Al Fahidi Fort
Dubai Museum
Located south of Dubai Creek, The Al Fahidi Fort built in 1787 has survived through the years and is considered the oldest standing structure in Dubai. This fort was renovated and transformed into Dubai Museum, which is now a popular tourist attraction in Dubai. The Ruler of Dubai opened the museum in 1971 so that the traditional way of life in Dubai could be captured and preserved. The museum"s historic setting m ...
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Location:
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings
Photo from Flickr, copyright Mr Phil Price
Historic Site of the week
Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre
Built around AD 90 to entertain the legionaries stationed at the fort of Caerleon (Isca), the impressive amphitheatre was the Roman equivalent of today’s multiplex cinema. Wooden benches provided seating for up to 6,000 spectators, who would gather to watch bloodthirsty displays featuring gladiatorial combat and exotic wild animals.
Long after the Romans left, the amphitheatre took on a new life in Arthurian legend. Geoffrey of Monmouth, the somewhat imaginative 12th-century scholar, wrote in his History of the Kings of Britain that Arthur was crowned in Caerleon and that the ruined amphitheatre was actually the remains of King Arthur’s Round Table.
Today it is the most complete Roman amphitheatre in Britain.