History
Also known as the 'white fort' (erroneously so, it was never white until the 1976–1983 renovations when it acquired a bright white painted concrete render) or 'old fort', it started out as a round watchtower defending the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island in ca. 1761. This tower was later expanded to a small fort in ca. 1793, at which point it became the permanent residence of the ruling sheikh. A major extension to its current shape took place in the late 1930s, aided by revenues received for granting the first oil license in Abu Dhabi. It remained the royal palace (hence the name Qasr al-Hosn, meaning palace-fort) and seat of government until 1966. Plans have been drafted in 2007 to redevelop the site and open it up to the public.
Read more about this topic: Qasr Al-Hosn
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“If you look at history you’ll find that no state has been so plagued by its rulers as when power has fallen into the hands of some dabbler in philosophy or literary addict.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)
“Every generation rewrites the past. In easy times history is more or less of an ornamental art, but in times of danger we are driven to the written record by a pressing need to find answers to the riddles of today.... In times of change and danger when there is a quicksand of fear under men’s reasoning, a sense of continuity with generations gone before can stretch like a lifeline across the scary present and get us past that idiot delusion of the exceptional Now that blocks good thinking.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)
“Universal history is the history of a few metaphors.”
—Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)