Barzan Tower
| Barzan Tower برج برزان | |
|---|---|
Umm Salal Mohammed, Umm Salal,  Qatar | |
 | |
| Barzan Tower (With Staircases). | |
| Type | Historical Watchtowers |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Qatari Government; Ministry of Tourism, Qatar Museums Authority |
| Controlled by | 1910-present: Qatar |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1910 |
| In use | early 20th Century-2003: Watchtowers 2003-present: Museum |
| Built by | Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani |
| Height | 16 m (52 ft) |
The Barzan Towers (Arabic: برج برزان "High Place"), or simply the Barzan Tower, when referring to the pair as a whole, and also known as the Umm Salal Mohammed Fort Towers, are towers that were built in late 19th century/early 20th century, specifically, in 1910, by Sheikh Mohammed bin Jassim Al Thani to serve as watchtowers.[1][2] They are located at the southern side of the defensive system established at the start of the 20th century to protect the 'Raudah', the valley where precious rainwater is collected from higher grounds. They link with two other fortified buildings towards the west and another tower towards the north. Some sources also prove that the Barzan Towers were specifically built near the sea to keep an observant eye on pearl divers, at the same time, as a look-out for approaching ships and as an observatory for keeping track of the moon.[2][3] Today the Barzan Towers are rebuilt, especially some internal features such as modern air-conditioners.[1]
Its term in Arabic language is "high place"[1][2] since the term is appropriate for soaring towers that are, and/or were, used as watchtowers, such as the Barzan Towers, which are towers that measure 16 metres (52.49 ft).[2]
History
The Barzan Towers were built by Sheikh Mohammed bin Jassim Al Thani in the late 19th century to serve as watchtowers against the incoming Ottoman soldiers. Although he had defeated the Ottomans a few years before, he still had some unknown reasons to be insecure to build these towers. Aside from being watchtowers, they were also used by the natives, the Qataris, to scrutinize the new moon during the holy month of Ramadan for accuracy, since keeping track of the moon was essential. The towers were restored in 2003 by the Qatari authorities.[2][3]
Geography
The Barzan Towers are situated in the town of Umm Salal Mohammed, in the municipality of Umm Salal that is about 10 km from the coast and 15 km north of Doha, the capital city of Qatar. On one side of the towers, huge, modern houses stand, while on the other, makeshift shacks exist. The former fortified house, or sometimes referred to as castle, of Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani is located beside the towers. A unique oasis full of green trees, animals and palm trees can also be found behind the towers.[2][3]
Structure
The Barzan Towers have walls which are one meter thick, especially in the base, and are further reinforced and toughened by buttresses. One tower has walls in the form of cones and massive and enormous staircases in the other. These walls were built by first merging and blending overlapping raw pieces of coral stones with limestone and cementing the two with a mud mortar after, which is somehow, similar to the construction of the walls of the Zubarah Fort. The walls were then covered with a gypsum-based plaster once dry. The Barzan Towers have a roof that was built with four layers. The first layer is composed of a series of "danchal" wood poles, which were sometimes painted with bitumen for protection. The "danchal" poles were then covered by a layer of "basgijl", a layer of woven bamboo strips. A carefully constructed net of mangrove branches was added, followed by a layer of compressed mud to protect the towers from the sun during the hot summers. The towers were also built with some external features such as a room for receiving guests, called "majilis", which was built as an L-shaped pavilion with windows for ventilation, and a mosque which has a prayer room that was also used as a school for teaching the Holy Quran to children, called "madrassa". Traditional "marazims" protect the walls' surfaces and were built as wooden channels that stretch out from the roof to drain rainwater just in case heavy, but rare and uncommon, thunderstorms and other types of storms strike the desert. The "marazims" were built on top of the "majilis" and the mosque.[2][3]
Schedule
The Barzan Towers are open to visitors for 24 hours. On the other hand, several surrounding landmarks, such as the house of Sheikh Jassim bin Muhammed Al Thani, the Umm Salal Fortresses and other additional towers of the forts, are closed for visitors since they are private property.[2][3]
Gallery
Click on the thumbnail to enlarge.
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Date palms in the oasis near the Barzan Towers, showing signs of vegetation in the barren desert.
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Barzan Tower (With Cones), viewed from the side.
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Barzan Tower (With Staircases).