THE FORT
From the seat of power to a museum of the history of Oman
Muttrah Fort (قلعة مطرح) is a historic fort in wilayat Muttrah in Governate of Muscat. The fort sits on a dominating position on the hills of Al Hajar mountains overlooking the natural harbor of Muttrah “The Sultan Qaboos Port”, which would have made it quite an impregnable position to defend Muttrah from attacks while also allowing observation of the surrounding territory from its watchtowers.
The fort is thought to have been built originally in 1507 AD, only to be modified and upgraded with towers and stronger walls by the Portuguese during their occupation of Oman in the 1560s. In the seventieth century, the Imam Saif bin Sultan the ruler of Oman has liberated Muttrah and Oman for the Portuguese and since then the fort remained an important defensive location following that period well into modern times.
Muttrah Fort is relatively small, as its main function has been for observation and defensive weapons, so it lacks any rooms or seating areas and is simply stretched along the hill offering multiple vantage points over Muttrah corniche, harbor and the stunning rocky ophiolite outcrops.
The three circular towers in this monument are seen well-armed with the canons. The first tower sits at the summit, one rests at the western front and the other is perched at the north of the large tower. Multiple stairs winding up to an open platform throws light to another marvelous tower on the north of the fort near the largest tower, which graciously exhibits one of the oldest canons, a major attraction of the fort, simultaneously presenting a majestic view of the harbor, Souq Muttrah, the fish market, the corniche, and the azure sea.
Muttrah Fort has been renovated since the 1980s by the ministry of Tourism and Heritage, and recently, The Ministry has awarded the operation of the fort to a private sector operator “Muttrah Fort LLC” to allow the private sector to play a role in promoting such touristic destination and enhance the visitor experience. The fort has witnessed several enhancement and A café has been added to the available facilities as well as many cultural and art exhibitions took place as part of a full program around the Year.
A visit to the fort would not take much time, the old cannons scattered on the ramparts are worth checking out, and so are the slightly-more-modern WWII-era artillery guns; however, the panoramic view of Muttrah Corniche alone makes Muttrah Fort a must visit place.
