Published with the Support and Encouragement of:

STRONGHOLDS OF HERITAGEFor ts and Castles of Oman

DR PATRICIA GROVESWith Photography by Jaap Croese

STRONGHOLDS OF HERITAGEFor ts and Castles of Oman

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Sultan of Oman.

Forewordby HE Mohammed Al Tobi

Undersecretary, Ministry of Tourism

The forts and castles of Oman are at the heart of our heritage as they exemplify the nobility and courage of the Omani people in defending this country over many centu-ries. The advent of a book that for the first time provides comprehensive coverage of all Oman’s major strongholds is therefore an important documentary milestone.

When you read Strongholds of Heritage, you will sense that it is an inspired work that speaks for all of us who have come to know and love the truly superb defensive architecture of the Sultanate. Each fort or castle has its own history and personality and, with repeated visits, becomes familiar, like the houses in our lives.

Written with intimate knowledge of the strongholds and of the country and its her-itage, this work is more than a book; it is an important contribution to the growing cultural repertoire of the nation in literature on significant Omani themes.

The forts and castles of Oman are dear to my heart, because, like others of my gener-

ation, I grew up in the exciting period when many of these venerable strongholds were being restored by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture. I had the good fortune in the past to hold the position of Director of Domestic Tourism – first in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and later in the Ministry of Tourism – and thus to play a direct role in the development of these magnificent buildings for the public.

It is the aim of the Ministry of Tourism to reinforce the natural pride that Omanis have in their heritage and to share the nation’s natural and cultural treasures with visitors from abroad. At the same time, we are acting on our vested responsibility to provide educational and economic opportu-nities to Omani citizens through the devel-opment of historic sites, while carefully preserving the precious evidence of the past. We are tremendously pleased to sup-port this beautiful book which has indeed the same goals.

I wish to congratulate the author, Dr Patricia Groves, on her wonderful achieve-ment in creating this book, and the photog-rapher, Jaap Croese, for illustrating it so beautifully. And I especially want to thank all the staff in the Directorate of Historical Sites Development for assisting in the re-search, as well as the Ministry of Tourism staff at our many strongholds throughout the Sultanate.

Mohammed Al Tobi

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all who support and maintain the forts

and castles of Oman, whether they be Ministry officials or village

workers, and to all who come to enjoy these splendid monuments,

from schoolchildren to local residents – whether Omani or

expatriate – and to each new visitor from afar.

Published by Motivate Publishing

Dubai: PO Box 2331, Dubai, UAETel: (+971 4) 282 4060, fax: (+9714) 282 7898e-mail: books@motivate.ae www.booksarabia.comOffice 508, Building No 8, Dubai Media City, Dubai, UAETel: (+971 4) 390 3550, fax: (+971 4) 390 4845

Abu Dhabi: PO Box 43072, Abu Dhabi, UAETel: (+971 2) 677 2005, fax: (+971 2) 677 0124

London: Acre House, 11/15 William Road, London NW1 3ERe-mail: motivateuk@motivate.ae

Directors: Obaid Humaid Al Tayer and Ian Fairservice

Editing and design by: David Steele

Editors: Therese Theron, Simona Cassano, Moushumi Nandy Senior Designer: Cithadel Francisco; Designer: Charlie BanaloPublishing Coordinator: Zelda Pinto

© Dr Patricia Groves and Jaap Croese and Motivate Publishing, 2010

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing in any medium by electronic means) without the written permission of the copyright holders. Application for the copyright holders’ written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publishers. In accordance with the International Copyright Act 1956 and the UAE Federal Law No. (7) of 2002, Concerning Copyrights and Neighboring Rights, any personacting in contravention of this will be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

ISBN: 978 1 86063 269 3

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data.A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Printed by Emirates Printing Press, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Preface

Before it begins, a book is an idea and an aspiration. The idea for this book came from my first encounter with Jabreen Castle sev-eral years ago.

While wandering though the chambers of the castle, I came upon the famous Hall of the Sun and the Moon. The castle guide had mentioned that the fourteen clerestory win-dows of this room were designed to allow moonlight to stream in at night and to di-minish the blaze of the sun during the day.

The idea of an ancient castle illuminated purely by nature’s bounty inspired me to write The Garden of the Sun and the Moon, a series of poetic reflections on Oman. This was a work that would underlie the feature articles on the heritage and culture of Oman

that I wrote during the following decade, which in turn led to this book.

In the meantime, Jaap Croese, a talented Dutch photographer and long-time resident of Oman, traversed the country from top to bottom, from north to south and from east to west, exploring and photographing mountains, wadis, plains, oases, desert, towns and cities, shores and islands. This culminated in two highly successful photographic books, Oman – A Pictorial Tour and Oman – A Pictorial Souvenir, published by Motivate in 2006. As Jaap had been thinking of creating a photographic book on the forts and castles of Oman, I invited him to do the photography for Strongholds of Heritage – with truly spectacular results.

