March 2015
Counterpoint
Arad Fort is one of Bahrain's most important fortified castles. The Fort was built in the style of Islamic forts at the end of the 15th and early 16th centuries. It is recorded in the Portuguese map, Demonstracao da Ilha de Baren, circa 1635, the significant details being, that the fort is under siege by the Portuguese, and that it had outer and inner fortified walls. Due to its strategic location overlooking various sea passages of Muharraq Island, Arad Fort was used as a defensive fortress throughout history, from the time Bahrain was occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century to the reign of Shaikh Salman Bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa in the 19th century. Arad Fort was most recently restored between 1984 and 1987, under the direction of the Historic Buildings and Conservation Architect, Dr Archie Walls. In order to maintain the historical authenticity and value of Arad Fort, exclusively traditional materials were used, such as coral stone, lime and tree trunks. It is believed that the fort was built and used by the Omanis during their brief occupation of Bahrain in 1800, and it is located adjacent to the strategic waterways between Bahrain Island and Muharraq Island The canon found on top of the Fort's South Bastion pointed directly down the narrow entrance channel, formed by reefs on either side of it, that leads into Muharram Bay. Little is known of the fort's history, and there is no firm evidence of the precise date of construction, but comprehensive excavations have been undertaken in order to discover its past.
(Wikipedia)
On my trip to Bahrain, my Saudi friend AM had driven over from Jubail, just north of Dammam to spend part of the weekend with me. After hearing how much I liked Bahrain Fort [see: Qal'at al-Bahrain], he was keen to show me another fort he knew about in town, Fort Arad. Bahrain Fort had been built by the Portuguese, but Arad Fort was built by the Bahrainis (or the Omanis or maybe others - its history seemingly lost to time), so it was "local". The fort had been beautifully restored, but we didn't enter. I am not sure if it happened to be closed or we just opted not to. We had the square in front of the fort to ourselves and I was happy to be in such a beautiful historic space virtually alone (as I had been at Bahrain Fort). Everyone, it seems, came to Bahrain to drink and few people cared about its history. Quite the shame considering how important and strategic the island-nation was historically with roots dating back to the golden age of Mesopotamia.
Once again, I was overjoyed that the Bahrainis were being up front with their history and trying to preserve it. The restoration used only original materials in order to preserve the nature of the fort - that impressed me a lot. Clearly, they were proud of the place and rightfully so. Until the arrival of the Portuguese, Arad Fort had repelled sea invaders for centuries. We wandered a little more and then pushed on with our discovery of the island. How was Bahrain not as famous as Dubai? It had an older history and was just as liberal for outside visitors? Even if my time there was just a glorified blow-through, I enjoyed each and every part of it (except that Bahrain was not easily walkable and terribly expensive).
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