Al Jalali Fort

Museums aside, few historical edifices showcase Omani martial skills and the grandeur of Omani fortifications in times bygone like Al Jalali Fort. Fewer still offer such a wealth of insights into Oman's rich heritage and culture like this splendid edifice standing sentry-like over Muscat bay.Al Jalali Fort is now a grand museum set in an authentic, but grandiose ambience, befitting such visitors like royalty, heads of state and other foreign dignitaries.
A heavy, gold-lined visitors' book maintained at the fort records the visits of eminent personalities and their impressions of this great structure.Indeed, Al Jalali Fort, is perhaps the finest of Oman's historical fortifications in the capital area and its environs. From its vantage position atop a rocky outcrop, the fort commands unparalleled views of the harbour and the old city, including Muscat's most prestigious landmark — His Majesty the Sultan's Al Alam Palace.
Together with its 'twin' — the Mirani fort, perilously straddling another rocky outcrop just a stone's throw away — the Al Jalali Fort once served as a bastion against foreign seaborne aggression in its heyday. The so-called twin forts, in conjunction with the veritable defences of the Muttrah fort and a host of fortified structures and watchtowers along the rocky ridges of the bay, made Muscat virtually impregnable. They collectively supplemented the old city's natural defences offered by the massed rows of rocky hills fringing the bay.

NIZWA fort

Set amid a verdant spread of date palms Nizwa fort is a powerful reminder of the town's invincibility through turbulent periods in Oman's long history.In times bygone, it was a formidable bastion against marauding forces that coveted Nizwa's abundant natural wealth, and its strategic location at the crossroads of vital caravan routes. A long line of imams of the Yaaruba dynasty held sway from its majestic ramparts, presiding over an era of great cultural, religious and educational enrichment. This splendid 17th century edifice — the largest on the Arabian peninsula — stands today as a monument to this heady era in Nizwa's and, indeed, Oman's glorious history. An estimated 58,200 visitors, including 19,063 foreign tourists, explored this fine citadel during 1997, according to a register maintained at the fort. Visiting Arab and GCC nationals were among those called here as well.Built by Imam Sultan bin Saif al Yaarubi in 1668 AD, the fort's design reflects the considerable advancement made in the field of military fortifications and mortar-based warfare during the Yaarubi era. The walls are rounded and robust, designed to withstand fierce barrages of mortar fire — a common feature of warfare in those times.

Date of Inscription: 1987
Criteria: (iv)
Localization: N22 57 51.012 E57 18 3.996
Oasis of Bahla, 25 km west of Nazwa
Ref: 433

Brief Description

The oasis of Bahla owes its prosperity to the Banu Nebhan, the dominant tribe in the area from the 12th to the end of the 15th century. The ruins of the immense fort, with its walls and towers of unbaked brick and its stone foundations, is a remarkable example of this type of fortification and attests to the power of the Banu Nebhan .