As much as it is about the forts and cas-tles, this book is about Oman and its mys-tique, the inspirational dream it gives to visitors and how that dream can be ex-pressed in words and images. As strong-holds of heritage, the forts and castles of Oman are emblematic of a proud nation with a tumultuous history in which courage and loyalty prevailed. The advanced nation we know today was made possible in part by the vigilance of these ancient bastions as guardians of the land and its shores.

Oman’s distinguished collection of forts and castles is a resource available not only to the nation, but also to the broader world. The aim of this book is to assist in that en-deavour – to share this remarkable heritage.

Patricia GrovesMuscat, September 2010

In the receding sun of late afternoon, the majestic Hall of the Sun and the Moon at Jabreen Castle shimmers with golden light.

Chapter I

Khasab Castle,Sentry of the Strait

Separating the Arabian Gulf from the Gulf of Oman, the towering peninsula of Musandam is one of the great landmarks of the world. Its spear-like headland points in the direction of Iran, only a short distance away and once the centre of the great Persian Empire.

Since the days of the ancient Mesopota-mian and Indus Valley civilizations, from the third millennium BC, the Strait of Hor-muz, a narrow channel between the lands of Oman and those of Iran, has been a busy ocean thoroughfare.

Standing high over this strategic passage at the hinge of trading routes linking the Middle East, the Orient and Africa, Musan-dam has witnessed important journeys in history for 5,000 years – from the passage of the reed boats of Magan (ancient Oman), carrying copper to Mesopotamia, to the voyage of a contingent of Alexander the Great’s fleet under the command of Admiral Nearchus in 323 BC1, to the conquering ships of the Portuguese in the sixteenth cen-tury and present-day oil tankers taking fuel from the Gulf to other parts of the world.

For more than four centuries, a castle has cast its shadow over the sands of Khasab Harbour on the Strait of Hormuz. And this

beautifully stationed castle may not have been the first fortification to command the shores and protect the fertile valley leading inland, as there are some signs that Khasab Castle may have been built on the ruins of an earlier indigenous fort.

The Portuguese constructed the fortress at the beginning of the seventeenth century with ambitious plans for dominion over the Strait of Hormuz. But their hopes were dash-ed when, in 1624, they failed to recapture Hor muz. A quarter of a century later, the Por tuguese were expelled from Oman for -ever and the castle was put to peaceful use, ser ving the interests of local government.

The castle is built around a large, rectan-gular open-air courtyard. A handsome perimeter wall made of stones from the nearby foothills encloses the courtyard and joins the four corner towers of the structure. Two stories tall, this curtain wall is crenel-lated with discrete, rounded merlons and features a wide inner parapet. Three of the corner towers, square in design, acted as keeps and provided strategic overviews of the landward and seaward approaches. In the fourth corner, facing the bay, is a round watchtower with an elevated firing platform and multiple cannon ports. On the groud

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floor directly inside the northern sea-facing wall, flanking the entrance to the castle, are the original castle kitchens and a number of interrelated rooms currently used for ad -mini stration, as well as a gift shop.

In the centre of the courtyard is a con-struction thought to be of great antiquity – a large round tower of unusual thickness. This ancient tower makes the castle distinc-tive for two reasons; first, because it breaks the classic pattern of placing towers in walls and, second, because it is most likely an Omani building, predating the Portuguese construction, perhaps by a few centuries.

This venerable tower that, in days of old, provided the last bastion of defence, is to-day an inviting museum with wheelchair ac cess to the top chamber. The tower features twelve exhibits providing in-depth information on the history, geology, wild-life, architecture, art, culture and daily life of Musandam. Among the treasury of arte-facts is a fine collection of antique jirz, the small, long-handled axe that has become a central symbol in the heritage of Musandam.

Near the tower in the dappled shade of old trees is a palm-frond (‘arīsh) summer house and a reconstructed bayt al qufl (house of the lock) which blend so well into the courtyard that it seems they have al ways been there. Elevated on pillars of stone, the ‘arīsh house, an orderly latticework of vertical palm branches, was designed to catch breezes from the sea. These light and airy houses were occupied by mountain dwellers and inhabitants of remote coastal settlements who came to Kha sab in the summer to fish and harvest dates.

