphus nummularia.

The plant communities of the coastal sabkhas and sand are mainly halophytes –

• halopeplis perfoliata, and
• zygophyllum coccineum.

The rawdha communities contain mixed and pure stands of:

• Acacia tortillis, samr,
• Zizyphus nummularia, sidr, and
• Lycium shawii, awasij.

Interestingly, the aeolian sands, which are greater in the south of the peninsula than the north, have affected the storm water run-off and permitted a denser incidence of these plants with Fagonia indica as ground cover.

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Wild life

There is not too much wild life in Qatar due to its character, urbanisation and the amount of use the desert receives. One of the animals that used to live in the peninsula is the oryx, a beautiful animal with lovely eyes from which its badu name, al wadthihi, was apparently taken. Its proper name is al maha and it now can be seen only in zoos though there are some in the wild – but not in Qatar.

more to be written...

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The physical character of the country

As I said above, Qatar is a relatively flat country. The highest point is Qurayn Abu al Bawl, south-west of Al Kharara in the south-west of the country, and approximately 103 metres high.

In the north and centre of the country the land is relatively flat and featureless. The covering of loose limestone is easily driven over, though can damage tyres. But in a number of areas the character changes.

These three photographs were taken in the winter months. This part of the peninsula contains a number of slight depressions into which rainwater drains naturally and some rawdha, sweet soil, has collected over time, making them ideal places for plants to establish themselves.

There are also areas of rough grazing to the east of Al Shahaniya. In the winter months these areas can look quite rich in flora and are areas in which families commonly picnic.

One of the activities which is common in the winter months, and is often associated with and carried out by families picnicing, is that of looking for fuqa, truffles. You can often see whole families slowly wandering over areas such as these with their heads down, keenly looking at the ground for what I was told are the tell-tale eruptions in the soil which indicate the growth of truffles.

The first photograph above shows the results of a good day’s hunting, and this to the side shows an unusually large one. It is a tradition in Qatar to make a present of the first large one of the season to the Ruler. I believe these illustrated here are zubaidi, a lighter coloured and more highly prized variety than the khalasi.

Here is a khalasi to compare the zubaidi with. You can see that it is a darker colour and here can be seen as it is found, typically, just breaking through the surface of the ground, which is how it can be spotted. Having said that, I have spent time looking for them without success but, like much relating to the desert, Qataris seem to find them relatively easily. It must be similar to looking for fossil sharks’ teeth; once you have found one, the rest are relatively easy to see.

To the west of the country there are a number of low hills over Qatar’s main oil field. These are often mushroom-shaped due to the erosion of the underlying, softer rock and form an interesting contrast to the visual character of the rest of the country. They tend to be no more than about twenty or thirty metres in height and are located from Dukhan, south through Umm Bab and then on towards the border with Saudi Arabia.

The centre of the peninsula is relatively flat and covered in loose stones. There are small declivities in which there is a marginally different microclimate supporting some plant life, more evident in the winter months than summer. Scattered throughout are plants which have managed to sustain their growth despite the harsh environmental pressures as well as the needs of passing and local animal life. This tree is a good example of a plant which has managed to grow despite these problems, and the desert seen behind it is very typical of this part of Qatar.

Towards the south of the country there are the beginnings of the sand dunes which initially are separate, but coalesce and increase in size, marching across the border into Saudi Arabia and into the ruba’a al khali, or Empty Quarter. This photograph was taken towards their northern limit in the centre of the country, south-west of al-Wakra and al-Wukair.

This photograph, together with that above it, show a little of the character of this part of the peninsula where the sand dunes are separate on the gravel plain and have not yet coalesced. They were taken in the late afternoon in winter, the lower photo showing a small group of badu sitting and enjoying the ‘taste of the air’, as they termed it when I went over to talk with them.

Sand storms sweep the country regularly, bringing with them sands from as far away as Iraq. They travel quickly bringing with them conditions which make travel dangerous and life uncomfortable wherever you are. The front of the storm can look extremely dramatic if it is heavy. In this aerial photograph you can see the front of the sandstorm has almost reached the Inland Sea in the south-east corner of the peninsula.

The dunes begin in the classic barkan form, and are driven down the peninsula by the shamal from the north north-west. You can compare the angle they sit on the ground with the line of the shamal-driven sandstorm in the photo above it. The dunes take on a crescent shape, their windward face being rippled by the action of the wind, their leeward face being relatively steep as it collapses under the driving wind, and with the two arms moving faster than the face to give these dunes their classic shape.

In Qatar the dunes begin about half way down the peninsula, occuring first as relatively small scattered dunes, as in the upper of these two photographs. The lower photograph enables you to understand a little of the feeling of the steepness of the face of a dune.

This photograph is a detail of the very top of the leeward side of a dune, without the wind blowing. You can see the way the sand is trickling down the vertical face of the top of the dune in a fairly constant process even with negligible wind blowing. This loose construction enables them to ‘sing’, as it is termed. Sliding down the dune and using the friction of your body to agitate the sand, creates vibration which gives off a low humming sound, the vibration being felt in the body.

