Bahla

Harat al-’AqrMinistry for Heritage & Culture Sultanate of Oman

Contributors to fieldwork documentation and masterplanning

Professor Soumyen BandyopadhyayDr Giamila QuattroneDr Martin GoffrillerDr Habib RezaJohn HarrisonDr Haitham Al-Habri

Layout design and editingPaul MacMahon

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Contents

Introduction 9

Harat al-’Arq 17

Heritage Management & Development Master Plan 33

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Introduction

Bahla is one of the most important ancient sites of Oman, having been induced into the UNES-CO World Heritage Site (WHS) list in 1987 due to its unique architectural and cultural characteris-tics. Recognisable from afar is the immense mud brick fort which towers over the oasis and is the largest of its kind in the world. Additionally, and also somewhat unique, is the 13 km defensive wall (sur) which surrounds the entire oasis and the various settlements that lie within it. All these factors, as well as the great antiquity of the site - more recently highlighted by the extensive prehistoric archaeological finds discovered within the fort and under Masjid al- Jama’a (the Friday Mosque), have made Bahla a World Heritage Site and one of the prime destinations for national and foreign visitors to Oman. The expectation is that their num-ber will rise significantly over the next decades, which makes the planned development and management of heritage clusters critical in Bahla.

The oasis of Bahla lies at one of the important points of intersection along the old road to Nizwa and al-Hamra and in part connecting these sites of importance with the southern regions of the Dakhiliyah Governorate. This region is in itself one of the prime connectors of Oman’s interior with the coastal areas and the capital at Muscat, located about 200 km to the east. About 10 km

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to the west of Bahla lies the important ancient fortress and centre of learning at Jabrin, which has recently been transformed into a tourist des-tination of its own.

Nestled within a long narrow valley the Bahla oasis lies on the eastern banks of Wadi Bahla, which has since antiquity been the main source of water for the oasis. The palm groves stretch along the valley over a length of about 4 km, with the fort, the mosque and main settle-ment core of Harat al-‘Aqr being located on the eastern edge atop and surrounding a series of low hills. This position allowed the inhabitants

Introduction

and the garrison of the fort to survey the surrounding countryside, while also putting them on higher ground and safer from perennial flood-ing events.

The oasis of Bahla received its supply of water from a complex series of irrigation channels (s. falaj, pl. aflaj), which are tapped from aquifers in the Wadi Bahla and enter the oasis from the northwest. The main falaj systems – al-Maytha, al-Mahdith, al-Jizyayn, al-Maqil and al-‘Ayn al-Lamih – enter from the north and the west, but many others appear to have entered the settlements from the surrounding territories.

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The great age of the settlement and changes in the water table as well as in the urban/agricultural development of the oasis make the evolution of the irrigation systems highly complex, with older channels being abandoned and new ones dug, while others are either connected or divided depending on the requirements.Harat al-‘Aqr, the main settlement cluster (s. harah, pl. harat) in Bahla that grew over centuries centred on the fort and the mosque, is the principal focus of the study undertaken by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture (MHC).

It was undertaken in collaboration with the UK-based research centre, Architecture and Cultural Heritage of India, Arabia and the Magh-reb (ArCHIAM; www.archiam-centre.com), at-tached to the Manchester School of Architecture. The historical account is followed by an overview of the proposed strategic heritage manage-ment and development master plan with explicit focus on how heritage could remain meaningful for future generations

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While the exact origins of the settlement remain unknown, there is little doubt regarding the extraordinary antiquity of the site, certainly reaching well into the pre-Islamic times. During restoration and reconstruction works carried out at the 13th century CE Friday Mosque at Harat al-Aqr (located immediately south of the fort) a number of graves were unearthed in the foundation levels of the mosque. Subsequent analysis revealed these inhumations to date to the 3rd millennium BCE, indicating some form of permanent or semi-permanent settlement continuity for at least the last five thousand years.

Of the currently extant centres of habitation the main and the oldest quarters appear to be those surrounding the fort and the mosque of Bahla, often collectively known as Al Harah Quarter, comprising al-‘Aqr, the principal, oldest and most extensive settlement, al-Hawuiyah, al-Ghuzeili and the Bait al-Mal properties located in the quarter known as Bustan Dar. They form a ring along the southern, southeastern and eastern boundaries. Al-Lahmah and al-Nadwa quarters are located to the west of the suq, while a number of other quarters lie scattered throughout the oasis.

Harat al-‘Aqr

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The largest and likely one of the oldest still extant settlement quarters of Bahla is that of al-‘Aqr, located at the foot of the Friday Mosque and the Bahla fort. The absence of both substantial archival/ literary sources and any extended archaeological excavations, makes it difficult to determine the precise history of occupation of al-‘Aqr with any kind of certainty. There is, however, evidence that the area was occupied well within the pre-Islamic period as has been shown by funerary remains at the site of the Friday Mosque and the fort. The three urban nuclei of al-Hawuiyah, al-‘Aqr, al-Ghuzeili gradually coalesced into one more or less homogeneous sickle-shaped settlement which wraps around the mound below the mosque and at the foot of the fort.

