Qal'at al Bahrain

Last weekend we broke away from Riyadh for a fun time in beautiful Bahrain. Our favorite part of the trip was a visit to a 16th century Portuguese fort (Qal'at al-Bahrain). Actually, the fort is layered on centuries of civilizations, starting as the capital of a Dilmun civilization, (mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh). Archeologists love it because it is a classic example of a tell, a mound showing layers of development over time. Archeologists have identified at least seven civilizations including Sumerian, Greek, Portuguese, and Arabic. 

The fort shows three distinct phases of development. The last and most apparent developments were added in the 16th century to protect the Portuguese from possible future attacks from the Ottoman Turks. The Turks attacked just before the additions were made and were forced back across the land.

The fort was originally developed to protect settlers from attacks from the sea. However, over time the bay became too shallow for large vessels to enter so additions were added to protect from land attacks. The fort includes rooms for canons, a large courtyard, a moat (never filled with water), and a couple of madbasa (rooms for the development of date syrup).

Most fascinating for the kids and me was the strategic trading location of the fort, as we have just begun reading stories of the Age of Exploration starting in the 15th century. Dates and pearls would have been important goods from the region. 

The Persian Gulf is gorgeous. I don't know if you can see how many shades of blue are present in the photographs, but I counted at least five. 

The day was incredibly hot. While we are currently in Ramadan, there are not the strict rules in Bahrain that there are in Saudi. We were able to drink and douse ourselves with water along the way.