Doha
Doha is the capital of Qatar and its largest city. It hosts the S'hail International Hunting and Falcons Exhibition at Katara Cultural Village, one of the main annual trade gatherings for falconry in the Gulf.
The story of Doha
Doha grew out of the neighbouring settlement of Al Bidda, which is first documented in 1681. In 1821 an East India Company vessel bombarded Al Bidda, and the town was destroyed. The settlement that followed became known as Doha.
The Al Thani family arrived from Fuwayrit in 1847 under Mohammed bin Thani and gradually took control of the town. In 1868 a settlement brokered by the British official Lewis Pelly implicitly recognised Qatar as separate from Bahrain.
Pearling made Doha commercially important in the early twentieth century, although the collapse of the pearl market in 1907 and later declines weakened the economy.
In 1916 Qatar became a British protectorate with Doha as its official capital, and the city kept that role when Qatar became independent in 1971. Today more than 80 percent of Qatar's population lives in the Doha metropolitan area.
Falconry in Doha
Qatar is among the countries listed on UNESCO's multinational Representative List entry "Falconry, a living human heritage", inscribed in 2021 in its most recent extension.
In Doha, falconry reaches the public through the S'hail International Hunting and Falcons Exhibition, held at Katara Cultural Village since 2017. Katara was established in 2010 and presents exhibitions, festivals and workshops in a setting styled after a traditional Qatari village.
Coverage of the 2020 edition described S'hail as the largest event of its kind in the MENA region, with 120 firms from 13 countries and close to 135,000 visitors each year.
The exhibition features falcons from local and international breeders, falconry products and hunting equipment, alongside awareness and educational programmes.
List your business on the pages of the events you attend, so buyers and partners find you before the show.
- Doha (Wikipedia)
- Katara Cultural Village (Wikipedia)
- Falconry, a living human heritage (UNESCO)
- Katara International Hunting and Falcons Exhibition (Fanack)
Facts on this page come from the sources below, checked on the date of writing. Check with the organiser before travelling.