Rawdat Rashed

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Rawdat Rashed is a village in central Qatar, in the Al-Shahaniya municipality. It covers about 32.2 square kilometers and sits roughly 45 kilometers from Doha. The area was marked as a separate place in 1988 and has become less populated over time as people moved to Doha. The land is very dry and was once reached mainly by unpaved desert roads.

The name Rawdat Rashed comes from Arabic terms: rawda means a natural depression where rainwater collects, and Rashed honors a man who died there.

Nearby attractions include the Dahl Al Misfir cave to the south. It reaches about 40 meters deep and glows faintly because of its gypsum crystals. The cave is fenced but open to visitors.

Close to Rawdat Rashed is Rawdat Al Ghafat, known for a small stand of ghaf trees. Conservation work began in 2018, with planting of ghaf and other native trees like samar and salam. A 2020 afforestation effort added more young trees as part of a national land rehabilitation project. The area is protected to prevent grazing and protect the trees.

The region has one of Qatar’s largest fresh groundwater resources in the south. There is a government wellfield here, and it has served industrial needs in the past. Rawdat Rashed is one of five sites for a national reservoir project that will create very large reservoirs across the country. When finished, the system could stretch about 650 kilometers in total, cost around QR 14.5 billion, and help Doha’s water supply during power outages elsewhere. The first phase was completed in June 2018.

Rawdat Rashed hosts a major landfill for construction and demolition waste. Since 2020, recycling efforts have grown, producing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of recycled materials and handling tens of thousands of discarded tires. By 2024, recycling had expanded significantly.

Rawdat Rashed Road runs 33 kilometers from the village to Dukhan Highway, linking Dukhan and Doha. It’s known locally as the “road of death” because of many fatal crashes. Redevelopment began in 2015 to connect the road with Salwa Road.

The Old Mosque, built in 1948, is notable for its tall minaret and spacious interior. The minaret stands about 13 meters tall, with a square base and a cylindrical shaft topped by a cupola. The mosque features large iwan entrances and a courtyard with a simple design, including a distinctive qibla wall.