Beaches

So before summer really got into full swing, with its 45+ degree temperatures, I wanted to go to the beach. I had not been to a beach in Qatar since maybe October 2009 and I figured I should since for the rest of the summer I'll be indoors or sitting in the shade by a pool. There was a beach reasonably close to where my Turkish friend lived that I had never been to, called Wakra beach. He had never been there either so we figured what the heck let's go there in the morning when it is not too hot and check it out.

Here it is:




It's actually more of a tidal flat so the water was really shallow. You can maybe even see that car out on a little "island" in the distance, though the water surrounding it was probably little more than a foot and a half deep. The sand around us was still wet from the outgoing tide so we put our gear on a cinderblock and started heading into the water. Qatar is generally so flat you can go out a long way, I think we walked about 150 m before we got into water that was even waist deep. Walking over 100 m in knee-deep water gets pretty tiring.

What was strange is that in most parts the water was quite warm but then suddenly you would enter another area and the water would cool considerably, probably by 6 or 7°. It was a really sudden transition so both my friend and I were quite surprised when we hit the cool zone. But then go another 20 m and the water was warm again. The cold water was more refreshing so we stayed in that.

Why was there this area of cold water? I have my suspicions ...






Nope, I have no idea what that is in the background. I don't think I want to know. Ignorance truly is bliss sometimes.

Overall I found the beach experience fairly unrewarding and after a swim and having a quick bite on the towel we took off back to his place.

I will note that Wakra is building a marketplace that is nearby very similar to Souq Waqif (the old souq) in Doha, but right by the shore. It will probably be ready in about a year and I think it'll be very nice when it's done.

Back to the beach. I think I was a little underwhelmed by the whole experience because not a month back I was here ...


[ATTENTION GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCHERS -- THIS IS NOT A PICTURE OF A QATAR BEACH!] (it seems like anyone using GIS for "qatar beaches" gets this photo. No idea why.)

No comparison. Bermuda does spoil you for beaches. I have traveled a lot and so far the beaches in Bermuda have been the best in the world that I have experienced. Hands down.