Military History Photo Friday: Historic Forts in Saudi Arabia

When we think of Saudi Arabia, we generally don't think of castles, but a fair number dot the arid landscape of the desert kingdom. One of the most impressive is Marid Castle, pictured above. Located in the ancient city of Dumat al-Jandal in the north of the country. The city dates all the way back to at least the tenth century BC. It's unclear how old the fort is, but it existed by 272 AD. It was the site of numerous battles, most recently in 1853 and 1909. During the second attack it withstood a siege of ten months before finally falling.

Perhaps the most impressive fortification was Ajyad Fortress, an Ottoman citadel built in 1780 overlooking Mecca in order to protect the holy city from raiders. Despite the Bedouin being Muslims themselves, they weren't averse to robbing Muslim pilgrims. In a controversial move, the Saudi government demolished the historic fort in 2002 in order to build luxury a hotel for rich pilgrims. This has been part of an ongoing campaign to demolish historic sites, especially ones from the pre-Islamic period or sites that remind the Saudis of the time when they were part of the Ottoman Empire.

Many small forts were built at oases along the pilgrimage route to protect the pilgrims from bandits.  Some date to the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (ruled 1520-1566), who had forts built to protect the main routes. This one at Dhat al-Hajj still stands, although in poorer condition than this photo from 1907 shows. It's a simple structure, but that would be all that would be needed to ward off the Bedouin, who lacked artillery.

A similar fort stands at Al-Ukhaydir, and was also built by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. This photo from 1907 shows the fort at the center and some Bedouin tents to the left.


Photos courtesy Wikimedia Commons, because that's probably the closest I'll ever get to Saudi Arabia.

Military History Photo Friday: El Castillo de San José in Lanzarote, Canary Islands

As I mentioned on Monday, I was on vacation in Lanzarote all last week. Even though I wasn't writing, I was keeping my eye out for interesting blog post material. This week on Black Gate I blogged about the island's Piracy Museum, and next week will see another Lanzarote post as well.

And here's something for this blog, a fort called El Castillo de San José, which guarded the approach to the port of Arrecife. It was built between 1776 and 1779. The whole island is dotted with forts to protect the various harbors from pirates and rival powers such as the British.

A combination double-header outhouse and gun turret. The soldiers were apparently not shy, or just lonely.

This particular fort was actually built in a time of relative peace as a make-work project for the islanders, who were going through tough economic times thanks to a drought and a volcanic eruption that ruined the crops. Thus it earned the name Fortaleza del Hambre (Hunger Fortress).

It now houses a contemporary art museum and a cool restaurant/bar that retains its 1970s decor.

The restaurant gives a fine view of the fishing port.

The original Seventies interior is intact.

Even the stairs to the bathroom are groovy!

Old West Photo Friday: A Dusty Day at Fort Defiance

In celebration of my two new Native American books, here's a photo of old Fort Defiance, Arizona, from 1873. This fort was established in 1851 to defeat the Navajo, who had been resisting white expansion into their land. Like most forts in the Old West, it didn't have walls since Native Americans almost never attacked large settlements, especially military ones, as they could not afford the losses this would incur.

It looks like dusty, miserable place, but for the soldiers it was home. It seems they're having a visit from some local Navajo. By 1873, most of the Navajo were at peace with the Americans. I've zoomed in on some of the figures below.

Photo courtesy Library of Congress.

Military History Photo Friday: Belgian Graves at the WWI Fort of Loncin, Namur

I've been doing a lot of research about World War One lately as background to my Trench Raiders series. I've managed to visit several fronts of the war--the Salonika Front, the Italian Front, even the Mesopotamian Front. It wasn't until late last year, though, that I got to visit the main event at the Western Front.

Military History Photo Friday: A Castle in Northern Spain

We've been having an unseasonably warm and sunny week here in Cantabria, so last weekend the family and I went to San Vicente de la Barquera, west along the coast from where we live in Santander. It's been an important fishing port since medieval times and has this fine little castle guarding the harbor.

It was built in the 13th and 14th centuries and is the best preserved medieval castle in Cantabria. Unfortunately we couldn't get inside because it was just closing as we got there.

Below you can see the church of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles and part of the old city wall. The church was closed too!

Military History Photo Friday: The Halle Gate, Brussels, Belgium

Belgium has some 300 castles, and while the focus of last week's trip was on the Western Front of World War One, I did get to see the sole-surviving example of the medieval fortification that once protected Brussels.

The Halle Gate was built between 1357 and 1373 as one of seven gates in the city wall. It eventually became a prison and was thus left standing when the rest of the wall and gates were torn down. Today it hosts the Royal Museum of Art and History