Zekreet

Not to be confused with Bir Zekreet.
Zekreet
Village
Zekreet

Location in Qatar

Coordinates: 25°34′41″N 50°50′46″E / 25.57806°N 50.84611°E / 25.57806; 50.84611
Country Qatar
Municipality Al Rayyan Municipality
Time zone AST (UTC+3)
Reconstructed ruins in Zekreet.

Zekreet is a village in north-western Qatar near Dukhan and about 90 km northwest of Doha.[1] Originally a sparsely populated area, Zekreet was built up in the 1940s after oil operations commenced in Qatar. This included the construction of a harbor for oil equipment and a number of small houses which eventually developed into a village.[2] There are a number of visitor attractions and old ruins at the site, one of the most notable being Zekreet Fort.

Etymology

Zekreet is also spelled as Zikrit and Zekrit. An area known by a similar name called Bir Zekrit (more commonly known as Ras Abrouq) is located south of Zekreet.

History

Zekreet was likely inhabited during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the same era that saw the rise of the nearby westerly settlements of Zubarah and Al-Huwaylah. Historic references to the area in the English language are scarce, but a local fort was mentioned by J.G. Lorimer, who claimed that it was built by the pirate ruler of Qatar Rahmah ibn Jabir al-Jalahimah in c. 1800. The village may have been abandoned around 1811, the same period that Zubarah was sacked.[3]

The area accommodated the first harbor in Qatar to be used by oil companies to unload their equipment.[4]

Archaeology

A protected archaeological site in Zekreet
Remains of an old structure in Zekreet

The first archaeological excavations at Zekreet took place in 1973–1974 by a team led by Beatrice de Cardi. Zekreet Fort was discovered during this period. The area was again excavated by a French team from 2002 and 2005 and the contents of this excavation were analyzed in 2006. The total area of the excavated site 18,000 m².[3]

Nineteenth-century ceramics have been discovered in situ. Some of the pottery has been traced back to China.[3]

Visitor attractions

Zekreet Fort

Zekreet Fort has been dated to the late 18th or early 19th century. The fort's shape is quadrangular with four circular watchtowers.[3] At the initial time of construction, the fort did not have any towers. The towers were instead added to each side in a reconstruction phase. Facilities for "debis" (date syrup) production are believed to have been at the site.[1]

Film City

A replica city was built in Zekreet for use in film production. It includes a large fort surrounded by palm trees.[5]

Geography

Zekreet is situated on a small stretch of land known as the 'Zekreet Peninsula' which protrudes into the Persian Gulf. Dukhan is the closest sizable settlement.[3] The Bay of Zekreet, which the Dukhan Sabkha extends into, is located off the north-west coast of the village.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 "Zekreet Fort". Explore Qatar. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  2. ↑ Al-Othman, Nasser (1984). With their bare hands : the story of the oil industry in Qatar. Longman Group. p. 49. ISBN 0582783755.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Alexandrine Guérin and Faysal ʿAbdallah al-Naʾimi (2008). "Nineteenth century settlement patterns at Zekrit, Qatar: pottery, tribes and territory". Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 38: 173–185. JSTOR 41223947.
  4. ↑ Abū Nāb, Ibrāhīm (1977). Qatar: A Story of State Building. p. 59.
  5. ↑ "Film City, Doha". Online Qatar. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  6. ↑ Ian West and Maryam Mustafa Al-Mulla (2013). "Qatar Geology, Sabkhas, Evaporites and Other Desert Environments". University of Southampton. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
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