Al Dafna (Arabic: الدفنة) is a seaside district of the

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

i capital

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

located on the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

. The district is rapidly developing into a

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

, and since the late 1990s dozens of skyscrapers have risen in the district, with over fifty more planned. The district is also home to the

City Center A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms that exist in ...

mall, one of the Middle East's largest malls. The district was created in the mid-1980s following a massive

land reclamation Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...

project along Doha's coastline, and started to develop in the mid-1990s. Currently, Al Dafna is rapidly becoming Doha's new

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

district and, with the massive amount of recent development towards the north of Doha, it is also rapidly becoming the new centre of the city. Housing in the district is mainly up-scale and many foreign consuls reside here.

Etymology

In Arabic, "dafna" roughly means "dredged land", a reference to the fact that the district was built upon reclaimed land.

History

The decision to reclaim the land which would eventually become Al Dafna was first proposed in the 1970s after the government had difficulties in negotiating with land-owning tribes in downtown Doha. Rather than force the tribes to sell their lands, the government decided that the most feasible option was to initiate a massive dredging project along Doha's coastline. This project got underway in 1978 and lasted until 1981. American architectural firm

William Pereira William Leonard Pereira (April 25, 1909 – November 13, 1985) was an American architect from Chicago, Illinois, who was noted for his Futurist architecture#Post-modern futurism, futuristic designs of landmark buildings such as the Transamer ...

& Associates were hired to design the newly reclaimed area. Pereira's master plan was not wholly successful in its execution due to economic strains caused by falling oil prices in the 1980s, however, the 456-room Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel built in 1979 and the Conference and Exhibition Centre inaugurated in 1982 were among his initial successes. It was not until the late 1990s that the government would once again begin developing the district.

Geography

Al Dafna borders the following districts: * Rumeilah to the south, separated by Mohammed Bin Jassim Street. * Wadi Al Sail, Onaiza and Lekhwair to the west, separated by Al Bidda Street. * Al Qassar to the north, separated by Dafna Street. *The

to the east.

Attractions

Al Dafna features some of the most upscale hotels, restaurants and shopping avenues in the country. Additionally, it lies close to

Hamad International Airport Hamad International Airport (, ') is an international airport in Qatar, and the home base of the national flag carrier airline, Qatar Airways. Located east of the capital, Doha, it replaced the nearby Doha International Airport as Qatar's prin ...

. In addition, the Katara Cultural Village is situated in Al Dafna, which harbors theaters, concert halls, exhibition galleries and other facilities for multicultural activities and entertainment. One of its attractions is the Katara Amphitheatre, which is built in an ancient style.

Transport

In the future, the underground Al Dafna Metro Station will serve the area. Construction will be launched during Phase 2B. Once completed, it will be part of

Doha Metro The Doha Metro (, ''Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Mitru ad-Dawha'') is a rapid transit system in the Doha Metropolitan Area of Qatar's capital city Doha, which became operational on 8 May 2019. It has three lines with an approximate overal ...

's Blue Line.

Education

The following schools are located in Al Dafna:

References

{{Neighborhoods in Doha Communities in Doha Populated coastal places in Qatar