KATARA VILLAGE

The Katara project. It was born from an idea: to create a cultural and entertaining village, open to all the arts. To baptize such a space, it needed a name that sounded good. The term "Catara" appeared in Ptolemy's writings in the 2nd century AD, and became Katara among French cartographers. Adopted! Katara, subtitled "the valley of cultures", even if it is a very flat surface. The people who thought up this project had travelled around the world ten times in a First and brought back the idea that a seaside with restaurants and a few cultural highlights was a good way to accelerate the development of tourism and the leisure industry. The power of art, enzymatic factor of transubstantiation of gas-oil in social and cultural intelligence, at the origin of this "purple economy". But here cultural curiosity is lived in ultra-dry fashion and long sleeves for the ladies. The result is a rather large place, articulated around a waterfront and the beach, alive only in the evening and on weekends, the Katara village with its small streets that look like pasteboard decor, and a luxury shopping mall, the Katara Plaza, where the subway is located. Free golf carts take us from one end to the other.

The waterfront and the beach. For the moment it is very hot on this waterfront, which is as flat as a Languedoc beach, bordered by a Mussolini-sized theater and paved with an equally oversized promenade. The public beach is equipped with the latest inflatables and gliders, deck chairs, straw huts, shisha bars, etc. You have to come to Katara on weekends, because during the week it is deserted during the day. The burkini or clothes are required on the beach, no sunbathing here! It is really a "leisure park" very family.

Bars and restaurants. A little bit behind the promenade, you can find the terraces of restaurants, like the famous Lwzaar fish market, where they weigh in front of you the poor shellfish before boiling them. We then come across the great amphitheater on one side and a huge staircase lit up by light at night leading to the Boho Social restaurant at the top.

The cultural village. We get lost in the residential streets where there are a few shops, pleasant shade, art galleries, like the Cultural Village Foundation Katara which has two modest rooms. In reality, there are few people here, it is even deserted during the day. Do not miss the mosque (Masjid de Katara) and the golden mosque.

Al Thuraya Planetarium. In the heart of the village of Katara, this planetarium offers free documentary films in 3D or 4D very educational on astronomy, the universe, but also sessions for children, all in Arabic with English subtitles. The sessions are free, with reservation. A small museum at the entrance immerses the visitor in the cosmic atmosphere.

The Katara Plaza, in the style of a monumental antique and neoclassical French-Italian folly, opened just next to the Katara Village. It houses, among others, the 3-story Galeries Lafayette, whose letters are displayed under the building's huge copper dome. Spanning 38,000^{square meters}, it is centered on a wide street, 21 High-Street, has nearly 40 stores that will open during 2022, including many luxury brands. It also houses an Evian spa, the other Frenchie installed here. It is located next to the future Film Institute, still under construction.