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.

Archaeological excavations on the 54-hectare site are ongoing but have already uncovered the foundations of the city walls with the bases of 20 watchtowers, many residential dwellings and artifacts, along with evidence of some limited cottage industries.

Al Zubara Fort, slightly inland from the city, was built in 1938 during the reign of Sheikh Abdullah Bin Qassim Al Thani and was used by the military until the mid-1980s. It now houses a regional museum that is open to the public.