Can you go inside Tarut Castle?

No. The castle is not officially open to visitors. The last restoration began in 1984 and was stopped before completion, and the towers have developed structural cracking that carries a risk of collapse. Visitors walk up to the hill and see the walls from outside.

How do you get to Tarut Island?

By road. Three causeways connect the island to Qatif on the mainland, and Tarut is roughly a half-day trip from Dammam or Al Khobar. A car is the practical way to arrive; public transport between towns in the Eastern Province is limited.

Where can I see the archaeological finds from Tarut?

Not on the island. The major objects — including the dark grey stone statue found in the 1950s and steatite vessels from Tell Rafi'ah — are held in the National Museum in Riyadh, with further material at the regional museum in Dammam.

How big is Tarut Island?

Sources disagree. Saudipedia gives about 6 km by 3.5 km, roughly 20 square kilometres. The English Wikipedia entry states about 70 square kilometres and ranks Tarut second-largest in the Gulf, which is not consistent with those dimensions or with the sizes of Bahrain and Bubiyan. We use the smaller figure.

What is the best time of day to visit?

Late afternoon in the cooler months. The lanes of Al-Deyrah are unshaded, and the light on the castle walls in the last hour before sunset is the reason to time a visit that way.

塔鲁特岛：五千年历史，一座紧闭的城堡

By Explore Saudi Team · Published 31 August 2026 · 9 min read

塔鲁特城堡不对游客开放——以下是您在岛上仍能看到的内容：代拉老城的小巷、达林博物馆，以及文物真正的所在地。

要点速览

Tarut Castle is not officially open to visitors: the 1984 restoration was halted incomplete and the towers have structural cracking. You can see it from outside — plan for an exterior, not a visit.
The island lies about 6 km off Qatif and is reached by three causeways; it measures roughly 6 km by 3.5 km, about 20 square kilometres.
Many researchers date the castle to the Uyunid period (468 AH / 1076 AD); the Portuguese rebuilt it, with the work dated to 29 March 1544. It stands on the remains of a temple to Astarte, the source of the island's name.
Danish excavations in 1968 recovered pottery dated to 4,500 BC and 3000 BC — but the major finds are held in the National Museum in Riyadh and the regional museum in Dammam, not on Tarut.
The Treaty of Darin was signed on the island in 1915 between Ibn Saud and the United Kingdom; Darin today has a visitor centre and small museum in a building said to be about 200 years old.
Al-Deyrah, the oldest quarter, adjoins the castle on its eastern side and is best walked in the last hour of daylight — the lanes have no shade.

塔鲁特位于海湾中，距盖提夫海岸约六公里，通过三条堤道与大陆相连。当人们说东部省早在石油出现之前就已有人居住时，塔鲁特正是常被提及的地方之一。考古发现表明，这里的人类定居史超过五千年，岛屿至今仍沿用腓尼基人在此供奉的女神之名——伊什塔鲁特、阿斯塔特、塔鲁特。

关于一个数字的说明。各方资料对岛屿面积的记载并不一致。Saudipedia给出的数字约为6公里乘3.5公里，总面积约20平方公里；英文维基百科条目则称约70平方公里，并称塔鲁特为海湾第二大岛屿。这两个数字不可能同时成立——6乘3.5约等于20——而这一"第二大"的排名放在巴林或布比延岛面前也站不住脚。本文采用较小且内部逻辑一致的数字，并不采用该排名说法。

城堡已关闭，这是首先要知道的事

塔鲁特城堡矗立在岛屿中央一座低矮的山丘上，你见过的每一张塔鲁特照片拍的都是它。大量研究将这座建筑的年代定为欧尤尼德时期，伊斯兰历468年/公元1076年；葡萄牙人在16世纪对其进行了重建和加固，相关工程的年代被确定为1544年3月29日。城堡建在一座供奉阿斯塔特神庙的遗址之上，岛屿的名字正源于此——城堡实际上就建在这个地方之所以叫"塔鲁特"的原因之上。

