Al Zubarah is Qatar’s largest archaeological heritage site. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013 and is the best-preserved example of an 18th-19th century trading and pearl fishing town in the Gulf region. Unlike its contemporaries, it is largely intact and has not been lost beneath the region’s vast modern cities.

The site, located approximately 100 km northwest of Doha, stretches 2.5 km from the Al Zubarah Fort to the coast. Founded in the mid-18th century, the town developed into the country’s largest and most important settlement. Its success attracted the attention of other Gulf powers, and after several attacks the town was burned to the ground in 1811. By the first decades of the 20th century, it was abandoned. Today, the site covers an area of 60 hectares with remains of houses, masajid (mosques), madabis (date presses), large fortified buildings, and a market.

An Al Zubarah Visitor Centre is being developed to present the story of coastal and long-distance trade, pearling, everyday life, and key historical events told through material remains and key archaeological finds.