-A big tree, a harbor and a pearl-
Doha, (ad-Dawḥa or ad-Dōḥa), translated in modern Arabic as "the big tree" and based on local dialects as "rounded bays" is the capital and most populous city of the state of Qatar. It is the fastest growing city in the country. More than half of the country's population lives within the boundaries of the Doha metropolitan area.
Already at the end of the 20th century, the gradual transformation of the small coastal settlement and pearl fishing port into a modern metropolis creates a constant interaction on multiple levels, between the various cultural groups that overwhelm it. Unlike Western countries, in Qatar expats represent the majority of the population. Doha has become a city of immigrants of different levels and rights. Urban spaces map and mark the boundaries between different social, economic and cultural groups and how these groups interact and survive within the confines of the megacity.
Doha is a city in the making. The city is a rapidly growing financial center, an upcoming metropolis in the Persian Gulf. Its modern metal and glass skyscrapers replace the traditional low-rise adobe buildings and empty desert areas. The rapid transformations fueled by the country's new wealth are reshaping the landscape and becoming the new traces of memory and identity for historians of the future. The construction sites and completed buildings create a sense of timelessness.