城堡并未正式对游客开放。上一次修复始于1984年，中途停工，此后塔楼出现了结构性裂缝，存在坍塌风险。四座塔楼中的三座仍然矗立；第四座在一次战斗中倒塌。游客可以走到山丘上，从外部观看城墙，这也是大多数人的做法，这也是对这段体验最诚实的描述：只能看外观，不能算参观。

代拉区，城堡脚下的街区

城堡东侧紧邻代拉区——岛上最古老的街区，以石头和泥土沿着窄到汽车无法通行的小巷建成。这正是塔鲁特值得不慌不忙走上一小时的部分。其中一些已经过修复，更多则未经修复，而修复后的立面与仍立于原始墙体之上的邻家老屋之间的反差，比任何说明牌都更能说明岛屿最近一个世纪的变迁。

附近的塔鲁特泉——历史上岛上唯一的水源，也称塔鲁特浴场——解释了当初为何会有人在这座小岛上定居。

这片土地出土过什么

丹麦考古学家在1968年的发掘中，出土了年代分别为公元前4500年和公元前3000年的陶器。一尊在20世纪50年代发现的石雕像，深灰色，高94厘米，是岛上最著名的文物。带有猫和海洋图案雕刻的皂石容器出土于拉菲阿土丘；刻有铭文的赛巴依岩石发现于1959年；有记录的最近一次发现是在1993年。

由此带来一个实际后果，也常令人意外：这些文物并不在岛上。主要文物收藏于利雅得国家博物馆，另有部分藏于达曼的地区博物馆。若想看塔鲁特出土的文物，需要去别处看。这座岛屿能给你的，是这些文物出土的那片土地本身。

达林：港口、博物馆与条约

达林位于岛屿南侧，是采珠业时代的工作港口。当地设有一座游客中心，内设一间小型博物馆，馆址是一座据称已有约两百年历史的传统建筑——这是在塔鲁特了解概况最直接的地方。1915年，《达林条约》在这座岛上签署，签约方为伊本·沙特与英国，这段历史分量之重，超过大多数同等大小岛屿所承载的历史。

三条海滨大道——达林、萨纳比斯和祖尔——沿海岸延伸，其使用方式与海湾地区其他海滨大道相同：傍晚时分，一家人步行而至。

如何将塔鲁特安排进一天行程

从达曼或豪拜尔出发，半天时间即可游览塔鲁特，并可与盖提夫自然衔接——盖提夫位于大陆一侧，正是那几条堤道的另一端。建议选在较凉爽的月份，并在傍晚时分前往：代拉区的小巷没有遮荫，而城堡墙面在最后一小时呈现的光线，正是把时间安排在此刻的理由。与东部省其他地方一样，自驾是抵达此地的实用方式。

关于更广泛的区域信息，请参阅我们的东部省指南；住宿方面，请参阅达曼与豪拜尔酒店指南。豪拜尔以南的海岸线，详见我们的半月湾指南。

常见问题

Can you go inside Tarut Castle?: No. The castle is not officially open to visitors. The last restoration began in 1984 and was stopped before completion, and the towers have developed structural cracking that carries a risk of collapse. Visitors walk up to the hill and see the walls from outside.
How do you get to Tarut Island?: By road. Three causeways connect the island to Qatif on the mainland, and Tarut is roughly a half-day trip from Dammam or Al Khobar. A car is the practical way to arrive; public transport between towns in the Eastern Province is limited.
Where can I see the archaeological finds from Tarut?: Not on the island. The major objects — including the dark grey stone statue found in the 1950s and steatite vessels from Tell Rafi'ah — are held in the National Museum in Riyadh, with further material at the regional museum in Dammam.
How big is Tarut Island?: Sources disagree. Saudipedia gives about 6 km by 3.5 km, roughly 20 square kilometres. The English Wikipedia entry states about 70 square kilometres and ranks Tarut second-largest in the Gulf, which is not consistent with those dimensions or with the sizes of Bahrain and Bubiyan. We use the smaller figure.
What is the best time of day to visit?: Late afternoon in the cooler months. The lanes of Al-Deyrah are unshaded, and the light on the castle walls in the last hour before sunset is the reason to time a visit that way.