Zekreet Fort Ruins

The Zekreet area, located near to Dukhan on the west coast of Qatar, features a breathtaking environment with archaeological ruins and relics of ancient towns. On the seashore may be discovered a fort from the 18th century and an early date press.

The fort’s layout is particularly unusual and reveals the two separate periods of building. The fort was originally constructed as a basic square without turrets at each corner. In a second phase of construction, towers were erected to the fort’s four outside corners.

These towers were never built, though. Due to the fact that they were added later, their form is imperfect. In reality, just three-quarters of their designs were constructed. On the fort’s coastline side are the ruins of’madabes’. These chambers were used to prepare debis, a traditional snack made from dates. The rooms contain parallel channels 10 centimeters deep in the floor that are connected by a perpendicular canal near the entrance that leads to an underground pot in the corner.

During the creation of “debis,” palm fronds were spread on the channels to create a level, smooth base. The dates were then placed in bags fashioned from palm fronds and stacked in two-meter-tall mounds. Frequently, the weight of the top bags crushed the dates in the lower sacks, causing their viscous juice to flow down the channels and ultimately into the subterranean pot.

The House of Sheikh Ghanim bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani in Al-Wakra contains a completely intact chamber used for the manufacturing of “debis.”