Al Koot Fort

Al Koot Fort, also spelled as Al Khoot or Al Kuwt and also known as Doha Fort, lies in the center of the city of Doha in Qatar.

Al Koot Fort was built in 1880 by the Ottomans as a police post. It was built on a slight elevation in the proximity of a dry waterbed known as Wadi Musheireb. This waterbed used to be a gathering place where Bedouins and locals would trade a variety of goods, primarily livestock goods. This gathering place grew into what is now known as the Souq Waqif. From 1906 on the fort was used as a prison. In 1915 the fort was abandoned by the Ottomans.

In 1927, the dilapidated Turkish fort was rebuilt by Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani into the Al Koot Fort we see today. In the 1970s the fort stood empty, later it was converted into a museum. For decades the area directly northeast of it was used as a marketplace for camels. At present that area has turned into a building site for the coming expansion of the Souq Waqif. I was told by a guard that, as a result of the building activity, the fort would be closed for the next 2 years.

The fort has the typical ground plan of a desert fort; square with one rectangular and 3 round towers at its corners.

At present Al Koot Fort can not be visited. Too bad, I would have liked to see its interior.

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