About Qatar: Al Khor

Al Khor, also known as Al Thakhira, is a municipality in northeastern Qatar. Al Khor City, the municipal headquarters, is located on Qatar's northeast coast, approximately 50 kilometres (31 miles) from the capital, Doha, and is regarded as one of the country's major cities. After Al Khor City, Al Thakhira is the municipality's second-largest settlement.

The municipality of Al Khor takes its name from the city of the same name. Al Khawr means bay in Arabic, and it was so named because Al Khor City is located near a bay. Previously, the city was known as "Khor Al-Shaqiq".

Al Khor Municipality was founded in July 1972, along with Qatar's four other founding municipalities, and oversees the city of Al Khor as well as other towns within the municipality. It has a land area of 1,561.4 km² and a population of 193,983 people.

It was once well-known for its part in Qatar's thriving pearling industry as well as its harbour, which is teeming with fishing boats and other craft. The city has several beaches, rebuilt forts, and cultural attractions.

Much of Al Khor's area is located along the eastern coast of the Qatari Peninsula, including the eastern borders of the municipality's two main cities, Al Khor City and Al Thakhira. There are numerous beaches in this area, notably Al-Farka Beach near Al Khor City and Al Thakhira Beach. Al Khor Corniche, a coastal promenade of 28,000 square metres, goes through the municipal headquarters.

The municipality includes 170 rawdas, 49 wadis, 57 jeris (places where water flows), seven jeryan (multiple jeris), seven plains, 22 hills, five highlands, 13 sabkhas, 17 capes, four bays, and three coral reefs. Off its coast are four islands, the most prominent of which is Al Khor (also known as Jazirat Bin Ghanim).

White mangrove forests are most abundant in Qatar, in Al Khor and Al Thakhira. This mangrove species is well adapted to the saline environment of the northeast coast. A minimum of eight mangrove locations exist in Qatar, and all are protected areas under an Emiri edict issued in 2006.

In 1952, the first school outside of Doha was established in the city of Al Khor.

Off the coast of Qatar in the 1970s, in a region that became known as the North Field, natural gas was found. The municipality's Ras Laffan neighbourhood in the northeast has been transformed into a facility for processing natural gas. Currently, Ras Laffan is home to the Pearl GTL, the largest GTL facility in the world, which was built in collaboration with QatarEnergy and Royal Dutch Shell. The second-largest supplier of helium, which may be obtained from natural gas, is also Qatar.