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Bahla Fort (; transliterated
Arabic transliteration

Different approaches and methods for the romanization of Arabic language exist. They vary in the way that they address the inherent problems of rendering written and spoken Arabic in the Latin alphabet; they also use different symbols for Arabic phonemes that do not exist in English language or other European languages....
: Qal'at Bahla') is one of four historic fortresses situated at the foot of the Djebel Akhdar
Jebel Akhdar (Oman)

Also known as the camals hideout;The Jebel Akhdar, Jabal Akhdar or Al Jabal Al Akhdar is part of the Al Hajar Mountains range in Oman, which extends about 300 km northwest to southeast, between 50-100 km inland from the Gulf of Oman coast....
 highlands in Oman
Oman

Oman , officially the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab country in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the United Arab Emirates on the northwest, Saudi Arabia on the west and Yemen on the southwest....
. It was built in the 13th and 14th centuries, when the oasis
Oasis

In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source. Oases also provide habitat for animals and even humans if the area is big enough....
 of Bahla
Bahla

Bahla is a town in Ad Dakhiliyah Region, Oman. It is famous for its its ancient fort and its pottery.The town is 40 km away from Nizwa. The old Bahla Fort with its 12 km wall is the oldest fort in Oman....
 was prosperous under the control of the Banu Nebhan tribe. The fort's ruined adobe
Adobe

Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, and water, with some kind of fibrous or organic material , which is shaped into bricks using frames and dried in the sun....
 walls and towers rise some 165 feet above its sandstone
Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-size mineral or rock Particle size . Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust ....
 foundations. Nearby to the southwest is the Friday Mosque with a 14th-century sculpted mihrab
Mihrab

A mihrab is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla, that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying....
.






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Bahla Fort (; transliterated
Arabic transliteration

Different approaches and methods for the romanization of Arabic language exist. They vary in the way that they address the inherent problems of rendering written and spoken Arabic in the Latin alphabet; they also use different symbols for Arabic phonemes that do not exist in English language or other European languages....
: Qal'at Bahla') is one of four historic fortresses situated at the foot of the Djebel Akhdar
Jebel Akhdar (Oman)

Also known as the camals hideout;The Jebel Akhdar, Jabal Akhdar or Al Jabal Al Akhdar is part of the Al Hajar Mountains range in Oman, which extends about 300 km northwest to southeast, between 50-100 km inland from the Gulf of Oman coast....
 highlands in Oman
Oman

Oman , officially the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab country in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the United Arab Emirates on the northwest, Saudi Arabia on the west and Yemen on the southwest....
. It was built in the 13th and 14th centuries, when the oasis
Oasis

In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source. Oases also provide habitat for animals and even humans if the area is big enough....
 of Bahla
Bahla

Bahla is a town in Ad Dakhiliyah Region, Oman. It is famous for its its ancient fort and its pottery.The town is 40 km away from Nizwa. The old Bahla Fort with its 12 km wall is the oldest fort in Oman....
 was prosperous under the control of the Banu Nebhan tribe. The fort's ruined adobe
Adobe

Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, and water, with some kind of fibrous or organic material , which is shaped into bricks using frames and dried in the sun....
 walls and towers rise some 165 feet above its sandstone
Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-size mineral or rock Particle size . Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust ....
 foundations. Nearby to the southwest is the Friday Mosque with a 14th-century sculpted mihrab
Mihrab

A mihrab is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla, that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying....
. The fort was not restored or conserved before 1987, and had fallen into a parlous state, with parts of the walls collapsing each year in the rainy season.

The fort became a UNESCO
UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945....
 World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 Sovereign state which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term....
 in 1987. It was included in the List of World Heritage Sites in danger
List of World Heritage Sites in danger

These are thirty sites which the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Committee has decided to include on a list of World Heritage Sites in danger; this list also shows the year in which the World Heritage committee added the site to this list....
 from 1988. Restoration works began in the 1990s, and more than £6m were spent by the Omani government from 1993 to 1999. It remained covered with scaffolding and closed to tourists for many years. It was removed from the list of endangered sites in 2004.

The Fort at Bahla, together with the nearby forts at Izki
Izki

Izki is a town in the region Ad Dakhiliyah Region, in northeastern Oman. It is located at about and has a population of 35,173 ....
 and Nizwa
Nizwa

Nizwa is the largest city in the Ad Dakhiliyah Region in Oman and was the capital of Oman proper. Nizwa is about 140 km from Muscat, Oman . The population is estimated at around 70,000 people including the two areas of Burkat Al Mooz and Jebel Akhdar ....
, and one further north at Rustaq
Rustaq

Rustaq is a town in the region Al Batinah Region, in northern Oman. It is located at around .The wilayat of Rustaq is in the Western Hajar, at the south of the Batinah....
, were centres of Kharajite resistance to the "normalisation" of Caliph
Caliph

The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the leader of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah....
 Harun al-Rashid
Harun al-Rashid

Harun al-Rashid ; also spelled Harun ar-Rashid; , Aaron the Just, or Aaron the Rightly-Guided; March 17, 763 – March 24, 809) was the fifth and most famous Abbasid Caliphate Caliph....
. The town of Bahla, including the oasis
Oasis

In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source. Oases also provide habitat for animals and even humans if the area is big enough....
, suq and palm
Arecaceae

Palm or Palmae or Panamea , the palm family, is a family of flowering plants belonging to the Monocotyledon order, Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known Genus with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropics, subtropics, and warm temperate climates....
 grove, is itself surrounded by adobe walls some 12 km long. The town is well known for its pottery
Pottery

Pottery is the ceramic ware made by potters. Major types of pottery include earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain. The places where such wares are made are called potteries....
.

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