Arab architecture of yesteryear
Old, but certainly not wrinkled. Nizwa, oman's oldest city, is still a charming sight. No flats or skyscrapers here. The round cannon tower of the Nizwa Fort is the only one that extends to the sky. They are surrounded by sand-coloured houses. Groceries are still being done in the souks. Zigzagging among the pottery pots that are stacked metres thick and make the already narrow lanes even narrower.
In the same color as the cottages but of a different size is the Jabrin fort. One of the 500 forts scattered across Oman. And not just any one. Whoever enters the fort takes a step back in time. In the midst of traditional Arab architecture.
Just outside Nizwa, in the mountains that surround the city, lies the small settlement of Bahla. The mud fort that protected the houses in the fourteenth century is now a Unesco World Heritage Site. While walking over the long walls of the fort, the vast mountain landscape also requires some attention. And rightly so. The mountains radiate at least as much authority as the fort.