The ‘house of the lock’ was made virtu-ally impregnable by means of a complex and sophisticated double-locking system. Built partially below ground and made of heavy stone, the bayt al qufl was not pri-marily a dwelling but evolved as a means of safeguarding vital supplies during peri-ods of seasonal migration. Enormous Julfar ware storage jars (pottery made in western Musandam) were placed on the floor when the foundations of the bayt al qufl had been excavated. The house was then built

Above: Made entirely of stone, this classic bayt al qufl (house of the lock), a form of archi ­tecture unique to Musandam and used for storing food and other vital supplies, is found a short distance inland from the town.

Right: in this view from the breathtaking sum­mit overlooking Khor Najd, the grey hairpin road seems like the winding trail of a primordial snake that once made its way down to the sea and vanished.

opposite pAge: The central tower of Khasab Castle, now a museum, is thought to predate the structure built by the Portuguese in the early seventeenth century.

pRevious spReAd: Seen from the waters of the bay, the stately castle at Khasab is flanked by a date­palm orchard and a formidable wall of mountains. Fertile soil at the mouth of the wadi – combined with a natural harbour – made this an ideal location for settlement.

around the jars, so that they could not be taken through the doorway by thieves, since the door was smaller than the jars. The cas-tle’s bayt al qufl is an authentic structure brought stone by stone from its original place at the foot of the mountains further along the valley and accurately reassembled. Inside are three or four old Julfar ware jars barely visible in the darkened chamber and encrusted with hardened earth.

For a hundred years or so, the castle was the residence of the Wali (local Governor), his family and administration. The Wali’s barza, a room for discussion and consul-tation meetings, is located on the first floor

of the north-eastern tower, along with a waiting room and judge’s chambers. These rooms in what is now called the ‘Wali’s Wing’ have been restored and furnished evocatively in period style with cushions, carpets and antique furniture.

The tower in the opposite corner has been transformed into a library which also captures the atmosphere of times long past. Beautifully framed replicas of old manu-scripts hang on the walls. Outside the win-dows bright-green ringneck Parakeets swoop through sun-splashed palm bran -ches. With light flowing through a castel-lated window, the visitor can settle in at

a wooden table and read one of the many informative books on Oman that fill the shelves of this charming castle library.

In the courtyard below are three tra-ditional boats, a battīl, māshuwah and zarū qah from the old fishing village of Kumzar, the farthest outpost on the northern shores of Musandam. The battīl is a grace ful boat with a long stem-piece and a dis-tinctive high stern, uniquely decorated with goatskin and cowrie shells on brightly coloured woven bands. Fast under sail, the battīl was traditionally used in the Gulf for raiding as well as fishing, pearling and trading. The zarūqah is similar in design to

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Above: One of the castle towers has been transformed into a library that captures the atmosphere of times long past, with its polished wooden tables, beautiful old carpets and light flowing through castellated windows. In the homey reading room shown here, visitors will find several good books on Oman, including Paolo M. Costa’s seminal work, Musandam: Architecture and Material Culture of a Little Known Region of Oman.

opposite pAge: This beautifully furnished bed­room in the ‘Traditional Wing’ of the castle is fit for a resident or guest of high rank. Among the treasures in the room are porcelain dishes, two silver rosewater bottles and an antique chest. The exotic pattern on the bedcover and the silk cushions in sumptuous colours add a striking richness to the décor.

the battīl but more symmetrical and easier to manoeuvre. Fast and quiet, the zarūqah is used for fishing, sometimes guided by a spotter positioned on the top of nearby cliffs. The māshuwah is a lighter boat orig-inally used for ferrying cargo to and from the large ocean-going vessels that came into harbour.

Another area of the castle, known as the Traditional Wing, is set with scenes of life-size figures enacting a Qur’anic school in session, the dispensing of traditional medi-cines, a wedding ceremony and women engaged in home crafts. There are tableaux fea turing jewellery and traditional silver crafts, along with shelves displaying porce-lain and other trea sures of the times. In the castle gift shop are fine examples of the crafts of the region, such as the jirz, and clay incense burners from lima, a small settlement on the eastern coast of Musan-dam that still produces hand-turned pottery in distinctive traditional designs.

The stark, mountainous peninsula of Mu san dam, isolated from the rest of the country until the era of HM Sultan Qaboos bin Said by virtue of an inaccessible terrain, now enjoys a modern infrastruc-ture, regular links by air and a high-speed catamaran ferry service direct from Muscat. during the greater part of their history, life for the people of Musandam was extremely hard, but it made them uncommonly re-sourceful, as evidenced in particular by a unique vernacular architecture.

Now in an age of global tourism, the Musandam Peninsula, with its steep moun-tain cliffs dramatically plunging into silent bays of pale, shimmering water, is seen as untamed and otherworldly, one of the last wilderness des tinations at the edge of time. In this context, the authentically restored castle that crowns Khasab Bay and evokes four centuries of history is a treasure of singular interest.