Wall of Old Dubai

The city walls are one of the prominent architectural features in the urban context of the ancient cities. These walls surrounded the cities to defend them and secure them against external attacks. Throughout history, there have been many examples of walls that played an important role in protecting cities, such as the walls of Cairo, Damascus and Baghdad. In the past, the city of Dubai had two such walls that defined the context of the city. The oldest of these was built in Bur Dubai around 1800. Today it is called the “Old Dubai Wall.” It surrounded the old city, which included Al Fahidi Fort, the Grand Mosque, and residential houses; The second was built next to the monastery in the 1850s. The Old Dubai Wall was built using coral and gypsum stones, and it was approximately 50 cm thick, 600 meters long, and 2.5 meters high. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the wall was demolished to accommodate the expansion of the city. The only remaining evidence of this wall is part of the foundations that were explored. It was restored in 2001 by the Historic Buildings Department of Dubai Municipality.