Fort & Castle Tour

Description

Nizwa Fort and Souq

Nizwa is one of the oldest cities in Oman and it was once a center of trade, religion, education, and art. It was formerly a center for Islamic learning. Nizwa acquired its importance because it has been an important meeting point at the base of the Western Al-Hazer Mountains. Set amid a verdant spread of date palms, it is strategically located at the crossroads of routes linking the interior with Muscat and the lower reaches of Dhofar thus serving as the link for a large part of the country. Today, Nizwa is a diverse prosperous place with numerous agricultural, historical and recreational aspects. Nizwa is a center for date growing and is the marketplace for the area.

Nizwa Fort was built in 1668 AD by Imam Sultan Bin Saif Al-Yarubi. It is Oman’s most visited national monument. The fort was the administrative seat of authority for the presiding Imams and Walis in times of peace and conflict. The main bulk of the fort took about 12 years to complete and was built above an underground stream. The fort is a reminder of the town’s significance through turbulent periods in Oman’s long history. It was a formidable stronghold against raiding forces that desired Nizwa’s abundant natural wealth and its strategic location at the crossroads of vital routes.

Jebreen Castle

Rising without competition from the surrounding plain, Jabreen Castle is an impressive sight. Even if you have had a surfeit of fortifications, it’s worth making the effort to clamber over one more set of battlements – Jabreen is one of the best-preserved and whimsical castles of them all. Head for the flagpole for a bird’s-eye view of the latticed window courtyard at the heart of the keep; the rooms here have distinctive painted ceilings.

Built in 1675 by Imam Bil-Arab Bin Sultan, Jabreen Castle was an important Centre of learning for astrology, medicine, and Islamic law, and, unusually for Oman’s forts and castles, there’s quite a lot to discover inside the vast battlements. There is an interesting Date store, for example, to the right of the main entrance on the left-hand side. The juice of the fruit would have run along the channels into storage vats, ready for cooking or to assist women in labor.

The most interesting feature of this castle is the elaborately painted ceiling, the original defensive mechanism of Jabreen. Try to locate the burial chambers, remarkable for their carved vaults, and the room earmarked for the sultan’s favorite horse.

Jabreen Castle location, trapped between the mountain and a particularly arid part of the desert, roasts under a ferocious sun for much of the year, hence the falaj, running through the outer courtyard, which was not used for water supply but as an early air-con system.