Nizwa Souq and Fort

March 08, 2021

Nizwa Souq and Fort

Nizwa is an ancient city in the north of Oman, less than 2 hours drive from Muscat. It is one of the oldest cities of Oman and it was once the center of trade, religion, education and art - actually it was the capital in the 6-7th centuries. It is as at the crossroad between Muscat and the interior so it maintained its strategic position throughout the centuries.

We have visited Nizwa before (read about it here), but at that time everything was closed due to COVID. So we decided to come again to see the fort and experience the famous Friday souq.

The Friday market used to be very busy before COVID - farmers came into town to trade their animals. This is not happening currently (March 2021) due to COVID but still we could get a feel of the atmosphere. In the parking lot few trucks were loaded with animals and local men, some of them nicely dressed and even wearing the khanjar (the J shape dagger) in their belts were roaming around. Yes, men - shopping considered men's job here. We saw only one other women and 4 other tourists - you can say it was an authentic experience. UPDATE: as of now (March 2022) the Fridays market are full swing back! Read about a recent visit here.

The fort dominates the city - in fact the souq is also situated next to it. The most impressive part of the fort is the circular tower which was constructed during the second half of the 17th century - however the administrative and the residential component of the fort predate the tower by several centuries. The tower is unique as it is filled with earth and stones and capped by a platform which allowed 360 degrees views. It is also laced with special traps - it was not an easy feast to occupy the citadel!

There are informative boards also in English throughout the fort. There are a few cabinets with beautiful silver Bedouin jewelry and also a traditional dying workshop is set up to explain the indigo dying process. There is a small oasis adjacent to the fort as well.