The wind-swept minaret rises to its summit past the tiny arched entryway and is still standing tall despite the collapse of practically everything around it.
Four small windows in the cramped space at the top of the circular shaft provide views of the long-forgotten surroundings. Along the blue beach on one side are the crumbling remains of historic fishermen’s homes, the most of which are without a roof, doors, or windows. On the other, the Qatari desert.
Al Jumail is one of many abandoned settlements that dot Qatar’s northwest coast. Before Qatar’s extraordinary oil and gas-fueled economic growth started luring people away from its small, traditional villages and into its developing contemporary metropolis of Doha, the relics of these little-known “ghost towns” provide an enthralling window into life in the past.
Al Jumail was built in the second half of the 19th century, yet little is known about its early years, according to Qatar Museums. The village is one of the oldest towns in the region and was populated far into the previous century, as evidenced by the sizeable remnants of houses and other buildings.
Fishing and pearl diving
The majority of the economic activity of Al Jumail’s inhabitants, as well as of those in other entirely abandoned villages nearby, was anchored to the sea.
“These are fishing villages, which is why the houses are built just above the high tide line,” Ronald William Hawker, an expert on Gulf architecture, tells CNN.
“The intertidal flats in front of the villages are filled with fish traps which would catch the fish when the tide goes out. The surrounding waters were shallow, so they likely used smaller boats that could navigate through the shallow waters and around the various reefs, rocks and rip tides,” he adds.
The majority of Gulf residents relied on a variety of seasonal jobs to make ends meet, with pearl diving one of Qatar’s main sources of income before the 1930s oil discovery occurring during the four summer months.
“Their lives were all about the sea,” Jumaan Basheer Al Hamad is seen saying in a video displayed at the impressive, newly built National Museum of Qatar, part of a series of clips featuring elderly Qataris documenting aspects of the country’s history.
“We started work from the first star of the morning until the maghreb prayer (sunset),” recalls Ahmed Mohammed Srour.
“We never rested or napped. There was no breakfast, or even lunch. The one meal was at dinner time” usually rice and fish, if the latter was available.
Organic community design
67 During the winter, the majority of people from coastal communities would relocate to the Qatari desert, where they would set up camp with their livestock in different oases all across the peninsula. In the summer, they would return to their waterfront homes in the settlements of, to name a few, Al Arish, Al Khuwayr, Al Ghariyah, and Al Mafjar along the west, north, and east shorelines.
The environment and Islamic traditions, with mosques playing a key role, heavily influenced the design and
In Al Jumail, most living spaces were courtyard houses and oriented inwardly. They were designed to prevent visual access to the inner courtyard and private family quarters and featured relatively high walls and staggered entrances. The majority of the population’s food was made up of rice and fish, while dates were employed as a sugar replacement. Meals were prepared over wood fires.
“People clustered together according to their extended family,” says Hawker. “They weren’t allowed to build in such a way that they could see into their neighbors’ courtyards. This gives the overall community design a more organic layout in comparison with the grid systems preferred by Western architects.”
These northwest coastal communities were built using a variety of phases and methods that both predate and after the era of oil concessions. The wall plaster used in ancient construction techniques is based on lime and is applied over a beach rock or coral core.
“Both are typical of the region,” says Hawker, noting that Al Jumail has also been altered over the years by its periodic use as a film set.
“These villages are the last gasp of an old building system before life revolved completely around the oil and gas industries and embody Islamic law and its conception of the physical arrangement of society,” he adds.
Free to access, the ruins of Al Jumail and its surrounding villages are clearly indicated with signs on the main road leading to Al Zubarah, Qatar’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most important pearling and trading hubs of the region in the 18th century.
While it is possible to visit them on a standard car, using a four-wheel vehicle is advised for the few kilometers off-road.
