Jesus Backside Beach or Dolok Oan Beach ( pt, Praia dos Portugueses, tet, Dolok Oan) is a public beach located in the ''

suco The administrative posts (former subdistricts) of East Timor are subdivided into 442 ''sucos'' ("villages") and 2,336 ''aldeias'' ("communities").http://www.unmiset.org/legal/RDTL-Law/RDTL-Minist-Orders/Decree-Order-2003-6.pdf List of sucos by ...

'' of Hera, a short distance north east of

Dili Dili (Portuguese/Tetum: ''Díli'') is the capital, largest city of East Timor and the second largest city in Timor islands after Kupang (Indonesia). It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed in ...

, East Timor. The beach forms part of the south shore of

Wetar Strait Wetar Strait ( id, Selat Wetar, pt, Estreito de Wetar, tet, Estreitu Wetar) is an international strait in Southeast Asia. It separates the island of Wetar from the eastern part of the island of Timor. The strait is also the eastern portion o ...

, immediately to the east of

Cape Fatucama Cape Fatucama ( pt, Cabo Fatucama, tet, Capa Fatu Cama) is a cape or large headland a short distance north east of Dili, on the north coast of East Timor. It is best known as the site of the '' Cristo Rei of Dili'', a colossal statue of Jesus ...

Etymology

The beach's "precise but utterly uncharming" most commonly used English language name, Jesus Backside Beach, alludes to the colossal ''

Cristo Rei of Dili The ''Cristo Rei of Dili'' (Christ the King of Dili) statue ( pt, Estátua do Cristo Rei de Díli, tet, Estátua Cristo Rei Dili) is a colossal statue of Jesus Christ situated atop a globe at Cape Fatucama in Dili, East Timor. It is one of ...

'' statue located immediately to its west. As the statue faces in a westerly direction, it presents its rear or back side to the beach. In Portuguese, the beach is often referred to as (), which is an allusion to its popularity with National Republican Guard (GNR) troops when they are stationed in East Timor. In Tetum, and sometimes also in English or Portuguese, the beach is referred to as , which is a combination of the Tetum words for wet ground () and a child ().

Geography

Jesus Backside Beach is composed of white sand and is almost long. It is situated immediately to the east of

, which is at the north eastern end of the

Bay of Dili The Bay of Dili ( pt, Baía de Díli, tet, Baía Dili) is a bay on the north coast of East Timor adjacent to Dili, its capital city. The bay forms part of Ombai Strait, which separates the Alor Archipelago from the islands of Wetar, Atauro, a ...

, about from the centre of

, capital city of East Timor. The beach faces Wetar Strait, which passes between the north eastern shore of Timor and the Indonesian island of

Wetar Wetar is a tropical island which belongs to the Indonesian province of Maluku and is the largest island of the Maluku Barat Daya Islands (literally ''Southwest Islands'') of the Maluku Islands. It lies east of the Lesser Sunda Islands, which in ...

to its north. On the beach's land side, it is surrounded by steep low hills overlaid with ''

Eucalyptus alba ''Eucalyptus alba'', commonly known as white gum, khaki gum or poplar gum, is a species of tree that is native to Australia, Timor, and New Guinea. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowe ...

'' savanna woodland, in which small stands of

tropical dry forest The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

are developing. The beach and woodland are both part of the

Areia Branca no Dolok Oan Areia Branca no Dolok Oan is a Important Bird Area (IBA) in East Timor, a country occupying the eastern end of the island of Timor at the eastern end of the Lesser Sunda Islands group of Wallacea. Description The IBA lies just east of the capita ...

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

. At the peak of Cape Fatucama is the ''Cristo Rei of Dili'' statue, which is accessible from the car park at nearby

Cristo Rei Beach Cristo Rei Beach ( pt, Praia de Cristo Rei, tet, Tasi-ibun Cristo Rei) is a public beach facing the Bay of Dili in the '' suco'' of , East Timor. Etymology The beach takes its name from the colossal '' Cristo Rei of Dili'' statue immediately ...

, just inside the Bay of Dili on the other side of the Cape, via a 570-step concrete staircase. The beach is popular with both locals and tourists. Pedestrian access is provided by a combination of the main staircase to ''Cristo Rei of Dili'' and a second concrete staircase descending from about one third of the way up the main staircase. There is also vehicle access, via a rough road that enters the area from the east. The waves at the beach are stronger than those at the more sheltered Cristo Rei Beach, and some parts of it are fringed by rocky reefs. Good snorkeling is available directly from the shore. Despite the barriers to access, the beach is popular with local residents and tourists on Sundays and holidays, and occasionally also attracts people on company sponsored outings or taking diving lessons.

Facilities

Other than the car park at Cristo Rei Beach, the staircases providing access for pedestrians, and the rough road that gives access to vehicles, the beach is an unspoiled coastline with no facilities. There are no shelters other than the trees, no toilets, no snack shops and no lifeguard station; nothing is available for rent, and there are no hawkers offering food or any other items. Visitors to the beach have been observed responding to its lack of facilities by bringing their own equipment, such as beach mats and even whole dining sets including

table Table may refer to: * Table (furniture), a piece of furniture with a flat surface and one or more legs * Table (landform), a flat area of land * Table (information), a data arrangement with rows and columns * Table (database), how the table data ...

s and

chairs A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

. Some of them also set up and use

barbecue pit In the United States, barbecue refers to a technique of cooking meat outdoors over a fire; often this is called pit barbecue, and the facility for cooking it is the barbecue pit. This form of cooking adds a distinctive smoky taste to the meat; ...

s to cook their own food.

References

External links

{{authority control Beaches of East Timor Dili Municipality

Etymology

Geography

Facilities

See also

References

External links