Its also has an international port & business hub now, probably due to the fact that it was one of the first Arab states predicted to run out of oil.
Although the whole place is run like a farce - a friend of mine told me that the ruler couldnt decide whether to have a school holiday on one particular day, so he put it up on facebook for a vote
Needless to say the vote won, kids got an extra day holiday, and parents were left having to reorganise their work holiday schedules.