Lorimer's mentioned Al Gharrafa in 1908 in his Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, referring to it as "Qarāfah".

He stated that it lay "8 miles west of Dohah" and remarked on the presence of a masonry well that is only 3 feet deep yielding good water.

[8] Several of Qatar Foundation's facilities and projects (notably Education City) are located in Al Gharrafa and its surrounding districts.

[6] When free elections of the Central Municipal Council first took place in Qatar during 1999,[13] Al Gharrafa was designated the seat of constituency no.

The football team plays its home games at Thani bin Jassim Stadium.

[22] The plan places an emphasis on developing the intersection of Al Markhiya Street and Doha Expressway as the heart of the Town Centre.

As such, public transport will be oriented towards this area and both Al Markhiya Street and the Doha Expressway will have a higher density of mixed-use buildings.