AL-HAZM STRONG

Perfectly restored and maintained, the different rooms of this citadel are also equipped with many period objects and accessories. The audio guide in several languages, including French, alternates explanations and legends, facilitating and poetizing the wandering through the usual maze of rooms, corridors, courtyards and half levels. Built in 1711 by Imam Sultan bin Saif of the Ya'ariba dynasty, the 17-metre-high building, in which wood and limestone mingle, is a marvel of Islamic architectural art. It is distinguished by walls at least three metres thick, enormous gates dominated by openings from which guards could pour boiling date honey on potential invaders, and by an above-average number of secret passages and tunnels. The ground floor houses the prison: a round room with a central column around which the prisoners revolved endlessly in the dark. One then enters the storage room where the dates were left to ripen to recover their juice. On the first floor are the sultan's apartments, consisting of various lounges, rooms and bedrooms, including a bed built high up and equipped with a system for escaping in case of sudden danger. An underground tunnel runs along this suite, lit only by a few beams of light. The towers of the fort are beautifully carved, as are the ceilings of some rooms . Get your bearings with the audioguide.