Photo of the day: Al Bithnah Fort

Bithnah Fort is a traditional double story rock, coral and mud-brick fortification located in the Wadi Ham, near the village of Bithnah in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.

Bithnah Fort is a traditional double story rock, coral and mudbrick fortification located in the Wadi Ham, near the village of Bithnah in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. The fort has played a significant role in the history of the Emirates, particularly in the emergence of Fujairah as an independent emirate in the early 20th century. With a controlling position overlooking the Wadi Ham, the fort replaced an Iron Age fortification.

Prior to the construction of the metalled road between Fujairah City and Masafi in the 1970s, traffic to the interior from the coast passed through the bed of the wadi, controlled by Bitnah Fort, which has through the ages been a keenly contested strategic holding and was to form a key mainstay in the fortunes of the Sharqiyin through the 18th and early 19th centuries.

Collapse

The Bithnah Fort was allowed to collapse into a ruined state over the course of Mohammed bin Hamad’s rule, with both towers falling in . Restored in 1974, it was allowed once again to lapse into a state of decay and, by 2006, was in a parlous state. It was restored fully in 2008–2012.

Prior to 2009, the fort was inhabited by a local man from Bitnah, Saed Ali Saed Al Yamahi.

Reference: Wikipedia