Well, I’ve talked about the UAE, & it’s exotic sights, a little before, but I thought I’d revisit the subject, if only to point out this page I found about Abu Dhabi, which highlights some of the Emirate’s “must see” attractions.
I’m a big fan of military history, so I was immediately drawn to the description of the Al Jahili Fort. Although it’s not a site I got to see when I was out in the UAE myself, I did see a number of old forts & coastal towers while I was out there & remember being impressed by the distinctive architecture.
The impressive four tiered tower at the Al Jahili Fort in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Al Jahili is from the same mould, although the fort’s main walls, with their round towers, are pretty standard, functional looking, defences, the fort’s main tower, with it’s four tiers, really is eye catching, and is a clue that Al Jahili was more than just a defensive fortification. Indeed, it was actually built as a summer residence for Sheikh Zayed the First at the end of the 19th century, but, like so many castles through the ages, also served as an obvious reminder to all who saw it of the owner’s power and wealth.
Today the Fort also hosts a museum which provides information about the locality’s history, as well as an exhibition about Wilfred Thesiger; A British explorer and writer who spent a great deal of time in the Arabian penisula, and North Africa, and who crossed the “Empty Quarter”, a desert region so hostile and desolate that even the local bedouins avoid it, not once, as Lawrence of Arabia famously did when he led a surprise attack on the Red Sea port of Al Aqaba during the second world war, but twice. The exhibition includes an extensive collection of Thesiger’s photographs which provide a glimpse of what the region looked like during the mid 20th century, before the oil days.
Tags: Travel