Qatar has been making major headlines over the past few days.
The small Emirate nation has made waves for its offer of a private jet to U.S. President Donald Trump.
However, Qatar has – in actual fact – made this grand gesture to a different country before.
And its previous offer to Türkiye was even more immense than the plane offered to America.
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Like many nations in the Middle East, Qatar has a long and storied history.
With origins tracing back to Roman times, Qatar’s ruling Al Thani family submitted to Ottoman rule in 1871.
In 1916, the state became a British protectorate, eventually gaining full independence in 1971.
From the early 2000s, the economy of Qatar has seen an enormous boom in growth.
This is mostly due to the exploitation of natural gas found in Qatar’s North Field in the 1990s.
Qatar currently has the third-largest natural gas and oil reserves on the planet.
As of the last few years, the Emirate has the fourth-highest GDP per capita in the world.
It also has the third-highest HDI anywhere in the Arab world.
As we mentioned at the top of this story, the ruler of Qatar has made waves recently.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is the current Emir of Qatar.
Over the last couple of days, Al Thani made headline news by offering US President Donald Trump a private jet.
However, Al Thani previously gifted a much more lavish private jet to the President of Turkey.
Back in 2018, Sheikh Al Thani gifted a Boeing 747-8i to President Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan was heavily criticised, but he defended the transaction, claiming it was a gift to the state.
The 747-8i gifted to Erdogan is absolutely incredible, and is valued at over $500 million.
This aircraft – registered as VQ-BSK – was delivered with just 436 flight hours 200 cycles.
It was, essentially, a brand new aircraft by aviation standards.
This 747-8i includes multiple lounges, bedrooms and a medical bay.
If that wasn’t enough, it also includes room for 76 passengers and 18 cabin crew.
To most of us, a bottle of wine is a nice gift to bring somebody.
Clearly, there are serious levels to the game of gift giving – and nothing says that like a $500 million aircraft.
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