Oman Day 1 - Fort Tour

On the first day in Oman, it was perfect timing for a drive and tour some forts. Three were visited, but it was odd in that it seemed to be National Fort Renovation and Repair Day. The first two forts were closed, but that did not stop me from entering and looking around until I was thrown out by the workers. The first stop was Nakhal Fort in the Al Batinah Region of Oman, about 75 miles west of Muscat. The fort was built sometime before the 7th Century and has been renovated many times throughout the years. The current fort structure dates from 1834. One of the interesting features of this fort was that it wasn’t built on flat ground and you can see the jagged rocks throughout the structure.

Nakhal Fort

Nakhal Fort

The towers of the fort provide excellent views of the local palm groves.

Nakhal Fort

Nakhal Fort

Nakhal Fort

Nakhal Fort

The next stop on he tour was Rustaq Fort. I did not get very far into it before I was tossed out as I completely ignored the closed sign. This picture is the only one I took.

Rustaq Fort

The next stop on he tour was Al Hazm Castle. Luckily, this one was completely open. This fort was built in 1708 as a residence for Imam Sultan bin Saif II, who ruled from 1711 until his death in 1718. The towers in the fort also represent an change in Omani architecture in which forts were built to protect against canon fire rather than gunfire.

Al Hazm Castle

The fort is flanked by two round towers at the eastern and southern corners and has an intricately carved front door.

Al Hazm Castle

The front door.

Al Hazm Castle

This was the bathroom sign and luckily I look just like this guy so I knew where to go.

Al Hazm Castle

This is an inner door on the castle and you’ll see that on the bottom, there is a spike missing. There is a story of a man who was imprisoned in the castle and saw the shiny spikes, which he believed was made of gold and removed it. He was in jail for a small crime and was about to be let go by the Imam, but the spike fell out of his pocket and onto the ground. That ended the leniency.

Al Hazm Castle

This room is where dates were stored, stacked floor to ceiling. The dates on the bottom of the piles would be crushed and the syrup would run into channels in the floor to be collected. The syrup then would be heated and poured through openings in the walls of the fort onto approaching enemies.

Al Hazm Castle

Imam Sultan bin Saif II

Al Hazm Castle

Meeting Room

Al Hazm Castle

This is the rooftop. The doorways in the center of the picture lead to the bedrooms of the Imam’s children. The done you see on the right sits atop an air channel. Air would flow the channel and provide cool air for within the castle.