Fujairah Fort

File:Fujairah Fort Side View, Fujairah, UAE.jpg

Fujairah Fort ({{Langx|ar|قلعة الفجيرة}}) is a fort in the city of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Dating back to the 16th century, it is among the oldest as well as the largest castles in the country.{{Cite web |title=Fujairah Fort & Heritage Village, Fujairah - Timings, History, Best Time to Visit |url=https://www.trawell.in/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/fujairah-fort-heritage-village |access-date=2024-11-17 |website=Trawell.in}}{{Cite web |title=In Photos: Fujairah city view from the Fort – Fujairah Observer |url=https://www.fujairahobserver.com/2022/08/15/in-photos-fujairah-city-view-from-the-fort/ |access-date=2024-11-17 |website=www.fujairahobserver.com |language=en-US}} Today, it is among the main tourist attractions in the city.[http://www.alkhaleej.ae/mob/detailed/8c37a268-3d08-4f8d-9faa-5247089ac47b/bc67c9a4-6888-4889-bd80-c236ab27bec5 قلاع وحصون الفجيرة صورة من الماضي الجميل]. Al-Khaleej. Retrieved January 13, 2018. It is probably the oldest fort in the UAE and was occupied by the Wahhabists.

Location

The fort is located about 2 km from central modern Fujairah in the old Fujairah region, on a small rocky hill which reaches 20 meters high. It is around 1 km away from the coast.{{cite web| url=https://gulfnews.com/news/uae/fujairah-fort-fact-file-1.1420315 | title=Fujairah Fort Fact File | work=Gulf News | date=30 November 2014 | access-date=28 July 2018 }}{{cite web| url=https://www.uaeeastcoast.com/fujairah-fort.html | title=The Fujairah Fort | publisher=East Coast Tourism | location=UAE | website=www.uaeeastcoast.com | access-date=28 July 2018 }}

Architecture

The fort is part of a complex with several old houses and a mosque. It is guarded by three round watchtowers and a square watchtower. The watchtowers and main building are connected by the walls, and there is a central hall surrounded by these towers and wall. The irregular shape of the castle is due to the uneven surface of the rock it sits on. The building is built of local materials, mostly rocks, gravels, mud, hay and plasters. Radiocarbon dating has identified the date of the construction as around 1500–1550.{{Cite web |date=2021-09-11 |title=Castles and Fortresses in the UAE A Tour in Fujairah Forts – مركز جمال بن حويرب للدراسات |url=https://jbhsc.ae/castles-and-fortresses-in-the-uae-a-tour-in-fujairah-forts/ |access-date=2024-11-17 |language=ar}} It was one of many forts constructed in the area by the Portuguese.{{sfn|Ghazal|2010}} It was then renovated during 1650–1700.

History

Wahhabists occupied multiple forts across the eastern coast of the Arabian Pennusula, including Fujairah Fort, from 1808 to 1810, before being driven out by the locals. The fort was used as a prison up to the 1900s.{{sfn|Ghazal|2010}}

The British Navy destroyed three of the towers in 1925 during an action enforcing British anti-slavery policy.{{sfn|Ghazal|2010}}{{cite book|title=Imperialism and the Dilemma of Slavery in Eastern Arabia and the Gulf, 1873 - 1939|author = Matthew S Hopper|publisher = Itinerario: International Journal on the History of European Expansion and Global Interaction 30, no. 3 (2006): 76-94.}} The bombardment was by HMIS Lawrence.{{Cite book|title=The origins of the United Arab Emirates : a political and social history of the Trucial States|last=Zahlan, Rosemarie Said|isbn=9781317244653|location=London|pages=165|oclc=945874284|date = 2016-03-22}} After this incident the fort was abandoned and neglected until 1997.{{sfn|Ghazal|2010}}

Restoration and Role Today

The fort was restored by the Fujairah Administration of Antiquity and Heritage during 1997/2000 using the same materials with which it was built.[http://nras.gov.ae/ar/content/%D9%82%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A9 قلعة الفجيرة] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906080532/http://nras.gov.ae/ar/content/%D9%82%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A9 |date=2019-09-06 }}. National Registry of Archaeological Sites. Retrieved January 13, 2018.

File:Fujairah Fort a view from inside.jpg|Inside the main courtyard

File:Fujairah Fort Rampart.jpg|One of the watchtowers from the courtyard

File:Fujairah Fort Detail.jpg|Staircase to the roof in one of the watchtowers

References

Works cited

{{Cite news |last=Ghazal |first=Rym |date=10 December 2010 |title=Fujairah Fort opens to public to reveal the pivotal role it played in nation's past |work=The National |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/fujairah-fort-opens-to-public-to-reveal-the-pivotal-role-it-played-in-nation-s-past-1.587509 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250709014546/https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/fujairah-fort-opens-to-public-to-reveal-the-pivotal-role-it-played-in-nation-s-past-1.587509 |archive-date=9 July 2025}}