The Kuwait Red Fort () is a historic Kuwaiti palace and museum that lies about 32 kilometres west of
Kuwait City
Kuwait City (; ) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economic center of the emirate, containing Kuwait's Seif Pal ...
in
Al-Jahra.
The fort was the location of the
Battle of Jahra
The Battle of Jahra occurred on 10 October 1920 during the Kuwait–Najd War, pitting Sheikh Salim Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Salem Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, the ruler of Kuwait, against the Ikhwan forces led by Faisal al-Duwaish, the sheikh of the Mutayr t ...
in 1920.
Official Documented Biography & Accomplishments of Sheikh Abdullah Jaber Al-Abdullah II Al-Sabah (b.1898-d.1996)( featured at "U.N.E.S.C.O (United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization) ceremony award"
History
The building of the fort started one year after the accession of Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah as the seventh ruler of Kuwait
Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
in 1897. Its primary purpose was the defense of agriculture in Al-Jahra.
Structure
The four towers are built with bricks made from mud mixed with local desert shrubs. The towers were designed to give infantrymen
Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
a view and line of fire in all directions. The walls around the fort house firing holes for infantrymen and sharpshooters. The fort is almost square, surrounded by a wall about 15 feet high and 2 feet thick, and houses thirty-three rooms and six courtyards. The fort is around 60,720 square feet. The eastern and western walls are 289 and 298 feet long respectively. The northern and southern walls are 211 and 203 feet long respectively.
Well
It has a well in the center, but its water is salty and not drinkable. During the battle of Jahra, the well's water was used to treat the wounded and was drunk mixed with date palm
''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet #Fruits, fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across North Africa, northern A ...
to sweeten the taste.
See also
* Architecture of Kuwait
* List of museums in Kuwait
References
{{Kuwait City
Forts in Kuwait
History museums in Kuwait