ISS034-E-053513 Tarout Bay - Saudi Arabia

Tarout Island (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: جزيرة تاروت), also spelled Tārūt, is an island in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

in the Qatif Governorate, located in the Eastern Province of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. Situated about six kilometers off Qatif mainland coast, the island is connected to

Qatif City Qatif City (Arabic: القطيف) is an ancient city located in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, along the western coast of the Persian Gulf. As the capital of the Qatif Governorate, Qatif is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities ...

by three causeways. It stretches from

Ras Tanura Ras Tanura (, presumably due to the unusual heat prevalent at the cape that projects into the sea) is a city and semi-governorate in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia located on a peninsula extending into the Per ...

in the north to Qatif in the west and is the second-largest island in the Persian Gulf after

Qeshm Island Qeshm (Persian language: قشم) is an arrow-shaped Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz of the Persian Gulf (), measuring roughly 1,500 square kilometres (576 square miles) in surface area. Separated from the Iranian mainland by the Claren ...

, covering an area of approximately 70 square kilometers. Tarout Island is home to several towns and villages, including Tārūt, Deyrah, and Darīn.

History

Tarout's history dates back to pre-5000 BC. It is considered one of the most ancient sites that were inhabited by humans. Tarout was the heart of the

Dilmun Dilmun, or Telmun, ( Sumerian: ,Transliteration: Similar text: later 𒉌𒌇(𒆠), NI.TUKki = dilmunki; ) was an ancient East Semitic–speaking civilization in Eastern Arabia mentioned from the 3rd millennium BC onwards. Based on contextual ...

Kingdom and had a major role in the history of the region since 3000 BC. Human habitation in this area over the centuries was very large and archaeological discoveries were found until recently, which is rare in most parts of the world's archaeological sites. The Island had a significant role in trade activity in the entire Persian Gulf region. It was a central point for trade between

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

and along the coastal areas in the east of the Arabian Peninsula. Its strong relationships with many of the urbanized areas along the region were well known. The Christian practice that a marriage was only valid if blessed by a priest was first mandated by a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

of Christians living in the region held in Darin in 676 CE by Patriarch George I—chief bishop of the Church of the East, one of the two main churches of the

Syriac Syriac may refer to: * Suret, a Neo-Aramaic language * Syriac alphabet, a writing system primarily used to write the Syriac language ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Syriac Christianity, a branch of Eastern Christianity * Syriac la ...

Christian tradition.

History of the name

The ancient Arabic name for the place was apparently 'Ishtarut (عشتروت); in the Greek

Geographia The ''Geography'' (, , "Geographical Guidance"), also known by its Latin names as the ' and the ', is a gazetteer, an atlas, and a treatise on cartography, compiling the geographical knowledge of the 2nd-century Roman Empire. Originally wri ...

of Ptolemy it is called Tharrō (θαρρώ); on a map Ptolemy’s Geographia published in Latin in 1578 it appears as ''Tharro''. In the Middle Ages the island was often called Dairin or Daryn, for one of its cities.; Darīn is actually the name of its main harbor, and there have also been more modern attempts to rename it Darīn. The

Treaty of Darin The Treaty of Darin, or the Darin Pact, of 1915 was made between the United Kingdom and Abdulaziz Al Saud (sometimes called ''Ibn Saud''), ruler of the Emirate of Nejd and Hasa, who founded the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. Signing The tre ...

was signed on the island in 1915 between

Ibn Saud Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted as 1876, although a few sources give it as 1880. According to British author Robert Lacey's book ''The Kingdom'', ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Archaeology

Archaeological finds indicate that the island has been inhabited since 5000 BC; and it was later home to people from the civilization of

Akkadians The Akkadian Empire () was the first known empire, succeeding the long-lived city-states of Sumer. Centered on the city of Akkad ( or ) and its surrounding region, the empire united Akkadian and Sumerian speakers under one rule and exercised ...

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

ns and Persians. Later it was occupied by the Persian Empire, the Islamic Empire; it was colonized by the Portuguese and later made part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. The most important collections found in the Tarout was pure golden statue representing Ashtaroot goddess. The statue was found placed on the ground in one of the palm groves in the Tarout. There are many other statues, copper and pottery vessels and traditional weapons found in the Tarout that are displayed in the

Riyadh Museum Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

. It also contains a Portuguese fort which is located in Al Deyrah. The Portuguese castle was repaired in the 951H, which had been built on the ruins of former settlements and one of the oldest ones, dating back to over 5,000 years ago. The site consists of the Fortress of Al-Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab Al Fehani, which was built in 1303H as well as the Fortress of Abu Al-leaf, which is located between the Tarout and Al Qatif, in addition to the three mosques on the old road from Al Qatif. In 1959 a man cleaning a street discovered rocks with Sabaean inscriptions on them. The most famous artefacts found on Tārūt were unearthed by Danish archaeologists in 1968; they excavated shards of pottery dating back to 4,500 BC, and others from 3000 BC. When the municipality of Qatīf wanted to build a causeway to Tārūt in 1962 they took sand from the hill known as Tell Rafī’ah, and found Stone Age artifacts, including pottery, and a statue. The last discovery was in 1993 on Tell Rafī’ah. Sometimes archaeological ruins are discovered by accident; something that occurred when a car repair workshop was being renovated and tombs dating back to 2000 BC were found. Many vessels have been found on Tārūt carved from

steatite Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium-rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in subdu ...

