Earth and stone on a hill
Bahla Fort is on a hill among palm trees in Oman's Ad Dakhiliyah Governorate, a region of the country. A fort is a strong building made to help keep people safe.
Its walls and towers have stone at the bottom to support them. Above the stone, the builders used bricks made from mud. These materials form the large building on the hill.
Homes and farms inside the wall
Around the fort is an oasis, a place with water and trees in dry land. An outer wall went around both homes and farmland. It had gates and towers where guards could watch the area. Guards also had a path along the wall.
Water came from springs, places where water comes naturally out of the ground. Wells and channels under the ground brought this water to homes and farms. These channels are called falaj.
The oasis has mosques, where Muslims pray, and places where people make pots. There is also a market. In the old market, narrow streets ran between shops with only one floor. The fort stood above them.
Repairing the fort
From 1995, workers repaired the fort with materials made from earth. They made the walls and towers stronger and improved the way water flowed away from the buildings. They also kept records of their work.
Repairs did not end the need for care. In its 2010 statement, UNESCO still listed problems: parts of the site were breaking down, water did not flow away well, and some materials used for rebuilding were unsuitable for the old buildings.