The Harah Quarter forms a ring around the Great Mosque and extends in two prongs to face the eastern and southern boundaries of the fort. Topographic features surrounding the fort, such as the steep slope on the eastern edge, are carefully en-gaged with to produce distinct architectural results. The far western edge reduces to a double loaded lane of small single-storied dwellings for the guards (aska-ri). There seems to be some confusion in the minds of the local inhabitants, especially amongst the younger generation, as to where al-‘Aqr ends and al-Ghuzeili begins. Al-Hawuiyah and al-‘Aqr, again, do not have any specific architectural features clearly defining their boundaries.

Communal buildings

A number of communal building types can be identified within the harah, largely concentrated along or near the overlapping falaj channels. These include one of the most important mosques of

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the Dakhiliyah region; the Friday Mosque Masjid al-Jama’a), situated on the summit of the low hill around which al-‘Aqr grew, stands on the site of an important pre-Islamic site. The mosque’s richly decorated mihrab dates back to 917 AH/ 1511 AD, designed by one of the foremost exponents of this craft tradition in the sixteenth century CE, ‘Abdullah b. Qasim b. Muhammad al-Humaymi of Manah. The other unique feature of the mosque is its architectural organisation, and the manner in which the spatial planning negotiates the topography; while the access to the mosque terrace will have altered with the changing nature of the harat.

There were several structures within the settlement referred to as sablah (pl. sbal) or the communal meeting/ reception hall (majalis ‘amm), a term which is possibly unique to Oman. While in many settlements of the Dakhiliyah the sbal were designated for the use of a particular tribe – in Bahla these ap-pear to be more communal in nature. It is this semi-public nature which distinguished these from the more private reception rooms (majalis khass) of the dwellings of the more affluent. Many sbal had a slightly more extended function, serving as the official reception room and office for the wali (Sablat al-Wali), or acting as Qur’anic school (madrasah) for young children during the mornings and as a sablah later during the day. In other s ettlements a sablah was also the venue for the auctioning of falaj water rights.

Three of the four main sbal in Harat al-‘Aqr, Bahla are associated with gateways (sabah) into the settlement

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quarter, placed above the entrance passages on first floors: Sabah al-Nargilah (or Sabah al-Hawuiyah), Sabah al-Hawashim (or Sabah al-Jassah) and Sabah al-‘Aqr (or Sabah al-‘Assah). At the gateway, Sabah al-‘Aqr a pronouncedly elongated sablah is accessed through a staircase off an adjoining narrow lane. The staircase is located behind the qiblah wall of the mosque, Masjid al-‘Assah attached to the gateway. A wide sentry-walk forms the approach to the sablah on the first floor, flanked by a coffee-making cubicle on the left and a space to store drinking water on the mosque roof. A coffee making space is also found in the sablah above the gateway, Sabah al-Hawashim. Here, an enclosed staircase runs along the east-ern edge of the gateway to the first floor sablah and continues further to reach the roof. Both sbal played a significant surveillance role.

The most important function of the sablah was to act as the general meeting place for the tribe, the times of which were determined by the times of the five daily prayers. The discussions that ensued during these meetings were usually centred on the hottest political or social topics of concern to the local community or the tribe. The sablah was also used as a meeting place during times of celebration and mourn-ing, and as overnight accommodation for guests.

Dwellings

The residential architecture of Harat al-‘Aqr stands testament to the importance and wealth of this once great town. The vast majority of the dwellings stand at least 2 stories high, some indeed, rise to a third level, and some with cellars and underground storage facilities. In terms of materiality, all traditional structures are built from mud brick which, though very perishable and requiring constant maintenance,

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afforded the buildings with an extraordinary thermal mass that kept their interiors temperate throughout the year. Complex ventilation systems are in evidence in most buildings, relying on narrow slits near the ceilings which would encourage the interior convection of air without letting in sunlight and maintaining privacy. Use of accessible roof terraces were also common in most dwellings, and these were used for the drying of dates, as well as extensions of the living space, residents spending the cooler parts of the day there during mornings and evenings in work or relaxation.

The wealthiest individuals of al-‘Aqr appear to have resided around the central square known as Rah-bat al-Ghilah (originally used for the manufacture of

mud-bricks), with large dwellings taking centre stage with decorated façades and large wooden doors of exquisite craftsmanship. A number of important dwellings are also located immediately outside the settlement perimeter. Bayt al-Qassabi, belonging to the Qassabi tribe, who arrived when Harat al-‘Aqr had already reached its current extent, for example, stands just east of the Sabah al-‘Aqr and was built into the palm groves immediately adjacent to the branching of the falaj channel. This dwelling, standing two floors high, takes the shape of a small fort with a D-shaped tower oriented towards the walls of al-‘Aqr, as if to shield the property from that direction.

