The most beautiful military monuments Nizwa And The Western Hajar

Masterfully renovated, the citadel of Nizwa is one of the most impressive and interesting in the country. The foundations of the present building date from the mid-17th century, when the fort was built at the instigation of Imam Sultan bin Saif Al Ya'rubi. Its construction lasted about 12 years, from 1649 to 1661, and the building subsequently underwent regular renovations and alterations over the centuries. Protected by a rampart, the entire structure comprises both a castle and a fortified tower, arranged side by side around a wide courtyard. The former served as a residence and a place for administrative services. The second was purely defensive. It is likely that the castle was built long before the tower. Strategically located in the heart of the city, the citadel allowed the surveillance of the inland trade routes, as well as the oasis and springs of the nearby mountains.

It served as a residence for lawyers, as well as for students from all over the sultanate studying Islam in Nizwa. In addition to its inner courtyard, it had a multitude of outbuildings which we visit today and which have preserved their furniture and ancient objects: prisoners' and students' rooms, prayer and discussion rooms, but also library, Koranic school, rooms for storing dates, etc., all renovated and well-documented spaces where one can learn more about life in the heart of the Omani forts.

As a complement to the visit, the former prison now houses an interesting collection of objects from the past, commented and illustrated by numerous didactic texts. There, in the labyrinth formed by the old cells, traditional costumes and jewellery, coffee pots and household utensils, old keys and locks, pots and baskets, various weapons, etc. are on display. One room is devoted to the aflaj system, another to the dyeing of indigo, and yet another to the history of the Sultanate since the formation of the Arabian Peninsula and in the light of world development (comparative frieze). It's well done and you come out richer than you entered, especially since the scenography is pleasant and the screens add liveliness to the whole by broadcasting short documentary films on the different themes presented. After this amount of information, you might be tempted to take a tea or coffee break in the coffee shop in the courtyard; unless you are going to storm the rooftops of the fortress, to take a picture of the dome and minaret of the superb adjacent mosque: one of the most prized views of the local painters and a choice photo, in an ochre-brown monochrome against a backdrop of mountains. From the citadel tower, a superb panorama embraces to the north the Jebel Akhdar, to the south the mud houses of the old city, to the east the souk and the mosque, to the west the oasis of Nizwa fed by the falaj Daris, one of the longest in the country. On the way down, other superb photo opportunities are offered to us. Since 2019, the courtyard of the citadel hosts a living museum. Under the arcades or in the shade of large tents, Omanis in traditional costumes reproduce the trades of yesteryear. The seamstress sector is particularly attractive, as it is a rare opportunity to take pictures of women in their colourful clothes.

Bahla Fort, which has undergone 24 years of renovation, is the country's most imposing fort. Its south, east and north-west facades measure 112.5 m, 114 m and 135 m respectively. Overlooking the village, the building is divided into several sections. The oldest and most monumental section, Al Qasaba, in the south-east corner, is a separate entity with its own entrance. It has 3 towers, the oldest gate in the citadel and 5 floors of multiple rooms, including a string of 3 majilis with very high, absolutely majestic ceilings. The rest of the space is taken up by a vast courtyard that serves several groups of buildings with their wells, prayer halls, towers, defensive walls, countless rooms and spaces formerly reserved for public service: Bait al-Jabal built in the ^18th century, Bait al-Hadeeth added in the ^mid-19th century and Bait al-Qaed.

Although it has benefited from a masterly renovation, the fort, a veritable Chambord of the Middle East, is now completely empty (no furniture, no carpets, no objects...) and has hardly any explanatory panels. However, this is not the end of the story, for the whole place is impressively gigantic, and it's a dizzying pleasure to get caught up in the maze of half-level platforms, staircases, courtyards, rooms of all sizes, shafts, niches, alcoves, and the entire arsenal of a traditional defensive building - parapet walk, watchtowers, ramparts, loopholes... not forgetting the multiple roofs as many perspectives on this major construction and the oasis that surrounds it.

The citadel owes its prosperity to the Banu Nabhan tribe, who dominated the central region of Oman and made Bahla their capital from the ^12th to the end of the ^15th century. From then on, they established relations with the other tribes of the interior. Bahla was notably the center of Ibadism (the state religion) on which the ancient Omani imamates were founded, and whose influence can be found throughout Arabia, Africa and beyond. Proudly standing in the heart of its oasis, surrounded by plantations irrigated by the falaj system, the building is an outstanding example of an oasis fortified place from the medieval Islamic period, and illustrates the skill of the early inhabitants in using water for agricultural and domestic purposes. With its rounded towers, crenellated parapets and imposing perimeter(over) wall, the citadel attests to the status and influence of the ruling elite who occupied it. The remains of mud-brick family housing estates with their traditional vernacular houses(harat) and associated mosques, audience halls(sabla), baths and the homes of the fort's guards(askari), evoke a pattern of human settlement linked to the location of the falaj.

The importance of the settlement is also highlighted, at close proximity, by the ancient Friday mosque and its richly decorated mihrab, and by the remains of the old half-covered market(souq), comprising a series of single-storey stalls opening onto narrow aisles, all enclosed behind an outer rampart. The souq's location facilitated surveillance from the fort on its rocky escarpment. The remains of carved and artistically incised wooden doors, shelves and window frames bear witness to a rich and prosperous craft tradition.