I had heard that Al Wakra beach was closed for "renovation", but as we were planning a beach barbeque with some friends I thought I would head down to check it out for myself. I expected the park to be closed, perhaps for some much needed cleaning up and repairing.
The entrance to the park was indeed boarded up - and when we peered through the boards all we could see was water. Proceeding past the former park, we could see that the majority of both the park and the beach had been dug up, with large pools of water being formed, and just a thin strip of being beach being left between the beach and the pools.
This wasn't stopping the inteprid locals from enjoying the sea - although who knows for how much longer! Bird's feet could also be seen in the sand, perhaps looking for the few remains of the mangrove swamps that we reported being uprooted a year ago.
I am not sure what changes are planned for Al Wakra. There have been murmers before about a water development, and there seems to be a Waqif style souq being built. However, with few good public beaches around Doha, and none worth a visit in Doha, I just hope the beach is not replaced with concrete.
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