Naukot Fort

Naukot Fort (Sindhi: نوکوٹ قلعہ), built by Mir Karam Ali Khan Talpur in 1814, is a historic fortification located in Mithi Taluqa, Tharparkar District, Sindh. Often referred to as the "Gateway to the Thar Desert" due to its strategic position, the fort was constructed to defend the region against Rajput incursions.

The fort is unique in the area as bricks were only used for its construction and did not use materials such as wood and iron. The fort is developed of burnt bricks in mud mortar, which is 113 meters in length and 98 meters in breadth. On the southern side of the castle, another four-sided construction, which measures 15 meter × 13 meter has a mere entrance and a narrow approach to the internal placement of the fort. The entire walls and bastion reflect an attenuating look. The thin narrow entrance is accessed via a twisted passage established by 2 heavy and semi circled bastions. The bastion is near the gateway and makes a section of the 4-sided squarish establishment. It is over 9.5 cm tall with a base of having a diameter of about 42 meters.

The altitude of the arched entrance is 7 meters, and the breadth is 4 meters. Access to the internal section of the fort is via a causeway kind, room, and hall, which is part of a 4-sided construction, itself a castle. The fort is composed of 9 semi circled bastions; 2 of them protect the primary entrance, four at the edges and one each at the center of the southern, northern and western walls. A four-meter-wide wall extends on the four sides of the castle. It owns two burnt-brick stairs to climb the wall upwards, from the internal side of the castle.

The internal portion of the fort consists of the remnants of rooms etc. which might recommend that these were the residential luxurious quarters. A minor construction like a prison or dungeon could have been the room of barood khana, or the area to secure ammunition.

Text adapted from “Naukot Fort” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Naukot Fort ranks #5,686 of 8,133 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #24 of the 32 mapped in Pakistan. Founded c. 1810, it is older than 12% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 607 atlas entries founded in the 19th century. See how Pakistan compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