Tarut Island .. a tourist icon adorned with a historic castle

Weather of Arabia - Tarut Island is a very attractive place and can be one of the most visited tourist sites in the Qatif region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , and its ancient fort is a global tourist attraction and a source of pride for its residents.

Al-Jazeera is an iconic city located on the eastern side of the Kingdom on the Arabian Gulf, within Tarout Bay, which is overlooked by Qatif, Dammam, King Abdulaziz Airport and Ras Tanura. It is connected to the city of Qatif by three bridges that pass over the Tarout Canal, which are the Riyadh Bridge, the Uhud Road Bridge, and the double land bridge north of the canal.

It is an island where in the old days people used to work on farms to produce and sell fruits and vegetables, and they also worked and still work in the sea by catching and selling fresh fish.

Tarut Castle and other attractions

There is no doubt that Tarut Castle is the most important archaeological tourist site that must be visited in the Dammam region, and it is a castle dating back to the sixteenth century and located on a hill south of Al-Dirah neighborhood in the old part of Tarut Island, where the castle was built by the Portuguese during their occupation of the region in 1544 AD, Also, antiquities about five thousand years old have been found here, including the statue of Ishtar in Mesopotamia.

Tarut Island includes a number of corniches that provide opportunities for walking and enjoying the beautiful views of the Arabian Gulf, which are Dareen Corniche, Al-Muhaisiniyat Corniche, Sanabis Corniche, and Al-Zour Corniche. The most exciting natural tourist attraction is the mangrove forest in the northern part of the island.

Shopping and restaurants in Tarut Island

Shopping enthusiasts have many places, the most important of which is Qatif City Mall, which is one of the best shopping places in Qatif and is located on Riyadh Street before the bridge. It is a commercial center for a number of local and international brands and fast food chains.

There are many restaurants ranging from local restaurants to well-known international chains, including Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza, Baskin Robbins, Dunkin' Donuts, Krispy Kreme and Popeyes, and more frozen yogurt places and burgers have also started popping up in recent years.

Most of the restaurants are located on King Abdulaziz Street, also known as Restaurant Street. Most of the local foods include burgers, fries, pastries, rice dishes, and kebabs.