FLAG MOTIF · 12
How Many Points? Bahrain and Qatar
A zigzag boundary separates white from colour.
How many white points can you count?
LOOK · TRACE · COUNT
Look closely between the colours
Follow the edge between the white and coloured parts with your eyes. Count each white tip pointing into the coloured part, from top to bottom.
Finished counting? Reveal the answer
STEP 1
Trace the boundary
Bahrain has white and dark red; Qatar has white and maroon. Both boundaries zigzag. Look at the white tips pointing into the coloured part.
STEP 2
Count the white points
Bahrain
5Five white points. The government flag guide describes the current serrated boundary as divided into five sections.
Qatar
9Nine white points. The Amiri Diwan describes nine isosceles triangles between the two colours.
Go back to the flags and count again. Count the white tips, rather than the sloping lines.
STEP 3
Five and nine
These zigzags look alike, but counting reveals a difference. The boundary itself can help you tell flags apart.
STEP 4
What else is different?
The number of points is not the only difference. Compare the colour and how wide each flag looks too. The Qatar flag shown here uses the outdoor proportions specified for use within Qatar.
STEP 5
Learn how to tell them apart
You have observed and counted the boundary. Next, bring the clues together on the Similar Flags page.
STEP 6
Compare the outside shapes too
Qatar also appears in our flag-shapes lesson. Compare the outside edge and width, as well as the boundary inside.
Three things to look for
① What shape is the boundary?
② How many points are there?
③ Do the colours and widths differ too?
Even similar-looking flags reveal differences when you look closely at their boundaries.
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