, particularly from Tell Rafī'ah; the designs are very artistic and include representations of cats, nude men, and motifs connected with the sea and fishing. The source of the steatite was actually in South Western Persia, but the carving industry seems to have been a local one. Among the ancient statues discovered in Tārūt is one of a naked man made out of dark grey stone. It was found in the 1950s by a man ploughing his field. It is 94 cm high, and the man is standing in a reverential posture, with wide eyes. It is almost certainly Sumerian in origin, though it was found about 1000 kilometers from the nearest city of

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. ...

. It is a very high quality object, but was almost destroyed by the superstitious villagers, who thought it had something to do with spirits (''

jinn Jinn or djinn (), alternatively genies, are supernatural beings in pre-Islamic Arabian religion and Islam. Their existence is generally defined as parallel to humans, as they have free will, are accountable for their deeds, and can be either ...

''), and so cut it in half and beheaded it. It has been restored and now stands the National Museum of Riyadh. In 1962 when some of the inhabitants of the village of Rabī'iyah were replacing their former thatched houses with buildings of stone and plaster, a man climbing some of the hills looking for stones, they chanced upon a jar, and then discovered a number of graves, which experts later suggested were likely to be Jewish in origin. They also found many earthenware vessels at the same site. At Khārijīyah in the north of Tārūt many clay figurines have also been found.

Transport

Sea port

Tarout Island represents one of the most important sea ports in all parts of

In ancient times, the island was a vital seaport to receive boats from the

and

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. Tarout was a metropolis on the island, which took its name from its castle, which is located in the heart of the island, surrounded by small villages.

Tarout Castle

Tarout Castle is located in the center of Tarout Island at the edge of Al Deyrah village. The castle was built between 1515 and 1521. It is unknown who built it, although some archeologists suggest it was built by the residents of Qatif and Tarout to protect themselves from

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

attacks, while some researchers argue the castle was built by the Portuguese to protect themselves from Ottoman attacks, but they were forced to hand it over in 1559 and withdrew from the Tarout island to

Awal AWAL (shortened from Artists Without A Label) is a global recording business that claims to serve as an alternative to the traditional record label, offering deal structures that provide artists with the resources and expertise of a global label ...

Island,(now

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

). The castle is consisting of 4 towers. Its courtyard is a rectangle with a central deep well, which is believed to be used to store provisions during the times of blockage.

King Abdul Aziz Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted as 1876, although a few sources give it as 1880. According to British author Robert Lacey's book ''The Kingdom'', ...

Dara is enjoying a lot of archaeological material of historical significance, which was discovered at the Tarout Heritage Palace. The later found material is an ancient army cannon going dating back to the same time, which is currently being shown in the Dammam Regional Museum.

Attractions

* Tarout historical fort * Al Rafiea airport (1911-1932) ; built in 1911 during World War I by the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

* Fortress of Abu Al-leaf built in the 16th century by the

; destroyed by the

in 1866 * Darin seaport * Darin historical fort * Traditional Houses * Al Khudar mosque * Darin cornice * Sanabis cornice * Al Zoor cornice * Visitor's center on front of Darin seaport and on the left side of ruins of the palace. (Must see place). It's museum in the traditional house (200y.o.).

Main villages

* Al-Deyrah: Tarout Center at the present time is known as Al Deyrah, which represents a major administrative center of the villages during different periods. Al Dira County Quarter is the oldest Quarter on the island dating back to

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

n times, where you can see the adjacent stone and mud buildings crisscrossed by narrow streets and corridors. Wandering through the streets will remind you of the fragrance of historical periods of the ancient place. Al Deyrah was surrounded by a fence for the purpose of protection from attacks by invaders. To its east side it is adjoined by the

Tarout castle Tarout Castle (Arabic: قلعة تاروت), also known as Tarut Palace, Tarut Fort, Portuguese Fort, is an archaeological site in Qatif, Saudi Arabia. It is situated on a hill in the center of Tarout Island, Tarut Island, located southwest of D ...

, which is considered a well-fortified castle on the island. The castle is located on a tall hill, which is the highest place on the island. The island consists of Ain Tarut. In the early times, that was the only source of water on the island, and it is known as "Hamam Tarout ”, the Tarout Bath.

References

External links

Portuguese Fort at Tarout Island
Splendid Arabia: A travel site with photos and routes {{Authority control Islands of Saudi Arabia Archaeological sites in Saudi Arabia Former Portuguese colonies Islands of the Persian Gulf Phoenician colonies in Asia