Kalba Fort is an 18th century

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

located inland of the coastal city of

Kalba Kalba () is a city in the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is an exclave of Sharjah lying on the Gulf of Oman coast north of Oman. Khor Kalba (Kalba Creek), an important nature reserve and mangrove swamp, is located south ...

on the eastern seaboard of

Sharjah Sharjah (; ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the D ...

, United Arab Emirates. It was restored as a museum and visitor attraction in April 2021.

History

Originally constructed in 1745, additions were made to the structure of the mudbrick, gypsum and stone structure of the fort in 1820. The fort stands on the site of an original fortification captured by the Portuguese commander Gaspar Leite in March 1624 and is of an unusual construction, with buttressing indicating that it was perhaps developed from an original watchtower under Portuguese architectural influence. It represents one of a string of fortifications on the east coast of the Emirates with Portuguese origins, others being at

Khor Fakkan Khor Fakkan () is a city and an exclave of the Emirate of Sharjah, located on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), facing the Gulf of Oman, and geographically surrounded by the Emirate of Fujairah. The city, the second largest on ...

Al Badiyah Al-Badiyah () or Al-Bidyah () is a settlement in the Emirate of Fujairah, the United Arab Emirates. It is the site of a historical mosque of the same name, which is the oldest functional mosque in the country, dating back to the 15th century. ...

and

Dibba Dibbā () is a coastal area at the northern tip of the eastern Arabian Peninsula on the Gulf of Oman. Political administration Dibba is politically divided into three segments: * Dibba Al-Fujairah, ruled by the Emirate of Fujairah, UAE * Dibb ...

. By 1829 the fort was described as 'a fort on the side of a creek into which boats of twenty to thirty tons can go' and Kalba itself as a town of some 200 inhabitants. The fort was restored and originally opened as a heritage site in December 1996. It features a two-story ''murabaa'' or tower. It encompasses an area of some 1,435 square metres and remains in the surrounding village houses date back some 500 years. The latest restoration was originally scheduled for completion at the end of 2020. It was restored as a museum and visitor attraction by the ruler of Sharjah, Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, in April 2021.

Bait Sheikh Saeed bin Hamad Al Qasimi

Adjacent to the fort is the ''Bait Sheikh Saeed bin Hamad Al Qasimi'', a traditional house constructed between 1898 and 1901 and originally opened as a museum in December 1999. The house was also restored and reopened as a museum in April 2021.

References

{{Reflist Forts in the United Arab Emirates