Having safely navigated the ever-moving off-ramp we stopped outside the fort of Al Zubara. This comparatively new fort was constructed in 1938 on the orders of Sheikh Adbullah bin Jassim al-Thani in response to Bahrain’s claim on the nearby town of Al Zubara and their fortifications on the nearby Huwar islands. After a minor altercation with the gate-keeper over the issue of an “admission fee” we made our way through the sturdy doorway into a sunny courtyard. Honey-coloured stone walls and sturdy corner towers, a view of the ruined town of old Al Zubara through the gun slits, a deep well in one corner (covered with a grid) – all these invited us to climb and clamber and peer and peep. Fran kept on giving more bits of information and answering the many questions put to her.