Al Hazm Castle

Al Hazm is about 20 kms from Rustaq on the tarmac road leading back to the Batinah coast . There is a small village and a massive fort , built in 18th century by imam Sultan bin Saif bin Sultan of the Ya'aruba dynasty . He died in 1718 and is buried in a walled tomb inside the fort.The enormous carved and brass-studded doors that once sealsd the entrance to the fort are 2.5 meters high and 30 cms thick. The impresive fort of Rostaq is in the middle of a large oasis, just at the foothills of the Jebel Akhdar, where the narrow valley of the wadi far cut through the dolomitic limestones of the Jebel widens among the lower ophiolithic hills. Rostaq has been an important town and market place as soon as the time of Persian rule in preislamic times, when the castle was first settled. (…..) The present monument incorporates an earlier pre-islamic fortification under its higher part and main tower. Three towers were later added with living quarters at various levels and the construction includes an elaborate access to the falj system. Under the Bu Said dynasty an outer wall with towers was built around the castle (XVIIIth century. South of the fort several ancient houses can still be seen among the gardens, together with an ancient funerary mosque housing a few inscribed stones. It should be worth to restore and protect them as well. (…..) al-Hazm - The castle is located on the edge of a small group of palmtree gardens, on the western bank of the Wadi Far, when it enters the arid gravel plain which separates the mountains from the Batinah coast. It appears as a large rectangular two storied construction with a narrow inner courtyard and two round towers flanking the southern and eastern corners. It is under care of the Ministry of Interior and can be visited with a written authorization of the Ministry of National Heritage and Culture

Rustaq Fort…

Rustaq fort is magnificent,appropriate for such an important trading center between the coast and the western Hajer mountains.Celebrateed in folkore and verse ,it was originally called Qalat Al kisra after the Persian who controlled the land between Sohar and Rustaq in the 7th century. Rustaq Fort is one of the most important historic building in Oman. It's considered the highest fort in Oman. It's told that it was built by the Persians.The fort was named for its location, for "Rustaq" is a persian name which means the area that is located on the border.The Rustaq Fort used to look like a triangle tower, but now after restoring it by Al-Yarubi family in the time between 1624-1649.By the time from 1744 to 1936 Imam Mohammed bin Abduallah Al-Khalellyadded more barriers and fortifications to the fort. It got fully restored in 1999.The fort contains 4 towers:- The red tower: It's about 16 m high.- The wind tower: It was built by Imam Saif bin Sultan & it's about 18 m high.-The devil tower: It was also built by Imam Saif bin Sultan & it's about 18.5 m high.The modern tower: It was built by Imam Ahmed bin Saeed & it's 11.5 m high.Rustaq fort contains 10 cannons.

The wilaiyat of Rustaq has a population of 62,000 spread throuat many villages and wadis. Rustaq was once the capital of Oman and is still one of the largest town .It is the administrative center for inland Batinah and has offices for all the main ministries,amain regional hospital and one colleges.A city in Oman located 160 km west of Muscat (the capital of Oman). It is also the intention to enrich the site with comprehensive information and links on Oman. I also provided links to sites rendering wealthy information on Islam as this is the religion of Oman. Coming from an Arabic background, I also furnished a copy of this site in Arabic of which you can link to from the top left corner.