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A comprehensive and well-illustrated overview of the natural history and traditional culture of Qatar. Subjects covered include geology, topography, prehistory and history. The author has lived in Qatar for over 20 years, spending much of her free time exploring the archaeology and natural history of the country, which forms a peninsula in the Persian Gulf.
Introduction
The history of Quatar
The colour purple: A 4000-year-old dye factory on Al Khor Island
Cup-Mark Rocks of Al Jassasiya
The boat petroglyphs at Jebel Al Jassasiya
Uncovering the past at Al Zubara
History was made at Ras Abrouq
Seeking the Angels' teardrops: Pearling in the Arabian Gulf
Traditional boats
Building traditional boats
Fascinating forts
Camping with the Bedouin
The camel and the Bedouin
What's in a name? Recording the place names of Qatar
Sand dunes and their formation
The truffle hunters
Footprints in the sand: Small desert mammals
Desert foxes
Hedgehogs
Hares
Snakes alive: Terrestrial snakes of Qatar
Desert sun-worshippers: Desert Lizards including spiny-tailed agamas and monitors
Scorpions
Camel spiders
The Mangrove Forests
Socotra cormorants
Ospreys
Sea turtles
Sting rays, stonefish and lionfish
Sea snakes, the myths and the facts
Dugongs: Gentle denizens of the Ocean
Marine mammals: Making a splash in Qatari Waters
Frances Gillespie is a British national who has resided in Qatar since 1985. She has spent many years studying the fauna and flora of the region and has a particular interest in the prehistory and history of the country. In 2000 she was the coordinator of the joint British-Qatari Qatar Archaeology Project, and one of the co-authors of the book Qatar published by Stacey International Ltd. She has recently provided the texts and extended captions for Qatar, A Pictorial Tour published by Motivate Publishing, Dubai in February 2007. Frances Gillespie has contributed feature articles about Qatar to the Gulf Times daily newspaper for more than 10 years, and has published articles in Oryx, the inflight magazine of Qatar Airways, and in Emerging Qatar 2005, published by the Oxford Business Group, London.
