Al Jahili Fort is the largest historical fort in Al Ain — a substantial 19th-century mud-brick complex built by Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa ("Zayed the Great") to control the oases of the area. The walls, corner towers, and inner gates have been carefully restored. Inside, a permanent exhibition is dedicated to the British explorer Wilfred Thesiger, who crossed the Empty Quarter in the late 1940s and whose evocative photographs of the Bedouin life of that period are on display.
The fort is open to visitors most days; entry is free. Allow an hour for the buildings and longer if the Thesiger exhibition holds you (it usually does). About fifteen minutes by taxi from central Buraimi.