Al Jasrah
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Al Jasra
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|native_name = الجسرة
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|settlement_type = District
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|subdivision_name = {{flagicon|QAT}} Qatar
|subdivision_type1 = Municipality
|subdivision_name1 = Ad-Dawhah
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|subdivision_name2 = Zone 1
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File:Souq Jaidah in Al Jasrah.jpg
Al Jasrah ({{langx|ar|الجسرة}}) is a district in Qatar, located in the municipality of Ad Dawhah.
It hosts Souq Waqif, one of the largest souqs in Qatar. Other points of interest in the district include Souq Jaidah, the Souq Waqif Falcon Hospital, the Souq Waqif Horse Stables, Abdul Aziz Nasser Theatre, Waqif Art Centre, Al Koot Fort (also known as Doha Fort) and Doha Fort Museum.
Most of its landmarks are accessible through Al Souq Street, Souq Waqif Street and Al Jasra Street. To the immediate east of Al Jasrah is Al Souq, a Qatari commercial district that hosts a number of smaller-sized souqs.
Etymology
The meaning of "jasrah" in Arabic is "bridge". It was thus named because the partially submerged rocks along its coastline look like a bridge.{{cite web|url=http://geoportal.gisqatar.org.qa/qmape/index.html|title=District map|publisher=The Centre for Geographic Information Systems of Qatar|accessdate=31 December 2018|archive-date=24 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124143437/https://geoportal.gisqatar.org.qa/qmape/index.html|url-status=dead}} It is sometimes pronounced as yasrah in local dialect.
History
Prior to 1947, Al Jasrah was known under the names Doha Saghira (Little Doha) and Dowaiha.{{cite journal|last1=Fletcher|first1=Richard|last2=Carter|first2=Robert A.|url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10039439/1/Carter_MappingDoha_accepted.pdf|title=Mapping the Growth of an Arabian Gulf Town: the case of Doha, Qatar|journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient|volume=60|issue=4|page=24|doi=10.1163/15685209-12341432|date=12 May 2017|accessdate=10 June 2024}}
Qatar's first hospital was established in Al Jasrah by emir Abdullah bin Jassim in 1947.{{cite web|url=http://www.sharinghistory.org/hcr_result.php?startPeriod=none&endPeriod=none&nccountry=qt&theme=none|title=Timeline of Qatar|publisher=Museum With No Frontiers|accessdate=31 August 2015}}
Al Jasrah was the hub of Qatari cultural life in the 1950s. It was home to significant families closely linked to the rulers and other tribes, and it became a meeting place for several artists such as Jassim Zaini, Yousef Ahmad, Hassan Al Mulla, Ali Hassan, Salman Al-Malik, and Mohammed Al-Jaida, among others. Their childhood stories and shared passion for art led to the establishment of the first art group" in Qatar ("The Three Friends") and later the Qatari Society for Fine Arts.{{cite magazine|last1=Dagher|first1=Charbel|author-link1=Charbel Dagher|url=https://www.dohamagazine.qa/%D9%86%D8%B4%D8%A3%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%8E%D9%86%D9%91-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B4%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%8A-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%B1/|title=نشأة الفَنّ التشكيلي في قطر|magazine=Doha Magazine|publisher=Ministry of Culture (Qatar)|language=Arabic|date=10 November 2022|accessdate=15 June 2024}}
In the 1980s Al Jasrah had the most expensive land in all of Qatar. The land price per ft² in 1981 was $171, this however decreased to $60 in 1988, which was still the highest price at that point in time.{{cite web|url=http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1626/1/1626.pdf|title=The Spatial Impact of the Hydrocarbon Industry on Land and Sea Use in Qatar|publisher=University of Durham; Durham e-Thesis|year=1992|author=Fahd Abdul Rahmn Hamad Al-Thani|page=325}}
Geography
Administration
When free elections of the Central Municipal Council first took place in Qatar during 1999,{{cite web|url=https://www.gco.gov.qa/en/about-qatar/municipal-council/|title=Central Municipal Council|publisher=Government Communications Office of Qatar|accessdate=14 August 2018}} Al Jasrah was designated the constituency seat of constituency no. 1.{{cite web|url=http://www.cmc.org.qa/ar/node/16|title=إنتخابات الدورة الأولى|publisher=Central Municipal Council|language=Arabic|accessdate=14 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814103538/http://www.cmc.org.qa/ar/node/16|archive-date=14 August 2018|url-status=dead}} It would remain constituency seat in the next three consecutive elections until the fifth municipal elections in 2015.