Al Zubara Fort

Fort in the northern area of Al Zubara

From Marhaba Magazine, "At the very tip of the Qatari peninsula, the now rather desolate area of Al Zubara was the site of successive communities and was once a thriving and prosperous settlement - the focus of the region's trade. Between 1775 and 1780, an attack by the Persians on Basra, coupled with an outbreak of the Plague, forced many merchant families to flee the southern Iraqi city, with many settling at the walled city of Al Zubara. At its prime, it is estimated that some 5,000 to 6,000 inhabitants lived there, earning their living by fishing, pearl harvesting and merchant trading. The fortess city was destroyed in a siege in September 1878."