The wooden footbridge
Through the mangroves to the island.
Zairon — CC BY 4.0 · Zairon — CC BY 4.0 · Alex Sergeev (www.asergeev.com) — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Zairon — CC BY 4.0 · Alex Sergeev (www.asergeev.com) — CC BY-SA 3.0
Al Khor Island, also called Jazirat Bin Ghannam or Purple Island, is a small, low island about 500 metres across in sheltered Al Khor bay, on Qatar's north-east coast, and one of very few places in Qatar with remains from the second millennium BC. Archaeologists see it as a seasonal stop rather than a settlement. Pottery from Dilmun, the Bahrain-based civilisation, shows visitors around 2000 to 1750 BC. In the late second or early first millennium BC, workers at a dye works linked to Kassite rule over Bahrain crushed an estimated 2.9 million sea snails, probably soaking them in large clay vats, for a red-purple dye, hence the island's popular name. Pearlers camped here around 400 to 600 AD, and Al Khor's fishermen used it in the 18th and 19th centuries. A wooden footbridge runs through the mangroves from the car park to low limestone hillocks, the tallest about 8.5 metres, edged by flat beachrock. The ancient remains, mostly hearths and stone-lined pits, are easy to miss, so visitors come for nature: winter flamingos and herons, crabs and small fish in the shallows, and guided kayaking in the mangrove channels. Facing Al Khor town across the bay, 5 km away as the crow flies, the island is about 15 km from it by road via Al Thakhira and 60 km from Doha, an hour's drive. Allow one to two hours; with no shade, come early, ideally November to February. Al Thakhira's mangroves lie 5.5 km north as the crow flies, the Al Jassasiya rock carvings about 50 km by road.
Through the mangroves to the island.
Flamingos and herons in the cool months.
Guided trips in the shallow channels.
Al Khor bay, between Al Khor and Al Thakhira
After the ancient dye works found here. Its dye was probably used to colour textiles, and some researchers think it may have been made for royal or elite patrons in Mesopotamia.
Yes. Several operators run guided kayak trips in the shallow mangrove channels around the island, some with transport from Doha. Routes depend on the tide, and low tide suits walks along the shore instead, so check the tide times and book ahead.