QATAR: Old Gulf Coast Days

The small Arab state of Qatar on the western shore of the Persian Gulf was a slow starter in development when compared with neighbours Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia. Although the country had enjoyed good revenue from oil since the mid-seventies, its ruler was reluctant to embrace change. As recently as 1975 capital Doha, had only a single first-class hotel and one bank and people still lived in goat-hair tents in the desert hinterland. When a huge off-shore natural gas field began production in 1989 a decision was taken to replace the old emir. The rise of Qatar following the assumption of power by his son, HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani in 1995 was meteoric. Not only in the streets of soaring skyscraper but in desert reclamation schemes, aviation and communications, notably Al-Jazeera an international 24-hour English-language news channel. The FIFA World Cup held in 2022 introduced the tiny nation to a worldwide audience of some 5 billion people. But this book is not an appraisal of Qatar's achievements. Rather it is a look back, via a unique set of photographs, at "Old Gulf Coast" days.

Christine Osborne is an Australian photojournalist and author of books on the developing world including The Gulf States and Oman examining the impact of oil on local Arab society.