Nothing much lies on Qatar’s border with Saudi Arabia. A few sunbaked outposts and miles and miles of vast, empty desert in all directions.

Then, earlier this year, something very different appeared in the middle of this nowhere: A huge, gleaming luxury hotel complex, complete with its own theme park.

The Hilton Salwa Beach Resort & Villas is clearly no ordinary hotel.

Seen from the air it resembles an entire coastal town.
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