Sur Bu Abali Fort

Sur Bu Abali Fort lies in the village of the same name in the Al Batinah South Governorate in Oman.

I know absolutely nothing about the history of Sur Bu Abali Fort. If you know anything, please mail me.

The fort is one of the many aswar (plural of sur) on the Al Batinah coastal plain. A sur was a simple communal fortification. They were built, maintained and used as a place of refuge by the local tribe in times of danger. They mostly have a similar ground plan; a square with 2 round towers on diagonally opposite corners and a rectangular gate building, quite regularly in the northern wall. Some were also protected by a dry moat or an outer wall.

The rectangular sur is in an advanced state of ruin and its mudbrick walls and towers are slowly crumbling away.

The site of Sur Bu Abali Fort is fenced off with a low iron chain. When I stepped over it, some locals approached me, but more out of curiosity than anything else. So it is freely accessible.

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