Fortresses of Oman and its castles .. Architectural artifacts and historical evidence

Ahmed bin Saif Al Hinai - Muscat

211 high-rise buildings tell the historical myth of Oman through ancient times, which once represented a high political entity, where rulers and imams meet the people, through which armies set out, spread over a wide geographical area across more than 300,000 square kilometers, and almost no state; It is the castles of Oman and its forts.

According to the latest statistics issued by the National Center for Statistics and Information until 2017, the number of restored forts and fortresses reached 82 castles and fortresses, Muscat occupies the highest provinces in terms of castles by five out of 21 castles, while the province of North Al Batinah takes the lion's share in terms of the number of forts 11 of the 61 fortifications have been crossed and 129 towers restored in the Sultanate.

These fortresses and fortresses embodied the heroics and history of Oman, and was the venue for emergency meetings and discuss everything related to the political, social and economic aspects, and in its loyalty were held seminars of science and study, and each region is unique and unique to others.

If the architecture is mentioned, Jibreen Fort is one of the most amazing wonders of Omani architecture with its unique architecture, inscriptions and captivating ornamentation.After history, Bahla Fort will be remembered as one of the oldest castles of Oman dating back to pre-Islam and has been inscribed on the World Heritage List since In 1987, while the castles and forts of Nizwa, Rustaq, Galali, Mirani, Nakhl, Sohar, Mirbat, Ibri, Mudhaibi and Ibra represent defensive locations that are extremely accurate, fortified and large in construction.

Forts and tourist facades
The site of the Ministry of Tourism has chosen nine castles and 14 fortresses as an important tourist and historical interface that must be visited by tourists, where the castles Jalali and Mirani in the facade, which overlooking the Sea of ​​Oman, next to the market of Mutrah in the capital Muscat.

Some refer to the name of the castle Jalali to the meaning of majesty and high beauty, and others refer to the Persian word "Jalal Shah," the name of a Persian leader. Some attribute the castle of Mirani to the word "Meranti", a Portuguese word for "Admiral", and others refer to the word "Miran Shah," a leader of the Persian also. The castles bore the burden of defending the city against Portuguese campaigns.

The Muttrah Citadel is the only outlet between Muscat and Muttrah. It consists of three towers and contains a variety of cannons and old vehicles from different countries such as Portuguese, British, French, American, Indian and Persian.

In Al-Faiqin castle in the Wilayat of Manah, which consists of its four floors, the tourist can see beautiful green oases and ancient heritage lanes that were characterized by its unique architecture, while the castle of Nakhl stands amidst a forest of palms in the wilayat of Nakhl in South Al Batinah Governorate. Many sources the construction of the castle dates back to the pre-Islamic period.

Al-Rustaq Castle, which dates back to 1250, is armed with four towers, while Sohar Fort is one of the most important architectural castles of its historical roles. .

Returning to the forts selected from the Omani Ministry of Tourism, we find that the fortress of Hazm in the wilayat of Rustaq, which, as the Ministry points out the masterpieces of Islamic architecture, it does not contain any timber in the ceiling formed in the form of round contracts fixed on cylinders (columns), and the width of the wall at least The one about three meters.

Hilla Fort
In the province of Buraimi is the "Hilla Fort", which is unique to its paintings and decorations made of stucco, and to the north-east of Oman stands the fortress Almntarib built in the 13th century, and became during the reign of Imam Azan bin Qais, the center of the legislative and administrative authority in the region.

However, the archaeological fort of Salif in Ibri governorate, which was built in 1718, is characterized by its great wall and its seven towers. Between the elements of traditional defensive and local architecture, its thick walls with mud-brick towers conceal an elegant architecture that reveals multiple arches, painted ceilings and elaborate stucco reliefs, and transformed into a museum of conventional weapons. Traditional in Oman.

The Ministry of Heritage and Culture and the Ministry of Tourism alternate to take care and attention to these important historical buildings, in order to develop and invest in the service of tourism and the definition of Omani civilization and promotion within the Sultanate and abroad, and attracted the attention of 366 thousand and 360 tourists last year, according to statistics of the Ministry of Tourism of Oman, including eight thousand 514 citizens of the GCC countries and 7,586 from the rest of the Arab countries, while the largest share of foreigners came by 251 thousand and eighty people, and within the Sultanate 99 thousand and 180 people, which demonstrates the keenness of Omanis to visit this country. Places and recall their history bygone.

The Sultanate continues to pay great attention and attention to these antique architectural artifacts, as evidenced by the Khasab Fort in 2010 won the Academy Award at the annual Museum and Heritage Competition held in the British capital London, as the best historical site developed for tourism purposes in the world, surpassing 250 institutions and facilities and international museums .

The Director of the Department of Castles, Forts and Historical Monuments at the Ministry of Heritage and Culture, Sulaiman bin Hamad Al-Subhi, said that the castles and forts represent a glorious history in the conscience and conscience of the Omani human being;

It is, as Sobhi sees, not just a shrine that amazes the tourist with the luxury of its architecture and the luxury of its architecture, but in every fortress or fortress the remains of great events that have taken place, or articulated battles that have affected its internal and external surroundings, from which the pillars of the Omani fixed policy started to interact with what is going on around them. It revolves within it, and it represents a coherent structure expressing the unity of Omanis throughout the ages, and each building has its own social philosophy that expresses the era in which it was built.