page_title: Sira Fortress
hierarchical_section_title: Sira Fortress
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of Sirah Island in Aden, Yemen
context_page_description: Sira Fortress is a military site in Aden, Yemen. The original fortress dates to the 11th century, and is still in use today by the Yemeni military. The fort is located on Sira Island, a rocky and tall volcanic outcropping which dominates the old harbor of Aden. Much of the fort's history is unknown, especially since there have been few archaeological studies done of the area. One theory is that construction was initiated around the year 1173 by a Turkish ruler of Aden named Prince Othman Al-Zangabili Al-Takriti. The fortress was proven during subsequent attacks against Aden by the Portuguese and especially the Turks in 1517. Although the ancient harbor began to silt up and the primary commercial center eventually moved to the other side of the Aden Peninsula, the British continued to develop and garrison the fortress after their arrival in 1839.
context_section_description: Sira Fortress (قلعة صيرة) is a military site in Aden, Yemen.  The original fortress dates to the 11th century, and is still in use today by the Yemeni military.  The fort is located on Sira Island, a rocky and tall volcanic outcropping which dominates the old harbor of Aden.  Much of the fort's history is unknown, especially since there have been few archaeological studies done of the area.  One theory is that construction was initiated around the year 1173 by a Turkish ruler of Aden named Prince Othman Al-Zangabili Al-Takriti.  The fortress was proven during subsequent attacks against Aden by the Portuguese and especially the Turks in 1517.  Although the ancient harbor began to silt up and the primary commercial center eventually moved to the other side of the Aden Peninsula, the British continued to develop and garrison the fortress after their arrival in 1839.
caption: Sira Fortress on the Island Sira.
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 300D DIGITAL", "Image DateTime": "2005:01:04 11:24:00", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image Tag 0x1001": "3072", "Image Tag 0x1002": "2048", "Image ExifOffset": "196", "Image CustomRendered": "Normal", "Image ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "Image WhiteBalance": "Auto", "Image SceneCaptureType": "Landscape", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/320", "EXIF FNumber": "8", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2005:01:04 11:24:00", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2005:01:04 11:24:00", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "272693/32768", "EXIF ApertureValue": "6", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "4", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "92", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3072", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2048", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "768000/223", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "409600/119", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera"}