Salalah in winter - Hafa beach

There are many beautiful beaches in and around of Salalah but Hafa beach became our favorite. It is not difficult to understand why when looking at the tall, leaning palm trees, the white sand the blue water. It is a public beach, which means that not many are actually bathing and women should cover up - in short, it is mainly for the eyes. It also has history - Hafa village used to have its waterfront here, behind the beach. Now the area is fenced off, the buildings are abandoned and half demolished - a really sad sight. Based on what I could find on the internet, they started to demolish the buildings in 2015 in order to create space for a new development. There are big signs, but no details on them so not sure what kind of development. The old houses even in their despair look stunning - so much character and beauty. The question comes naturally: why not preserve the old and create a lively and cozy souq with  restaurants etc. instead of building something new and soulless? Guess this remains a theoretical question, and at least as of now we can still admire the remains of the past behind Hafa beach.