The round tower
30 metres high.
P. Hughes — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Francesco Bini — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Francesco Bini — CC BY-SA 4.0 · A1000 (talk) 16:47, 3 January 2019 (UTC) — CC0 · dconvertini — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Francesco Bini — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ji-Elle — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Andries Oudshoorn — CC BY-SA 2.0
A seventeenth-century fortress in the centre of Nizwa, built in the 1650s by Imam Sultan bin Saif Al Ya'rubi, though its underlying structure goes back to the twelfth century. It is Oman's most visited national monument and was the seat of the imams and governors in peace and war. The main bulk took about twelve years to build and stands over an underground stream. Its signature is the enormous round tower, 30 metres high and 36 metres across, with foundations going 30 metres into the ground; part of it is filled with rocks and earth. Visitors climb a narrow, twisting staircase with defensive openings to the top of the tower, ringed by crenellations and old cannons, with views over the mosque dome, the wide palm groves and the Hajar mountains. Inside, rooms show traditional household objects and weapons. Tickets are about 5 OMR for non-Omanis, per visitor guides. The fort stands next to Nizwa Souq, so many visitors combine the two in the morning, especially on Fridays when the livestock market is held.
30 metres high.
Palms and the Hajar range.
With defensive openings.
Central Nizwa, next to the souq
Imam Sultan bin Saif Al Ya'rubi in the 1650s, though its underlying structure goes back to the twelfth century.
