Castles to visit Oman

Built in 1670 as a secondary residence for Imam Bil'arab bin Sultan, Jabrin Castle is one of the jewels in the sultanate's crown, renowned for its painted ceilings, walls decorated with arabesque astrological motifs, stucco and wooden moucharabiehs and magnificently carved doors: a fine example of Omani architecture. In its heyday, more than 300 people used to come and go between the crenellated walls of its enclosure, members of the imam's family and small staff. The complex was masterfully restored between 1979 and 1983, and the surrounding residents relocated a short distance away to make way for a parking lot. To discover this fortified residential palace, there's nothing like the audio guides provided at the entrance to help you find your way around the maze of staircases, corridors and adjoining rooms.

After the main door and a first courtyard, go through a second wooden door carved in one piece and valiantly guarded by two cannons. Immediately to the left, a small staircase leads to the guard room. Immediately after, a narrow passage leads to the tomb of Imam Bil'arab bin Sultan. Walk up to the tomb and retrace your steps. You then enter the castle's inner courtyard, extended by a hall. The tour begins here, at the far left. If you look up and wide-eyed, you can make out the slits on either side of the ceiling: these were used to monitor comings and goings at the entrance to the building. If an undesirable person tried to pass through the hall, boiling oil or hot date honey was poured on them as a sign of "unwelcome". Next opens the room where the provisions were kept. Admire the chests as well as the palm-leaf baskets and jars used to store wheat, spices, dried fish...

A staircase at the end of the hall, on the left, leads to the second floor and several reception rooms decorated with cushions on the floor and beautifully embellished carpets. The library with its carved wooden Koran holders is on this level. Take time to observe the engraved or painted ceilings for which Jabrin is renowned, and which have been brilliantly restored: arabesques, ornamental motifs, verses from the Koran, poems. A few steps lead up to the women's bathroom, while others lead down to the imam's tomb.

To reach the second floor, take the main staircase, the only one with a magnificently engraved ribbed ceiling. But beware! Its fourth step is rigged and can be removed. A number of nasty invaders left their evil intentions and their freedom behind. The importance of this trap is clear from the fact that the steps led directly into the apartments of the Sultan's family. You'll discover the guest rooms, adjoined by the small Hall of Secrets, or najwa, where confidential matters were whispered. Here again, contemplate the colorful beamed ceilings. The staircase leading to the third floor overlooks the rooftops, all nooks and crannies, with a panoramic view of the beautiful adjacent palm grove. On one side is the prayer room, on the other the reading room where the fundamentals of Islam were taught.

A door at the far end of this room leads back down to the other side of the castle. A few steps further down, head left, where a staircase leads to the second floor of the right wing. This part of the building is built around a superb patio, overlooking the kitchens. The first room on the left is the conference room, whose distinctive feature was a double back at each corner. Spies with keen ears could be posted here to listen in on whispered conversations! The second room is the dining room, and the third is the courtroom, with a door barely 40 cm high through which prisoners were let out... Another curiosity is the horse room, which was devoted to the master's personal pet. A peculiarity that speaks volumes about the adoration of the Omani (and Arab male populations in general) for equines. On the first floor is the kitchen, and at the far end is a special room where date honey was made. The fruit was stacked over two meters high in large woven palm sacks, then pressed. The resulting juice flowed into a gutter at the end of which it was collected.

For those interested in the restoration of painted ceilings, see the article in Icomos Information I-1988 at www.icomos.org. The author and director of the work, Jean Claude Bourret, describes the stages of this complex and fascinating rehabilitation. We learn that "the painters who decorated Jabrin's original ceilings had a wide range of motifs at their disposal: calligraphic, floral, geometric, interlacing, arabesques, rosettes, stars, polygons, spirals, interlaced curved lines, frames, etc." and that "three dominant colors equally distributed over the ornamental surface were used". For the renovation, "pigments were used from Roussillon, Gargace and Rustrel (in the Vaucluse region), where the pigment quarries whose hues were closest to the paintings on the Jabrin ceilings are located. Some pigments, however, were found on site, at the foot of Djebel Akhdar".

