Harat Al Aqbah Tower

Harat Al Aqbah Tower stands in the Harat Al Aqbah neighborhood of the city of Sur, in the Ash Sharqiyah South Governorate in Oman.

Sur's ideal location; situated around a small bay, which forms a natural harbor, and a large lagoon, fed by 2 creeks, made it an established center for maritime trade with East Africa already in the 6th century. In the 16th century it came under Portuguese rule, during which it declined as the Portuguese favored Muscat. This lasted until the early mid-17th century, when the Portuguese were expelled by Imam Nasir ibn Murshid. After that, the town was economically revived and again became a center for maritime trade with India and East Africa. It also became famous for its shipyards producing dhows.

All this activity needed to be protected, so Sur was fortified with a defensive network that originally included 5 castles and multiple watchtowers, which all are said to date back to the 17th century. So some may originally be Portuguese fortifications modified by the Omanis.

I know absolutely nothing about this tower. I just found it by driving by, and I couldn't even find out its name, so I named it after the neighborhood it stood in.

The tower has a square ground plan and is topped by a circular tower. It looks like it used to be attached to a rectangular ward. The oval hole in front of it maybe was a cistern? It was built at the edge of a height southwest of Sur, overlooking Bilad Sur Castle in the plain below.

Harat Al Aqbah Tower is freely accessible. It felt a bit dilapidated because of all the rubbish inside it. With all these fortifications; besides this one also the castles of Sunaysilah, Al Ayjah and Bilad Sur, in one city, Sur was a very nice destination.

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