# Al Zubara: The Lost Port That Opens a Window Into Qatar's Past > The ancient town of Al Zubara reveals the secrets of an 18th and 19th century trading port. Discover what makes these ruins a gateway to Qatar's history. - URL: https://langandtrip.com.ua/en/article/alzubara-yscheznuvshyi-port-vorota-v-proshloe-katara/ - Language: en - Published: 2025-02-18 - Categories: Culture, Historic Sites, Museums, Tours, Qatar, Relaxation --- Just an hour's drive, and a whole world away, from the bright lights of Doha, the sand covered remains of a once thriving port offer a brief but captivating glimpse into life along the Persian Gulf in centuries past. Sitting in the northwest of Qatar, roughly 100 kilometers from the futuristic capital of Doha, the abandoned and ruined town of Al Zubara was a flourishing center of pearl diving and trade in the 1700s and 1800s. The heavily fortified town was founded by merchants in the mid 18th century and quickly grew into a major international hub, with maritime trade links reaching far and wide across both East and West. «Al Zubara was more than a regional port,» says Professor Thomas Leisten, acting chief archaeologist at Qatar Museums. «In the second half of the 18th century and the first decade of the 19th, it was an international node with connections stretching all the way to Iran, India, China, East Africa, the Netherlands and Britain.» During those peak years, archaeologists believe, Al Zubara was home to as many as 9,000 people, with the town stretching more than 1.4 kilometers along the coast. The carefully planned town was laid out on a rectangular grid of streets and boasted grand palaces, some of them larger than 10,000 square meters, along with stone walled houses built around courtyards, mosques, and fishermen's huts and industrial areas. ## Archaeological Work Beyond pearl diving and long distance trade, Al Zubara's economic strength was underpinned by large scale production of date molasses, used for sweetening and preserving. So far, archaeologists have uncovered nearly 40 date presses. But after several attacks, the town was largely destroyed in 1811 and was completely abandoned early in the last century, after which its remaining buildings began to crumble. As the decades passed, a protective layer of sand blown in from the surrounding Qatari desert eventually covered the ruins. ![](/storage/image/prev/september-article-image-47-1-2024.jpg) Today the coastal archaeological zone, carpeted in tiny seashells, is made up of the ruins of the town, where ongoing archaeological work continues; the remains of the sister settlement of Murair, which was fortified to protect the town's vital inland wells; and the Al Zubara Fort, the site's most striking landmark. The imposing fort was built in 1938 and served for decades as a military and police post. These days it functions as a visitor center, where tourists can learn about Al Zubara's vibrant past and the artifacts that have been uncovered, through interactive touchscreens and an educational film. «It's a very interesting place, very well preserved, and there's quite a lot of information,» says Miche van den Brandt, a 76 year old visitor from the Netherlands, of the fort. ## A UNESCO World Heritage Site ![](/storage/image/prev/september-article-image-47-2-2024.jpg) In 2009, Al Zubara was declared a protected area, and four years later it was added by the World Heritage Committee to UNESCO's World Heritage List, Qatar's first entry. «Al Zubara will become a major attraction for tourists in the future,» says Leisten, describing the efforts to protect the site from the harsh desert and coastal environment and to present it to future visitors. «One of the biggest challenges at Al Zubara is preserving the rather fragile ruins. That's also the reason why only small scale excavations have been carried out,» he adds. «We're planning a boardwalk about 2.5 kilometers long, which will offer a \\"scenic\\" visit to the main sites. There will be augmented and virtual reality panels to provide information and bring the site to life.»