By contrast, the fourth photograph shows a little of the character at the top of a dune when the wind is driving the sand over. Because of the driven sand it can be a very uncomfortable place to be when the wind has any strength in it. Note, too, the rippled surface of the windward side of the dune contrasting with the leeward side.

Although the desert looks bare and without flora, there are a lot of plants which hang on tenaciously to life, often causing significant disruption of the dune patterns. Here, to the right, some grasses create typical clumping. Bear in mind that the sand dunes tend to travel at about eleven metres a year, roughly in a south south-west direction, inundating roads as they travel. They move into Saudi as well as meeting the coast at the border, creating a popular destination for those wanting to picnic on Fridays and holidays, and requiring four-wheel drives or boats to reach the area.

This part of Qatar is known as Khor al Udeid, or the Inland Sea and is being developed for tourism due to the dunes and proximity to the sea. It is very popular as a weekend destination with hundreds of four-wheel drive vehicles racing over the dunes, a permanent hotel for visitors and a beautiful natural marine inlet, the khor of Khor al Udeid. The dunes change relatively quickly and those driving in them need to be aware that such changes can make it a dangerous place to drive as is very difficult to see other drivers.

As the dunes meet and coalesce they can also take on the classic seif form where an arm of the barkan moves away under the influence of winds from different directions and develops a character parallel to the main wind direction. In the south-west of the country, the dunes eventually run into the sea.

This area used to be a holiday destination for both Qataris and ex-patriates living in Qatar. Recently the Inland Sea, as it is termed, has been turned into a recreational destination in order that tourists are able to experience sand dunes, a characteristic that is only found in the lower part of the country. A hotel has been established to cater for tourism and many more vehicles now travel down to it.

Wherever you go in the country you will find there is nowhere that vehicles have not been driven before you and, as you can see from this photograph, some areas are completely covered with the tyre tracks of recreational vehicles.

Some regard this as damaging to the fragile environment of this part of the country but, as I mentioned earlier, these dunes continuously travel south driven by the shamal and little vegetation survives in it. Where there is only slight movement at the edge of the dunes, some plants are able to maintain a foothold, but not in the parts which move quickly and the dune is deep. There are, though, a number of small animals that live in the dunes but I don’t know how this will affect them.

Qataris are usually very good at being able to drive through the looser sands and I have even seen two wheel cars driven by them up and over the dunes without getting stuck. Some sand is extremely loose and there’s obviously a skill to driving in it that expatriates lack. Actually it’s better to avoid it. Having been driven in the desert by Qataris it is evident that there is far more to reading the surface than expatriates are used to. Here a two wheel drive is firmly stuck up to its axles and looks as if the tyres haven’t been deflated. It requires the wheels being dug out and either a tow, a lot of people to push, sand ladders under the wheels, a Qatari to drive it out, or any combination…

One of the characteristics of the sand dunes that make them attractive to visitors is their ability to hum. The humming is caused when a person sits or lies on the face of the dune and moves in such a way as to create movement in the underlying sand. Apparently it’s the friction of the grains of sand on each other that create the sound, but the vibration can be felt a well as heard and it’s a pleasurable experience.

The sand dunes are a lovely environment to travel in and it is good to have the opportunity to access them so close to the capital. Their profiles change relatively rapidly with the wind making it an exciting area to drive through, requiring considerable skills that, in my experience, appear to be learned by Qataris at a very early age. They are, however, a victim of their own beauty.

They represent a fragile environment as does much of the peninsula, but the concentration on tourism and the need for Qataris and expatriates to get away from their urban life at least once a week makes them a popular destination.

At what stage it becomes over-used I can’t say, but I do know that there is a problem policing it from a safety point of view. It is a remarkably popular area nowadays as these two photographs attest. This photograph, particularly, indicates the more organised character of driving in the desert whereas the more traditional enjoyment was just of travelling through the dunes.

Qataris have excellent skills on sand. It’s always a bit of a surprise to take a four-wheeled car onto the dunes and then come across an ordinary saloon car parked on a crest with the driver enjoying the view. And I once had to have a seriously under-aged driver get my car out of trouble for me…

Here, however, you can see what many drivers enjoy most, the exhilaration of driving fast in the dunes, an exercise that can be so much more exciting when it’s not possible to see where you’re going as you approach the top of a dune and then hurtle over it at speed. In many areas it used to be necessary to travel at speed in order not to roll the car or slip off the selected route, and it was not always possible to see what is ahead of you. This, however, is not route-finding but fun motor sport.

I apologise for the quality of this photograph which I took from a video of two cars driving into each other on the face of a dune in Qatar. I have no idea how the drivers came out of the crash but suspect they would not have been seriously injured as the crash was at an oblique angle and not head on. I wonder how the police and insurance companies deal with this sort of accident.

And it’s not just the dunes where things can go wrong. Where the sand dunes meet the sea or where there’s the opportunity to drive in the sea it is not uncommon for Qataris to take their cars along the shore. The difficulty is that it’s slightly more difficult to judge the underlying conditions than it is on land so, from time to time, this kind of accident happens, and somebody loses their precious car.