A remnant of the past, the royal city occupies a large part of Old Muscat, the oldest historical district of the city along with Mutrah. It was from this original small fishing port that Muscat became the prosperous city it is today. The fortifications and defensive buildings, restored in 1979 at the request of Sultan Qaboos, date back to the 16th century, the time of the Portuguese presence in Muscat. Three gates (Bab al-Kabir, Bab al-Saghir and Bab al-Mathaib) line the city and delimit the oldest section. One quickly falls under the charm of this small district which seems like a neat village in the heart of the capital: renovated houses, flowery sidewalks, immaculate streets... an Eden on the edge of the Arabian Sea! We understand why some ministries still remain there, like the one of Finance with its golden door. All the sights being held in a rather restricted perimeter, one discovers the city on foot, and why not a second time in the evening when the clever lighting of the buildings and the mountains lends itself particularly to an aesthetic and peaceful stroll. On site, three monuments are not to be missed: the two forts Al-Mirani and Al-Jalali, and the Qasr al-Alam, one of the residences of His Majesty the late Sultan Qaboos, now owned by the new Sultan Haïtham ben Tariq. This last palace, quite astonishing and of loaded style, is preceded by a huge esplanade framed by long buildings with arcades. It cannot be visited, but its flamboyant exterior architecture allows one to imagine the sumptuousness of its interior spaces and decorations. Large gold and blue columns reach for the sky, surrounded by beautiful beds of orange and purple bougainvillea, and armfuls of roses, one variety of which bears the name of the former sultan. The three monuments stand on the seafront, between ochre-colored rocks. To get there, you have to pass through one of the gates (ideally the one of Baba al-Mathaib, the closest one) and go to the water's edge, at the level of the cornice where you can find: on the left, the harbor; on the right, the Al-Mirani fort and the palace; and, in front of it, even more on the right, the Al-Jalali fort. Proudly standing on small escarpments, the two citadels are not to be visited either. The first one now houses the royal guard, while the second one is used by the army. From the cornice, one can see the names of the ships that passed through Muscat and left their mark on the cliffs bordering the port. The oldest inscription dates from 1876.

It is the childhood residence of the late Sultan Qaboos, now reserved for great national ceremonies. Every year, after the monsoon, a thorough cleaning of its Taqah stones takes place, one of the great pride of the region. The palace is of course closed to the public, and you won't see much from the road, but it is said that, during his periods of residence in Salalah, Sultan Qaboos used to drive around the area in his car and offer to grant a wish to anyone who called him...

Housed in a superbly restored ^17th-century fortified house, this museum is a journey back in time, taking us into the daily lives of the Omanis of yesteryear. From one room to the next, the countless objects on display tell us about the lifestyles of adults and children alike, through an eclectic collection ranging from traditional weapons, tools, jewelry, kitchen utensils, etc. (which can also be seen in certain forts) to more "familiar" objects such as old toys, bicycles, old school bags and candy wrappers!

Mirbat Fort is a massive square fortress built of earth and local stone. Its architecture is typical of a defensive building with towers, a parapet walk and a vast inner courtyard. However, it was not only used for military purposes, but also as a residence and administrative center. Renovated, the fort now houses a well-designed museum on Omani culture.

Next to the Fort, take a look at the old market and its old mud stores - now derelict.

Superbly restored using traditional Omani materials, this beautiful ^19th-century fortified residence once belonged to the royal family. Impressive in size, it measures 40 meters long by 30 meters wide, with some fifteen rooms arranged around a vast inner courtyard and protected by crenellated ramparts. Multi-purpose (kitchen, reception rooms, bedrooms, etc.), the rooms are spread over two levels. In addition to being a museum, the residence regularly hosts cultural events.