Al-Arish () is an abandoned village in

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

, in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Al Shamal Al Shamal () is a municipality in Qatar. Its seat is Madinat ash Shamal and it is considered to be one of the major cities in Qatar, although its population is barely over 7,000. The seat's name translates to "city of the north". Ras Rakan, t ...

. It lies one mile south-west of the coastal village of Al Khuwayr.

Etymology

Arish, an Arabic term, refers to

palm trees The Arecaceae () is a family of perennial, flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are colloquially ...

; it was named so after palm trees growing in the area which shaded the entire village.

History

Al Arish was among the villages occupied by

Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani (), also known as Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani or Sheikh Abdullah bin Qassim Al Thani, was the Emir of Qatar from 1913 to 1949. Oil was discovered in Qatar for the first time during his rule. ...

's forces in July 1937 during his military expedition against the Qubaisi tribe of

Zubarah Zubarah (), also referred to as Al Zubarah or Az Zubarah, is a ruined, ancient town located on the northwestern coast of the Qatar peninsula in the Al Shamal municipality, about from the capital Doha. It was founded by Shaikh Muhammed bin Khal ...

and its supporters, whom he considered to be defectors to

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

Geography

To the south-west is Sabkhat Al-Arish. A

sabkha A sabkha () is a predominately coastal, supratidal mudflat or sandflat in which evaporite-saline minerals accumulate as the result of a semiarid to arid climate. Sabkhas are gradational between land and intertidal zone within restricted coast ...

(a type of salt-flat) whose elevation is close to sea level. Due to the high level of salinity, few trees grow there.

Power station

Inaugurated in 1975 with a power production capacity of 8.5 megawatts, the Al Arish Power Station was constructed to serve as an energy source for Qatar's northern area.

Gallery

File:Al Arish central square Qatar.jpg, Old central square of Al Arish File:Al Arish police station.jpg, Old Al Arish Police Station File:Fish traps at Arish Qatar.jpg, Intdertidal stone fish traps at Al Arish

References

Al Shamal {{Qatar-geo-stub