Overview
Half Moon Bay is a tourist beach in the city of Dhahran in the Eastern Province, extending along the coast of the Arabian Gulf, and it is one of the prominent tourist landmarks of the Eastern Province.[1][2]
The beach extends for 18 kilometres across five entrances — Pearl, Coral, Oyster, Seashell and Waves — and canopies, green areas, pitches, car parks and investment sites are distributed across its sections.[3][4] Since 1419 AH, successive development works have covered its entrances, beaches and facilities, accompanied by tourism and sports events, followed by rehabilitation and investment projects announced in later years.[4][6][10]
Location and name
It lies within the city of Dhahran, one of the cities of the Eastern Province overlooking the coast of the Arabian Gulf.[1] It was long known as Half Moon, a name still in circulation today, while its present name, Half Moon Bay, comes from the crescent curve of its geography.[2]
The shores of the Eastern Province extend along the Arabian Gulf for about 700 kilometres, the longest in the Gulf region.[2]
Entrances and facilities
Five entrances have been allocated to the beach — Pearl, Coral, Oyster, Seashell and Waves — across which its facilities and services are distributed.[3] The equipment comprises more than 650 canopies, green areas, children's play areas, car parks, restrooms, five squares containing multi-use pitches, more than 450 seats along the beach, and a number of investment sites.[3]
The Waves beach is 2,900 metres long and contains 178 canopies distributed over 20 groups, five restrooms, two squares for municipal activities, six youth pitches, four prayer rooms, green areas covering 43,000 square metres and 1,151 parking spaces. The beach's total number of canopies is 600, its municipal squares number five, its seats 452, its children's play groups 14, its multi-purpose pitches 14, and its investment sites seven.[4]
The Coral beach is 800 metres long and contains 50 canopies distributed over five groups, two restrooms, a prayer room, green areas covering 23,000 square metres, a municipal square containing multi-purpose pitches, and 215 parking spaces.[4]
Development and roads
The Dhahran Municipality began developing all the beach's entrances in 1419 AH, and the total cost of the works reached 52,193,140 riyals.[4] In October 2017, the beach's road and bridge, intersecting with Al-Aziziyah Road in the city of Khobar, were opened at a length of 3 kilometres with four lanes in each direction, as part of the project completing the beach link at the Al-Aziziyah Road junction.[5]
In 2018 a proposal was put forward to include the beach's development project and maintenance contracts in the 1440/1441 AH budget, with the aim of securing Blue Flag certification for the beaches within a year, offering complementary investment opportunities and forming a committee to manage the beach drawn from representatives of the municipality, the municipal council, the Border Guard, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, the Saudi Wildlife Authority and other competent bodies.[9]
The Dhahran Municipality carried out a joint campaign on tourist resorts in January 2024 to verify compliance with municipal and health requirements, which recorded 17 violations, while another campaign at the beach's sites removed 46 sites of sheds and enclosures as part of efforts to improve the urban landscape and address visual pollution, and the municipality continues its campaigns to raise the level of compliance.[11]
Events and activities
In April 2008 the Half Moon Bay Festival opened and ran for four days, under the supervision of the Supreme Commission for Tourism, represented by the Eastern Province Tourism Development Council, and it included sports, entertainment and cultural activities.[6] In April 2009 the beach hosted the Kingdom's Beach Football Championship, which contributed to increasing tourist flows to the Eastern Province and diversifying its tourism activity, and strengthened the beach's standing as an attractive tourist destination.[7]
Marine environment
Artificial coral reefs were deployed at the beach in May 2017, with the participation of volunteer divers and in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, in support of the marine environment along the shores of the Arabian Gulf and contributing to strengthening the coral reefs there.[8]
The Water Museum
In August 2019 the beach hosted the first water museum featuring the landmarks of the Gulf at regional level; His Royal Highness Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Eastern Province, praised the idea and called for its development, noting that diving is an old profession practised by the people of the Eastern Province and the coast of the Arabian Gulf, and that today's generations should preserve it and benefit from its aesthetics.[1]
Rehabilitation and investment
The Eastern Province Municipality began rehabilitation and development works at the Coral beach in April 2023; these cover maintenance of the beach, delivery of service facilities, expansion of the green area and the creation of pedestrian paths and decorative lighting, and are carried out in phases of 900 square metres each over 18 months.[10] The works extended to other beaches, beginning with the Seashell beach, and included removing the concrete canopies and rehabilitating the beaches and restrooms, and creating investment sites and activities for water games and leisure, centres for tourism and entertainment, cafes, restaurants, public squares and open multi-use vistas.[10]
Among the distinctive investment projects in the region, the municipality signed a contract to develop a resort at the beach in partnership with the private sector.[10]
Frequently asked questions
Q: Where is Half Moon Bay located? A: It lies in the city of Dhahran in the Eastern Province, on the coast of the Arabian Gulf.
Q: Why is Half Moon Bay so named? A: It was long known as Half Moon, and its present name derives from the crescent curve of its geography.
Q: How long is the beach and how many entrances does it have? A: It extends for 18 kilometres and has five entrances: Pearl, Coral, Oyster, Seashell and Waves.
Q: What are the most prominent events the beach has hosted? A: The Half Moon Bay Festival in April 2008, and the Kingdom's Beach Football Championship, which concluded in April 2009.
Q: What are the most prominent development works at the beach? A: Development of the entrances since 1419 AH, the opening of the beach road and bridge in October 2017, and the rehabilitation and development of the Coral beach from April 2023, in addition to an investment contract for a resort development.
Related topics
- RegionDhahran CityDhahran City is a city in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Its name is bound up with the story of oil discovery in the Kingdom and with its hosting of the world's largest oil company, and it is home to the headquarters of Saudi Aramco, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals and the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra).
- RegionEastern ProvinceA large eastern Saudi region administered from Dammam, combining Gulf cities, the oases of Al Ahsa and Qatif, desert areas, energy industries and maritime commerce.
- RegionAl KhobarAl Khobar is a coastal city in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, on the shore of the Arabian Gulf, distinguished by its coastal position and a corniche chain that runs along the shore. Its waterfront has seen a succession of development projects, most notably the North Al Khobar Corniche, the Al Khobar Walk, Al Khobar Terrace and the extension of the Al Sadfa Corniche.
- HistoricCoral Reefs of Saudi ArabiaCoral reefs of Saudi Arabia are marine ecosystems that extend along the Kingdom's coasts on the Red Sea, and the Red Sea holds the world's second-longest coral reef system, stretching 2,000 kilometres.[1] The General Organization for the Conservation of Coral Reefs and Sea Turtles in the Red Sea "Shams" is responsible for their protection and sustainability.[2]