Qatar, a nation rich in oil and gas natural reserves, is located in the Middle East and is neighboured by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. With a land area of 4,184 square miles, the population was estimated to be 825,000 at the start of 2008.
Qatar is a peninsula in the east of Arabia, bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia, in a strategic location near major petroleum deposits. Qatar occupies 11,437 km2 (4,416 sq mi) on a peninsula that extends approximately 160 km (99 mi) north into the Persian Gulf from the Arabian Peninsula.
Ashurra, is celebrated by Sunni Muslims (Qatar is mostly Sunni, although there are a number of Shiite expats living and working here) as the day Noah's ark found ground, the day Abraham was born and the day the Kabaah*, the holiest place in Islam, was built.