Umm Hosn Fort

Umm Hosn Fort, sometimes also known as Umm Hisn or Arrada Fort, lies in the area known as the Liwa oasis, in the emirate of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

The Liwa oasis is in fact made up of several small oases forming an arch, stretched out over some 110 kilometers, on the northern edge of the Empty Quarter (the Rub' Al Khali Desert). The water of these oases was always a valuable commodity, so around the mid-19th and early 20th century, the local Bani Yas tribes started to built forts and watch towers to protect their wells and to provide shelter from nomadic tribes roaming the desert.

Umm Hisn Fort is probably the oldest fort in the Liwa oasis. It was the scene of a Qatari attack in 1880 and then probably destroyed. The locals then used the ruins as a stone quarry. This is all the historical info about this fort that I was able to find. If you know more specific history, please mail me.

The walls of the fort were built out of mud bricks. It was a small fort with only a single round tower projecting from its western wall. Its enclosure was somewhat L-shaped.

At present there are, besides Umm Hosn Fort, 8 other forts and towers still existing. Seven of them have completely been restored in recent years. These are Maria Al Gharbiyah Fort, Dhafeer Fort, Qutuf Fort, Muqib Tower, Mezairaa Fort, Attab Fort and Al Jabbana Fort. Al Hayla Tower is still in ruins. All fortifications are situated north of the Hameem-Arrada Road (the E90) that connects all the Liwa oases.

At present Umm Hosn Fort is not accessible. Its fragile remains are fenced off. But you can easily view it.

When I visited the fort I saw that 500 meters away from it a reconstruction of it had recently been built. It was not completely finished and I don't know what its function will become. You can freely walk around it but it can not be entered.

Gallery

The original fort

The reconstruction