Mushroom rocks
Limestone shaped by the wind.
Christine und Hagen Graf — CC BY 2.0 · P. Hughes — CC BY 4.0 · Christine und Hagen Graf — CC BY 2.0 · Peter Dowley from Dubai, United Arab Emirates — CC BY 2.0 · Alex Sergeev (www.asergeev.com) — CC BY-SA 3.0
Ras Abrouq, also spelled Ras Brouq and called Bir Zekreet, is the northern tip of the Zekreet Peninsula on Qatar's west coast, a protected landscape of white limestone mesas, wind-cut cliffs and mushroom-shaped rocks. The peninsula lies within UNESCO's Al Reem Biosphere Reserve, recognised in 2007. Film City, a village built in old Arab style, stands about a kilometre south-east. The name is said to come from the pale hills, which shimmer in the sun like barq, Arabic for lightning. Nobody settled for good, but people camped here from prehistoric times: excavations in the 1970s found hearths, flint tools and Mesopotamian Ubaid pottery, and the cape ranks among Qatar's most extensive Neolithic sites. Film City is far younger, a set built for an Arabic television series. Wind has scoured softer rock from beneath harder caps, leaving pillars, mushroom rocks and flat-topped hills that glow at sunset. Film City's traditional-style houses, mosque, towers and palm-ringed fort make an eerie walk, and Ras Abrouq Beach, or Zekreet Beach, draws picnickers and campers. Arabian oryx and gazelles live in the Brouq Nature Reserve, and flamingos frequent Zekreet Bay. The rocks lie about 75 km west-north-west of central Doha in a straight line, at least an hour's drive. Take the Dukhan Highway to exit 72 and Zekreet Road round the village to Richard Serra's East-West/West-East, about 8 km south, and follow a compacted desert track north past Film City. There is no public transport and few facilities beyond Zekreet, so bring water and food; a 4x4 is recommended. Come from November to March.
Limestone shaped by the wind.
An old-style village built for TV.
The white rocks glow.
Northern tip of the Zekreet Peninsula, north of Dukhan
Qatar Tourism says an ordinary car can reach Zekreet Beach, though a 4x4 is more comfortable, and advises a 4x4 for the rock formations. The side tracks are stony and bumpy, and soft sand is best left to experienced drivers.
No. It was built as a set for an Arabic television series and left standing after filming. Some guides call it an abandoned fishing village, but Qatar Tourism and the local press describe a replica built for filming.