Simaisma

Simaisma sits on Qatar's eastern coast between Doha and Al Khor, a village with a small harbour, a long shallow beach and a set of old rainwater wells inland that gave the settlement its reason to exist. The water offshore is very shallow for a long way out, which makes it safe for wading and useless for swimming properly. Fishing boats work off the harbour; the beach was used at weekends until May 2025, when it was announced that it would be closed for about five years for a tourism development, so check before going for a swim.

History

Two circular burial mounds of the 5th century BC, the earliest found in Qatar, were excavated here, and in 1768 the town gave its name to a battle between Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa of Zubarah and the Al Musallam of Freiha. Lorimer's Gazetteer described it in 1908 as a walled village of about 250 families of the Al Bu Kuwarah with 50 pearl boats, and its mosque of 1938 is one of the oldest surviving in Qatar (Wikipedia, Simaisma).

The landscape

• The shallow beach - water staying shallow a long way out from the shore.
• The harbour - the small working anchorage for the village boats.
• The old wells - the rainwater sources the settlement grew around.
• The quiet - a stretch of coast with almost nothing developed on it.

When to go

November to March is the comfortable season. Weekends bring local families. Summer heat and humidity make the coast unpleasant.

Good to know

The water is too shallow for real swimming for a long way out. Facilities are minimal and litter on the beach is a problem. There is little to do beyond sitting.

Nearby

Al Khor is north, and Doha is south.

Key facts