Al Hazm Castle

Al Hazm was built around 1711 by Imam Sultan bin Saif II as a residence and stronghold, and it is the most purely defensive of the great Omani castles: a compact rectangular block with walls up to three metres thick, no windows on the outside, a roof of stone slabs carried on massive columns without timber so that it could not be burned, and passages, cells and rooms hidden within the thickness of the walls. A falaj runs through the interior. Cannon at the gate carry Portuguese and Spanish marks. The imam is buried inside. It was restored and reopened as a museum with displays of arms, jewellery and household objects.

History

Imam Sultan bin Saif II built the castle early in the eighteenth century as his residence, with a prison, a mosque and religious classrooms, and after his death in 1718 he was buried inside it. In 1988 it was submitted to UNESCO's tentative list (Wikipedia, Al Hazm Castle).

Highlights

• The blind exterior - walls without external windows.
• Wall passages - the corridors and cells built inside the masonry.
• The stone roof - the slab construction carried on heavy columns.
• The imam's tomb - the burial chamber within the castle.

When to go

October to April. The interior is cool relative to outside but summer is still severe. Daytime hours apply with a Friday restriction. Mornings are quietest.

Practical notes

The interior is dark and the passages narrow and low. Restoration is extensive. Interpretation is limited to display cases. Al Hazm village has few facilities and the castle takes about an hour.

Nearby

Rustaq lies southeast; Nakhal is beyond it.

Key facts