Al Bida Tower

Al Bida Tower lies in the Al Bida quarter in the city of Doha in Qatar.

Al Bida Tower is a simple circular watchtower, built on a rocky outcrop. I think it may date back to the late 19th/early 20th century. In that era the sea shore lay more close to the tower and it was probably used to watch the fleet of pearl diver boats and watch out for pirates. It was reconstructed in the last decades. I have no further historical information about it.

The tower was built out of mud and local stone. It has a diameter of some 4 meters and is about 6 meters high. I think the present entrance is a modern addition and that in earlier times access was by means of a rope. The ceiling of the tower was made in the traditional style of wood beams (called danshal) overlaid with bamboo stalks (called basgill) and a woven cane mat (called magharour).

Al Bida Tower is freely accessible. But there is a lot of building activity around it, so access might change. These activities also make the tower seem a bit lost.

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