The main gate
The original 1823 teak gate, saved from demolition.
ZI Jony — CC BY-SA 4.0 · NAVEEN SHARAF A — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Shirine Zingstra — CC BY-SA 4.0 · yeowatzup — CC BY 2.0 · ZI Jony — CC BY-SA 4.0
Al Hisn, the fort of Sharjah's Al Qasimi rulers, is now a museum in the Heart of Sharjah, the restored old town. Square, with two floors around a courtyard and three defensive towers, it was the ruling family's home, the seat of government and, when built, considered Sharjah's largest building; the museum dates it to 1823, some histories to 1820. Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi built it. Demolition began in 1969, or January 1970 by some accounts; Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, then a student in Cairo and now Ruler of Sharjah, hurried home and halted it, but little beyond the Al Kabs tower survived. He kept its main doors for 28 years; rebuilt from photographs, documents and elders' memories, it opened as a museum in 1997 and reopened in 2015 after 15 months of conservation. Its coral-stone walls, 70 to 80 cm thick, enclose about a dozen galleries on the Al Qasimi family and Sharjah's past. The Al Muhalwasa tower held the jail, the madbasa shows how date syrup was made and the weapons rooms recall the town's defence; upstairs, the Sheikh's room has a raised royal bed. Look for the original teak gate, saved from demolition; a wooden Quran stand inscribed with the date 1841; and, in the yard, Al Raggas, a large cannon of about 1811. The fort stands in Al Shuwaihean, behind Souq Al Shanasiyah; allow about an hour. Souq Al Arsah and the Sharjah Heritage and Calligraphy museums lie within 300 m as the crow flies, and the Museum of Islamic Civilization about 740 m north.
The original 1823 teak gate, saved from demolition.
The old prison in one of the towers.
About 1811; legend says it never fought on the losing side.
Al Shuwaihean, Heart of Sharjah, behind Souq Al Shanasiyah
A 20 AED heritage ticket (10 AED for children aged 2 to 12) covers Al Hisn, the Sharjah Heritage Museum, the Sharjah Calligraphy Museum, Bait Al Naboodah and Al Qasimia School, all in the Heart of Sharjah. Children under 2 enter free, as do visitors aged 60 and over and people with disabilities, each with one companion, per the Sharjah Museums Authority.
In Ramadan the fort opens Saturday to Thursday 09:00–14:00 and closes on Fridays; it is shut on 29 and 30 Ramadan, on 9 Dhu al-Hijjah and on the first day of each Eid. Entry is free for all during Sharjah Heritage Days, on International Museum Day (18 May) and on 2 and 3 December for National Day.
