Arad Fort

Arad Fort stands on the shore of Muharraq island, a square building with round towers at the corners built in the typical Arab style of the fifteenth century, used by the Portuguese and later the Omanis and restored in the 1980s using coral stone, lime and palm trunks in the original manner. It is floodlit at night and sits directly under the approach to Bahrain International Airport. The moat around the walls was part of the original design and has been cleared as part of the restoration work.

Background

The fort once guarded an island of its own, and land reclamation has since tied it and its surroundings to Muharraq Island. It is built in the manner of Islamic forts of the late 15th and early 16th centuries, and a Portuguese map of circa 1635, Demonstracao da Ilha de Baren, shows it with outer and inner walls. A small trench surrounds it, once filled from wells sunk for that purpose, and each corner of the upper wall has nose-shaped openings. The latest restoration ran from 1984 to 1987 under the conservation architect Dr Archie Walls. Its construction follows a layered technique, rooted in mud brick building, that Walls identified in the mid-1970s, and the repairs used no cement.

Source: Wikipedia, "Arad Fort"

What to look for

• The corner towers - round bastions at the angles of the square plan.
• The traditional materials - coral stone, lime and palm trunks used in restoration.
• The floodlighting - the fort lit through the evening.
• The airport approach - aircraft passing low directly overhead.

When to go

November to March is the comfortable season. Evenings are when the floodlighting works. The fort keeps set hours and closes on some days.

What to expect

The restoration is extensive and much of what stands is rebuilt. The interior is largely empty with little interpretation. Aircraft noise is constant.

Nearby

Muharraq is west, and Bu Maher Fort is southwest.

Key facts