It seems that not a lot of people living in or visiting Qatar are aware of all the varieties of landscape there are. Even those who visit the coast tend to do so at locations where they can go swimming and have picnics. But, here on the coast near Wakra, are mangroves which, regrettably, are being cleared in order to permit development. Mongrove can also be found near Al Khor in the north-east of the country. They maintain their own small eco-systems and are an attractive feature of the geography of Qatar.

The lower, aerial photograph is of an area next to the sea north of al Khor. The coast is an attractive part of the country to visit, though difficult to navigate in places and, of course, dangerous in places. Areas such as this have an eco-system which encourages wild life and is particularly important when they are used by migrating birds. It is regrettable when the country is deprived of this resource as it depletes the numbers of birds visiting.

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Rainfall

In the winter months, heavy rainfalls are not uncommon. Urban developments traditionally had problems with rain as many of the main roads used wadis which quickly flooded, making travel impassable or, at least, difficult. The provision of dams on the outskirts of Doha and the incorporation of storm drains into the new developments helped to deal with flash flooding, but there are always difficulties created by these drains being blocked by wind driven sands over the dry parts of the year. Flooded roads and, particularly, roundabouts, are not uncommon sights in winter following rains.

Annual rainfall varies as it does in many parts of the world, the official figure being 81mm per annum. From May to October there is little or no rain, but the winter months always see some precipitation, sometimes extremely heavy creating difficulties with drainage in urban areas. The rainfall not only differs in quantity but in location within the peninsula, heavier in the north, lighter in the south.

The rain can often be extremely heavy and destructive, the amount falling in a few days being equivalent to the annual rainfall. Sleet, hail and snow – thalj – are all recorded within the peninsula from time to time. This photograph shows the damage that can be caused in an, admittedly unusually heavy, hail storm.

Roads in the desert also often followed wadis and, in some parts of the Arabian peninsula these wadis are very wide and have sheer walls making escape in the event of flash flooding, extremely difficult. Qatar doesn’t have that problem but water can still accumulate rapidly making traffic through it difficult.

As I mentioned above, when it rains the desert blooms and dormant plants springing to life particularly in areas of rawdtha soils. The water literally brings life, articulating the flat geometry of the landscape and creating increased visual interest through a combination of both the look of the land and the plants growing on it.

The first of this group of three photographs shows a particularly lush area of plants which is, perhaps, a little unusual though is one of the benefits from heavy winter rains even though they don’t last all that long. There will also be a significant amount of wild life to be found in the area; and there is even a form of fish that can remain dormant until water until the rains re-vivifies it.

But even in areas where there appears to be little growth as you look down, there can be a green effect created as you look across the desert as in this second photograph where camels are enjoying a relatively lush winter’s treat. This is a time of year which is very much appreciated by Qataris and is a favourite time for picnics and, particularly, for longer term camping where a family will camp for weeks and, if necessary, be joined by their husbands every evening if they have to be away working by day.

These photographs are intended to show a little of the beauty of the northern desert in winter. This particular photo shows a small amount of rainwater which has soaked into a wadi or a small depression in the desert while a dramatic long cloud formation moves across the landscape.

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Water resources

There is little or no standing water in the country. In fact, I can only recall one apart from the reservoirs or pools which many farms have where water, drilled under permit from the declining underground reservoirs, is held prior to it being run out to water the planting. In Umm Salal Muhammad, there used to be a small reservoir formed by the damming of a wadi, but it has long since gone. I was told by a local inhabitant that there had always been water there – until they drilled through it in the hope of finding more water…

Sadly, there are signs of drought every year following the drying up of the waters produced by the winter seasonal rains. There are plants and, even, animal life which are capable of hibernating through the hot months and regenerating when touched by the life-giving winter waters. The interest that those living in Qatar have for the rural areas of the peninsula is growing as they wish to see what’s happening outside the urban areas where they live and work during the week. This seems to relate to both those of badu stock as well as those from the littoral groups. In addition, many of the expatriates wish to get out of the urban areas when they are able to take a break from work.

This will affect the way in which the desert is enjoyed as well as the ability of those who still make a living there to function. A part of this may well be the need to police areas where water is naturally found, particularly the wadi which, while visually attractive to the visitor are essential to the badu.

Water has always been a problem with unregulated extraction exacerbating the quality of underground water sources despite government attempts to regulate the problem. Underlying water reservoirs tend to be of two characters:

• those in the north of the country being a body of what is known as ‘sweet’ or fresh water floating on a bed of brackish and saline water, and
• in the south, a reservoir of brackish water.

One of the great sadnesses to be seen around the country are farms dying off for lack of watering. Date palms, particularly, seem to be potent visual reminders of the damage which is being done either by salination of water supplies or, as is the case more often adjacent to urban areas, of commercial pressures to convert agricultural land for building development. Many great cities have gardens and parks built into them, and it is sad that, in the latter case, an effort is not made to save this land for the spiritual uplift it brings to those living adjacent to them. In countries such as Qatar where there is such a strong tradition of growing date palms, there is a strong case to maintain date palm gardens. In the above photograph, the pattern of the palm tree layout can be clearly seen, each tree sitting in a square of ground surrounded by the water channels used to supply water to each tree.

More to be written…