{{cite web|url=https://www.moi.gov.qa/Elections/CirclesLocations.htm|title=مقـار الدوائـر|publisher=Ministry of Interior (Qatar)|language=Arabic|accessdate=14 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814103236/https://www.moi.gov.qa/Elections/CirclesLocations.htm|archive-date=14 August 2018|url-status=dead}} In the inaugural municipal elections in 1999, Nasser Mohsen Mohammed Bokshisha won the elections, receiving 46.4%, or 356 votes. Mohammed Abdel Aziz Mourad was elected in the 2002 elections.{{cite web|url=http://www.cmc.org.qa/ar/node/188|title=الدورة الثانية|publisher=Central Municipal Council|language=Arabic|accessdate=14 August 2018|archive-date=14 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814103313/http://www.cmc.org.qa/ar/node/188|url-status=dead}} For the third municipal elections in 2007, Tarek Saif Al-Malki was elected constituency representative.{{cite web|url=http://www.cmc.org.qa/ar/node/192|title=إنتخابات الدورة الثالثة|publisher=Central Municipal Council|language=Arabic|accessdate=14 August 2018|archive-date=14 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814103649/http://www.cmc.org.qa/ar/node/192|url-status=dead}} Al-Malki successfully retained his seat in the 2011 elections.{{cite web|url=http://www.cmc.org.qa/ar/node/193|title=رابعاً: إنتخابات الدورة الرابعة كشف بأسماء السادة المرشحين الفائزين في عضوية انتخابات المجلس البلدي المركزي (الدورة الرابعة - 2011م)|publisher=Central Municipal Council|language=Arabic|accessdate=14 August 2018|archive-date=8 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190908043642/http://www.cmc.org.qa/ar/node/193|url-status=dead}}
Historic landmarks
=Nasser Al-Obaidan House=
A house of the Al-Obaidan family that is located in the district is considered to be a local landmark. Constructed in the early-to-mid 20th century, the house is rectangular and measures 42 m by 31 m. It consists of two main structures which enclose a courtyard; one is shaped as an 'L' whereas the other runs parallel. The 'L' structure contains four rooms while the other structure accommodates seven rooms. There are some decorative features present, such as the shape of the roof parapet above the courtyard.{{cite book|last1=Jaidah|first1=Ibrahim|last2=Bourennane|first2=Malika|title=The History of Qatari Architecture 1800-1950|publisher=Skira|year=2010|page=108|isbn=978-8861307933}}
=Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah House=
A house belonging to a member of the ruling family, the building was constructed in 1930 and is noted for its lavish decorations. It consists of a two-storey structure which encloses a courtyard.{{cite book|last1=Jaidah|first1=Ibrahim|last2=Bourennane|first2=Malika|title=The History of Qatari Architecture 1800-1950|publisher=Skira|year=2010|page=185|isbn=978-8861307933}}
Transport
Major roads that run through the district are Grand Hamad Street, Abdullah Bin Jassim Street, Jassim Bin Mohammed Street, and Corniche Street.{{cite web|url=https://psaqatar.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?appid=aae83dba20634eb7953cb78ebe0540e2|website=ArcGIS.com|title=Index map of Qatar|accessdate=25 August 2019}}
Demographics
File:Aerial view of downtown Doha and Doha Corniche (Al Koot Fort).jpg in Al Jasrah and the Qatar National Archives building in Mushayrib.]]
As of the 2010 census, the district comprised 13 housing units{{cite web|url=http://www.qsa.gov.qa/QatarCensus/Housing%20units/PDF/9_25_B.pdf|title=Housing units, by type of unit and zone (April 2010)|publisher=Qatar Statistics Authority|accessdate=7 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708032221/http://www.qsa.gov.qa/QatarCensus/Housing%20units/PDF/9_25_B.pdf|archive-date=8 July 2015|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} and 883 establishments.{{cite web|url=http://www.qsa.gov.qa/QatarCensus/Establishments/PDF/10.02.pdf|title=Establishments by status of establishment and zone (April 2010)|publisher=Qatar Statistics Authority|accessdate=7 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708050951/http://www.qsa.gov.qa/QatarCensus/Establishments/PDF/10.02.pdf|archive-date=8 July 2015|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} There were 240 people living in the district, of which 99% were male and 1% were female. Out of the 240 inhabitants, 97% were 20 years of age or older and 3% were under the age of 20. The literacy rate stood at 99.2%.{{cite web|url=http://gsa.qsa.gov.qa/gsa/GSA.html|title=Geo Statistics Application|publisher=Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics|accessdate=7 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120911175559/http://gsa.qsa.gov.qa/GSA/GSA.html|archive-date=2012-09-11|url-status=dead}}
Employed persons made up 98% of the population. Females accounted for 0% of the working population, while males accounted for 100% of the working population.