Al Khuwayr الخوير | |
|---|---|
Abandoned village | |
.jpg) View of the ruins at Al Khuwayr | |
  Al Khuwayr Location in Qatar | |
| Coordinates:26°4′29″N51°5′1″E / 26.07472°N 51.08361°E /26.07472; 51.08361 | |
| Country |  Qatar |
| Municipality | Al Shamal |
| Zone | Zone 78 |
| District no. | 394 |
| Area | |
• Total | 3.4 sq mi (8.8 km2) |
Al Khuwayr (Arabic:الخوير) is an abandoned village in northwestQatar, located in themunicipality ofAl Shamal. It is a popular domestic tourist attraction due to its history and ruined structures.[2]
Al Khuwayr was previously known asKhor Hassan,[3] literally meaning 'beautiful inlet'.[4] In the late 18th century, noted pirate and tribal leaderRahmah ibn Jabir al-Jalhami settled Al Khuwayr. It served as his base of operations against theAl Khalifa in Bahrain.[5] Rahmah's base in Al Khuwayr was surrounded by a protected bay which made it difficult for his enemies to attack the area. He resided in a fort with mud walls with only a few huts in the vicinity.[6] Rahmah ibn Jabir successfully persuaded several Bahraini dissidents and people hostile to the Al Khalifa to migrate to Al Khuwayr. To ibn Jabir’s enemies, the settlement bore the nickname “the fox’s den”.[7]
After an incident in 1809 regarding Rahmah ibn Jabir’s seizure of 20Utub vessels fromKuwait, a son of Kuwait’s ruler named Abdullah Al Sabah was killed. Kuwait’s ruler responded by threatening to attack Al Khuwayr.[7]
TheBattle of Khakeekera took place here in March 1811 between Rahmah ibn Jabir’s forces and the combined forces of Bahrain and Kuwait, ending in a victory for the Kuwaiti-Bahrain coalition.[8]
Abu Al-QassimMunshi, a British resident in Qatar, wrote a memo regarding the districts of Qatar in 1872. In it, he mentions that "in the year 1218 [1803 in theGregorian calendar], Khor Hassan was ruled by the Al-e-Kbeiseh", referring to theQubaisi, a sub-tribe of theBani Yas.[9]
In the 1820s, George Barnes Brucks carried out the first British survey of thePersian Gulf.[10] He recorded the following notes about Al Khuwayr, which at that time was known as Khor Hassan:
Khor Hassan is in lat. 26° 4' 20" N., long. 51° 10' 55" E. It is a small village, with a square fort, belongs toAl Kubaisi tribe andUttoobee [Bani Utbah] tribes, principally fishermen.[11]
In 1867, following the imprisonment of aNa'im tribal chief inAl Wakrah,Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani expelled Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, the Bahraini representative in Qatar, from Al Wakrah. Consequently, Ahmed bin Mohammed fled to Al Khuwayr, from which he relayed his expulsion to the King of Bahrain,Muhammad bin Khalifa, who prepared a naval invasion which culminated in theQatari–Bahraini War.[12] After the war had ended in 1868 and Muhammad bin Khalifa was deposed and declared a fugitive by British authorities, he also took refuge in Al Khuwayr.[13]
J. G. Lorimer'sGazetteer of the Persian Gulf gives an account of Al Khuwayr in 1908:
A village on the west coast of the Qatar promontory about 10 miles from its northern extremity. It is frequently spoken of simply as "Khuwair" in contradistinction to "Khor" on the opposite side of the promontory. Khuwair possesses a tribal fort in a good state of repair and is inhabited by about 80 families of the Kibisah [Qubaisi] tribe, who live solely by pearl diving and fishing; they have 20 pearl boats [manned by 240 men], 5 fishing boats and 20 camels, but no other resources of any sort. Drinking water is fetched fromThaqab, about 3 miles to the south-east. A small islet off Khuwair Hassan is known as Jazirat-al-Khuwair.[14]
Al Khuwayr was among the villages occupied byAbdullah bin Jassim Al Thani's forces in July 1937 during his military expedition against the Naim tribe, whom he considered to be defectors toBahrain.[15]
It was remarked by theBritish Political Resident in Bahrain that in 1939, the main tribe in al Khuwayr was Al-Shebarah, which numbered over 50 people and were led by Saleh Bin Dasm.[16]
To the immediate north of Al Khuwayr is Al Khuwayr Island.[17]
The settlement's first formal school was opened in 1957.[18]
وذكر في وفيات الاعيان لابن خنكان ابو نعامة قطري بن الفجاءة واسمه جعونة ين مازن بن يزيد اين زياد ين حبتر بن مالك ين عمرو رين تهيم بن مر التميمي الثسيباني ولد في الجنوب الشرقي من قرية الخوير شمال قطر في
Capital:Madinat ash Shamal | |||||
| Zone 77 |
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| Zone 78 |
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| Zone 79 |
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