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Al Gharrafa

Coordinates: 25°19′47″N 51°26′52″E / 25.329790°N 51.447903°E / 25.329790; 51.447903
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Al Gharrafa
الغرافة
District
Al Gharrafa Street in 2020.
Al Gharrafa Street in 2020.
Al Gharrafa is located in Qatar
Al Gharrafa
Al Gharrafa
Coordinates: 25°19′47″N 51°26′52″E / 25.329790°N 51.447903°E / 25.329790; 51.447903
Country Qatar
MunicipalityAl Rayyan
ZoneZone 51
District no.47
Area
[1]
 • Total10.5 km2 (4.1 sq mi)
Elevation
[2]
25 m (82 ft)
Building site in Al Gharrafa in 2005.

Al Gharrafa (Arabic: الغرافة, romanized: Al Gharrāfah) is a Qatari district of Al Rayyan City, which is located in the municipality of Al Rayyan.[3] In close proximity to Education City and constituting a part of the Doha Metropolitan Area, the Doha Expressway and Al Shamal Highway run along the district. Many malls operate out of the area.[4] To the east, it neighbors the largely residential areas of Duhail and Madinat Khalifa North, therefore Al Gharrafa is largely a retail hub for nearby residential areas. Doha's downtown is 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the southeast.[5]

Etymology

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In Arabic, "gharafa" translates as "to scoop up". It was so named because it is a low-lying floodplain from whence locals would scoop up water from in the past.[6]

History

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J.G. Lorimer's mentioned Al Gharrafa in 1908 in his Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, referring to it as "Qarāfah". He stated that it lay "8 miles west of Dohah" and remarked on the presence of a masonry well that is only 3 feet deep yielding good water.[7]

The Al Gharrafa Youth Centre was opened in 1982 to promote the fine arts among the youth and held community exhibitions in its early years.[8]

Geography

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Sign for Bu Silla Street in Al Gharrafa.

Several of Qatar Foundation's facilities and projects (notably Education City) are located in Al Gharrafa and its surrounding districts. Due to the district's fairly large size, it shares several borders. To the west is Gharrafat Al Rayyan, which hosts the Qatar Science & Technology Park, the Qatar National Convention Centre, and other facilities of Education City. Located to the south-west of Al Gharrafa is the district of Al Shagub, which accommodates some of Education City's universities.[6]

Other borders include Old Al Rayyan and Al Luqta to the south, Madinat Khalifa North, Umm Lekhba and Duhail of Doha Municipality to the east, and Al Kharaitiyat of Umm Salal Municipality and Izghawa 51 to the north.[6]

Landmarks

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Administration

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When free elections of the Central Municipal Council first took place in Qatar during 1999,[13] Al Gharrafa was designated the seat of constituency no. 21.[14] It would remain the headquarters of constituency no. 21 for the next three consecutive elections until the fifth municipal elections in 2015, when it was made the headquarters of constituency no. 15. Also included in its constituency is south Izghawa and south Al Kharaitiyat.[15] In the inaugural municipal elections in 1999, Ahmed Hussein Al Kubaisi won the elections, receiving 21%, or 88 votes. The runner-up candidate was Mohammed Salem Al Marri, whose share of the votes was 18.9%, or 42 votes. Voter turnout was 68.6%.[14] Elections in 2002 saw Nasser Salman Al-Dosari elected as the constituent official.[16] In 2007, Mubarak Faresh Salem won the elections,[17] and retained his seat in the 2011,[18] and 2015 elections.[15]

Sports

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Entrance to Thani bin Jassim Stadium.

Multi-sports club Al-Gharafa SC is based in the district. The football team plays its home games at Thani bin Jassim Stadium.[19]

Transport

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Beginning of Duhail-Al Gharrafa Bridge in Al Gharrafa.

Currently, the underground Al Gharrafa Metro Station is under construction, having been launched during Phase 2A. Once completed, it will be part of Doha Metro's Green Line.[20]

Qatar National Master Plan

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The Qatar National Master Plan (QNMP) is described as a "spatial representation of the Qatar National Vision 2030".[21] As part of the QNMP's Urban Centre plan, which aims to implement development strategies in 28 central hubs that will serve their surrounding communities, Al Gharrafa has been designated a Town Centre, which is the third-highest designation.[22]

The plan places an emphasis on developing the intersection of Al Markhiya Street and Doha Expressway as the heart of the Town Centre. As such, public transport will be oriented towards this area and both Al Markhiya Street and the Doha Expressway will have a higher density of mixed-use buildings.[5]

Education

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The following schools are located in Al Gharrafa:

Name of School Curriculum Grade Genders Official Website Ref
The Gulf English School British Kindergarten – Secondary Both [1] [23]
Al Gharafa Modern Kindergarten Qatari Kindergarten Both N/A [24]

References

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  1. ^ "District Area Map". Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Al Gharrafa, Zone 51, Qatar on the Elevation Map". elevationmap.net. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  3. ^ "2015 Population census" (PDF). Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics. April 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  4. ^ "Doha : Popular Rental locations for expat to live in". QHomes. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Centre Plans and Zoning Regulations" (PDF). Ministry of Municipality and Environment. pp. 95–101. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  6. ^ a b c "GIS Portal". Ministry of Municipality and Environment. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  7. ^ "'Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf. Vol. II. Geographical and Statistical. J G Lorimer. 1908' [1526] (1641/2084)". Qatar Digital Library. Retrieved 6 July 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. ^ "فنانين يستعرضون جمال البيئة القطرية" (in Arabic). Al Raya. 28 November 1985. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Contact us". Sidra Medicine. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g "Dalila Services". Ministry of Municipality and Environment. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  11. ^ "Al Ghrrafa Park". Ministry of Municipality and Environment. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  12. ^ "Contact us". Landmark Mall Doha. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  13. ^ "Central Municipal Council". Government Communications Office of Qatar. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  14. ^ a b "إنتخابات الدورة الأولى" (in Arabic). Central Municipal Council. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  15. ^ a b "مقـار الدوائـر" (in Arabic). Ministry of Interior (Qatar). Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  16. ^ "الدورة الثانية" (in Arabic). Central Municipal Council. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  17. ^ "إنتخابات الدورة الثالثة" (in Arabic). Central Municipal Council. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  18. ^ "رابعاً: إنتخابات الدورة الرابعة كشف بأسماء السادة المرشحين الفائزين في عضوية انتخابات المجلس البلدي المركزي (الدورة الرابعة - 2011م)" (in Arabic). Central Municipal Council. Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  19. ^ "Al Gharafa Club". Qatar Football Association. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  20. ^ "QAR Metro". arcgis.com. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  21. ^ "About Qatar National Master Plan". Ministry of Municipality and Environment. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  22. ^ "About the Centre Plans". Ministry of Municipality and Environment. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  23. ^ "The Gulf English School". schoolsinqatar.net. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  24. ^ "Al Gharafa Modern Kindergarten". schoolsinqatar.net. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
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