Bahla Fort

Interesting facts

• Bahla was a seat of the Nabhani dynasty, first as a second capital after Nizwa and then, from the mid-16th century to 1624, as its main capital.
• The fort is roughly triangular in plan, with a south front of about 112 metres and an east front of about 114 metres.
• Its centre is open to the sky, because the walls wrap around a large rocky outcrop rather than enclosing a level courtyard.
• Above the entrance passage are openings through which defenders could pour boiling liquids, by tradition oil, water or even honey, on attackers.
• Excavations in 1993 and 1997 uncovered a broken clay figure of a horseman with Sasanian traits, carved soapstone and fragments of Chinese porcelain.
• Some accounts say the fort had fallen into ruin by 1610, before Imam Nasir bin Murshid of the Ya'ariba restored it.
• About seven wells lie within the walls of the fort, alongside former prisons and horse stables on its northern side.
• At the foot of the fort stands the Friday Mosque, whose carved prayer niche probably dates from the 14th century.
• Bahla's potters still use clay from the wadi bed, trodden by foot to make it workable, in a craft traced back to around 2500 BC.
• In local lore Bahla is associated with sorcery, and the fort has a reputation among residents for being haunted at night.