Al Rayyan

This article is about the municipality in Qatar. For the name, see Rayan. For the Lebanese football club, see Al Rayyan Beirut.

Al-Rayyan الريان
Municipality
Map of Qatar with Al-Rayyan highlighted
Country	Qatar
Capital	Al-Rayyan
Area
• Total	893 km2 (345 sq mi)
Population  (2010)
• Total	444,557
• Density	500/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+3 (AST)
ISO 3166 code	QA-RA
Website	Al Rayyan

Al-Rayyan (Template:Lang-ar) is the largest municipality in the state of Qatar. Al Rayyan means 'the source of irrigation' and as per Islam it also means 'a door in heaven' or 'one of the Gates of Paradise' .

Al-Rayyan is the only landlocked municipality of Qatar. It borders the following municipalities:

• Umm Salal - northeast
• Doha - east
• Al Wakrah - southeast
• Jariyan al Batnah - southwest
• Al Jumaliyah - northwest

History

Al Rayyan Municipality has been created as an independent municipal administration, under the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning by virtue of law No.19/1972 issued in 1979 AD, stating, in his first article, the creation of municipalities in Qatar under the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. In its second article, the law stated that each of these municipalities shall have a council headed by one person and comprising at least four members nominated by decree.

Al Rayyan in Qatar in 2004

Among the most important regions and districts of Al Rayyan Municipality: Al-Wajba, al-Shakab, al-Rayyan, Maeedher, al-Ghorafa, Ein Khaled, Marrikh, al-Shahaniya, al-Khurayb, al-Nasraniya, al-Outouriya, al-Jamilya, aldoha

Since 2004, Al Jumaliyah municipalitiy was merged with Ar Rayyan municipalitiy ; municipalitiy Jarayan al Batnah was split between municipalitiy Ar Rayyan and municipalitiy Al Wakrah. .

Demographics

The following table shows the population of Ar Rayyan.

Ar Rayyan population

March 2004	March 1997	March 1986
272,860	169,774	91,996

The following table shows the registered live births by nationality and sex for this municipality. Place of births is based on home municipality of mother at birth.

Registered live births by nationality and sex

Year	Qatari Male	Qatari Female	Totoal Qatari	Non Qatari Male	Non Qatari Female	Total Non Qatar	Total Male	Total Female	Grand Total
2001	1409	1377	2786	926	931	1857	2335	2308	4643
2002	1472	1357	2829	942	932	1874	2414	2289	4703
2003	1468	1421	2889	945	876	1821	2413	2297	4710
2004	1681	1567	3248	1063	1006	2069	2744	2573	5317
2005	1662	1616	3278	1233	1135	2368	2895	2751	5646
2006	1738	1654	3392	1290	1216	2506	3028	2870	5898
2007	1865	1838	3703	1457	1357	2814	3322	3195	6517
2008	1975	1990	3965	1735	1635	3370	3710	3625	7335
2009	1774	1629	3403	1948	1777	3725	3722	3406	7128

Landmarks and Historic sites

1. There are several types of ancient castles.
2. Tower Park and Aspire.
3. Number of universities, colleges and institutes of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (Qatar Foundation).
4. Number of sports clubs (Al Rayyan - Gharafa - Muaither - Sailiya)
5. Many public gardens and parks.
6. Racing and Equestrian Club.
7. Circuit racing.

Doha Zoo

Although the zoo is located in Al Rayyan, it is called Doha zoo. According to the zoo's brochure it has over 800 specimens. Many of the animals there have large enclosures, with the gazelles, deer and antelope looking the happiest.In addition, there are some native Qatari species, including ostriches and Oryx. In addition to animals there is playing ground for children and train where they can take a tour in the zoo.

Sheikh Faisal Al-Thani Museum

The Owner

The museum belongs to Sheikh Faisal, great great grandson of Jassim, who defeated the Ottomans in battle while in his eighties and is regarded by some as the founder of Qatar. Sheikh Faisal himself is an interesting man.

The Museum

The museum consists of five halls - an adjacent building, similar size first, stands ready for exhibits. Sheikh Faisal been collecting antiques since the 1960’s, his museum has over three thousand exhibits, all beautifully presented. In addition to this large museum, estate also contains a variety of animals and game, including the rare oryx. The museum is open to all nationalities, although a permit should be obtained before visiting. The museum is divided into several sections:

Islamic Art

Really much more than Islamic art. Arms and armours forms a huge part of it, with spiked mogul helmets and ancient cannons making you glad you’re alive now and not them. Also includes jewellery, and woodwork.

Classic Cars

This superb collection, which charts the development of cars all the way from an ancient cart to classic American saloons.

Coinage and Currency

Covers all the major denominations.

Prints and Manuscripts

Ancient manuscripts dating back to 11 HD showed complicated mathematical diagrams, reminding viewers that much of the basis of maths came from Arabic writers.

Fossils

Includes dinosaur eggs, rare and strange minerals collected from the desert fossil of a dinosaur embedded in a skeleton. There's also a library of about 12,000 books and manuscripts.

Climate

As in all the cities in Qatar, Al Rayyan have a nice average temperature in the months January, February, March, November and December. However, the Hot season or summer is in April, May, June, July, August, September, October and November. Al Rayyan has dry periods in January, February, March, April, May, June, July and August. On average, the warmest month is July and the coolest month is January. The below table shows the Records and Averages of Al Rayyan temperature.

Records and Averages of Al Rayyan

Month	Avg. High	MAvg. Low	Avg. Precip
Jan	22°C	13°C	13.4 mm
Feb	23°C	13°C	17.8 mm
Mar	27°C	17°C	15.2 mm
Apr	32°C	21°C	7.6 mm
May	38°C	25°C	2.5 mm
Jun	41°C	27°C	0.0 mm
Jul	41°C	29°C	0.0 mm
Aug	41°C	29°C	0.0 mm
Sep	38°C	26°C	0.0 mm
Oct	35°C	23°C	0.0 mm
Nov	29°C	19°C	2.5 mm
Dec	24°C	15°C	12.7 mm

Sports

Al Rayyan boasts of the Al-Rayyan Sports Club which fields teams in a number of sports such as football (soccer), basket ball, volley ball, hand ball, and table tennis. The club, which was founded in 1967, is based at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium. The club has won numerous titles in all sports. The stadium is a a multi-purpose stadium and has a capacity of 21,282 people and has plans of expanding to 44,740 for 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Horses Stables and Farms

There are a number of houses stables and Farms in al Rayyan.

Al-Shaqab Stable

Al-Shaqab Stable It is located in Al-Rayyan 10kms away from Doha. It dates back to the 20th C. It was owned by Sheikh Abdulla Bin Jassim. The stable contains a number of rooms including stables, stores and a manger for horses. This stable was restored by Qatar Museums Authority.

Al Rayyan Horses Farm

Al Rayyan farm, which is located in AL Rayyan and owned by Shaikh Abdulaziz bin Khaled bin Hamad Al Thani, was started in 1987 with just one horse. Now it is considered to be one of the world's finest straight Egyptian horse breeding programs. The farm also includes the first Embryo Transfer Clinic in Qatar.