Jumeirah - a beach that was (?)

Does anyone know what's going on at Jumeirah Beach? Where previously white sands led the way down to the sea, now ALL of the stretch from Jumeirah 1 to Jumeirah 3 has been cut off from public, and villas are being constructed on it.
has anyone been there recently? what's this about? is this the only solution to the acute housing shortage in Dubai (building sea-front villas that will sell for over AED 30M each)?
i want my beaches back! last year, any turn you took towards the sea (on beach road) led you right to the sands, and you could drive next to the sea. this is so disappointing. were these developments ever announced?

Beach development is still happening...

I've been posting on my blog for a while about the beach development next to Burj Al Arab - the fence going up, then the press announcement of the development, then Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid's order for construction to stop.

I've also talked about the mysterious offshore work that didn't stop, as has NZM at M&J Adventures. She has some good photos of the work boats in action.

Yesterday morning an island had appeared out of the sea - this morning I took these photos from the sea wall around Umm Suqeim Fishing Port.

The fence has gone from around the beach sure enough, but the Boskalis dredging company's semi-permanent construction site offices are in place adjacent to the port, the dredgers are working and there is now an island which wasn't there three days ago.

I can't imagine that Sheikh Mohammed's order would not be obeyed, so what's going on?

Life's a beach.

We have some fabulous beaches in Dubai, huge stretches of soft white sand with warm turquoise water to swim in. They're part of life in Dubai for many people, especially at the weekend when friends meet there to relax after their hard working week.

We now have some iconic buildings on the beach too, which tourists love to photograph.

Today I took my camera when I went for a stroll along the most famous stretch of beach so that I could share some photographs of our beach culture with you.

First, the view of the beach from Umm Suqeim Park:



Then Burj Al Arab, the building that the tourist buses head to every morning so that the excited tourists can have their photo taken with our symbol of Dubai in the background:



And its sister hotel, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, photographed from the lifeguard tower at the end of the beach:



Looks fantastic doesn't it.

Beach update - it couldn't be worse.

I wrote on my blog yesterday about the mysterious construction fence which was being built along Jumeirah Beach (which Samuraisam kindly linked to this blog - below).







My worst fears about it have been confirmed.

Just read what the press release in the papers today says:

Zabeel Investments has begun work on a new 4.5 million square foot coastal development on Jumeirah Beach in Umm Suqueim.

"The unique mixed-use development will comprise residential, commercial and hospitality facilities reflecting a beachfront lifestyle."

We have appointed a renowned master planner and architect who is putting together final touches to plans that will be one of the best that Dubai has seen."

The development will add to the existing beachside environment, which is synonymous with new developments in the UAE.

"The new project will further extend Dubai's coastline and provide additional opportunities for the beachfront lifestyle."

So there we have it. The standard press release phrases, and as usual not quite telling it like it is. This is not 'adding to the existing beachside environment' but taking it away.


Development gone mad. Taking away one of Dubai's major tourism assets, depriving residents of one of our major relaxation areas.


The press release is in Gulf News here.

The beach is gone

Is the last 'free' part of the beach near the Burj Al Arab disappearing?
Read about it at Seabee's blog over here