The Barzan Towers, also known as the Towers of Fort Umm Salal Mohammed, are watchtowers that were built in the late 19th century and then renovated in 1910 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Jassim Al Thani to serve as watchtowers against the attacking Ottoman soldiers. They are located in the municipality of Umm Salal which is about 10 km from the coast and 15 km above Doha, on the southern slopes of the defensive system put in place at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century to protect the “Rawdat”, a valley where precious rainwater is collected as it flows from higher ground. The 16-meter-high towers explain the name “Barzan” which means “high place” in Arabic. The towers were presumably used afterward not only as watching towers for monitoring the pearl divers, but also to look for approaching ships and as an observatory to study the Moon during the sacred month of Ramadan. The old fortified house of Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani sits between the towers, next to an oasis of green trees, palms, and animals.
These walls were built similar to the construction of the walls of the Zubarah fort by initially blending and merging raw pieces of coral stones with limestone before cementing the two with a mud Mortar. After drying, the walls were then covered with a gypsum-based plaster. The towers offer an amazing view of the Persian Gulf.
