The fort was built in 1890 to protect the Al Ain Oasis from Bedouin raids. It's one of the largest forts in the Emirates. From 1950 to 1970 it served as a base for the British army, and then stood abandoned until 1985. In 2008 a historical museum opened here, with an exhibition on the history of the UAE and tourist information. A large garden was planted around the fort, offering shade on hot days. One of the fort's halls houses a permanent exhibition on the British explorer Wilfred Thesiger — devoted to his repeated crossings of the Rub' al Khali (Empty Quarter) desert in the 1940s: photographs from his expeditions and a documentary with interviews with Thesiger himself and the Bedouin who accompanied him.
The fort is open daily from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm, admission is free.
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