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Defence

Inducted into the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1987 the Bahla Fort is likely to be one of the oldest standing structures in the oasis. While there is evidence of successive expansions taking place during the Islamic Era, in particular during the Nabahina and the later Ya’aribah periods, there is little doubt that the fort continued building on an early defensive installation established during the pre-Islamic Persian phase of influence that extended across the Omani interior. The site is also said to have been one of the main locations of resistance during the reign of Harun al-Rashid (786-809 CE) together with the other great Omani centres of Rustaq, Izki and Nizwa. In its current form it is the largest pre-gunpowder fort in Oman and

one of the largest in Arabia. Standing on a hill some 50 m above the wadi floor, overlooking the surrounding countryside with an ample visual horizon, it is an im-posing sight. It rests upon solid stone foundations which in certain locations rise up to some 10 m above ground level and provide support for its largest towers. As for the settlement quarters lying at the base of the fort, the dominant axis of Harat al-‘Aqr lies east-west. The three extant gateways, all lying on the south and southwestern edge of the harah, although dilapidated are clearly recognisable from their features. Also, gateways in central Oman have traditionally had certain functional elements associated with those; the ones in al-‘Aqr are no exception to this rule. While we are aware of at least two earlier positions of gateways and a still extant narrow emergency

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access passage on the eastern end of the settlement, there is no evidence of gateways on the northern edge, at all. While this may well be due to the absence of gateways altogether from that direc-tion, as the earlier phases of settlement saw no such need, the obliteration of gateway positions due to successive expansion of the harah, cannot be discard-ed.

The best preserved of all three gateways is the Sabah al-Jassah, orientated northwest-southeast, with a sablah of the same name located above the entrance passage on the first floor. Flanked by seating benches on either side, the gateway still retains one leaf of a solid wooden door (bab) on its southern end. An arch marks the other end of the passage leading into the settlement. Within the passage, immediately south of the entrance door, a narrow opening and a few steps give access to a small open-air mosque – its floor slightly raised above the entrance level, and recognisable solely through the shallow recess of a niche against the wall flank-ing the entrance door outside the settlement. The arched opening on the inside of the settlement has another rectilinear opening beside it with an enclosed staircase running up against the southern wall of the gateway to the first floor sablah. The staircase and the sablah are possibly later additions to the gateway structure. The staircase leads up to a first floor landing with an attractive balcony overlooking the open space leading up to the mosque located between the dwell-ings and the gateway.

The sablah, the roof of which has already col-lapsed, has a number of windows on two external fa-cades and two prominent niches on the inside. The southwest corner of the sablah has been ingeniously manipulated to access a small room for coffee

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preparation, which sits above a now-disused access to a falaj channel. The sablah would act as a guest room during visits from friendly groups, but are also useful positions to conduct surveillance of adjoining terrain. The isolated nature of the gateway suggests a possible later phase of settlement development.

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The strategic master plan for heritage management and development proposes a holistic approach to the potential development and conserva-tion in Harat al-‘Aqr. Keeping in mind the broader context, there is also the need to consider the oasis as a whole, effectively including the entire area encompassed by the extensive oasis defensive wall (sur). However, to optimise the use of resources, the strategic master plan emphasises a phased approach to address and safeguard key development and conservation needs of Harat al-‘Aqr. The phasing plan takes into account the established priority action areas and structures. Furthermore, a key consideration is the physical state of individual structures, their owner-ship and the diverse approaches to conservation and development those would demand.

The best way to ensure sustained reuse of the settlement quarter is through making the settlement meaningful to the present and the future generations. The key to this is approaching reuse from an integrated economic, social and cultural perspective that is of relevance to all stakeholders concerned. The proposed developments should generate significant economic activity and social capital, while

Heritage Management and

Development Master Plan

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ensuring appropriate and sensitive interpreta-tion of cultural and historical values of the past. It is the intention to achieve minimum destruction and limited intervention based on a careful con-sideration of the state of preservation of the structures within the settlement.

With the recently completed restoration of the Bahla Fort, and tourism in general on the rise in Oman, a significant increase in foreign visitors can be expected to be visiting Bahla and al-‘Aqr in the forthcoming years. While this in-terest in Oman’s heritage and the associated in-flux of capital are to be welcomed in general, it should be stated that the over-reliance on tourism inevitably leads to limited economic diversifica-tion, and low resilience against market fluctua-tions. It cannot be in the interest of Bahla’s residents to simply present their culture and architecture as mere commodities for touristic consumption. Instead, tourism should be regarded as complementary to a functioning local economy based on trade and production.

Buffer Zone

This would ensure that the settlement retains its traditional context or limits and prevents any further damage to it. Additionally, all significant visual corridors need to be conserved, retained and opened up to visitor experience to optimise the significant character of the settlement. Further detailed survey needs to be undertaken to identify all significant structures (mosques, sbal, dwellings, water and agricul-tural infrastructure, etc.) located within the Buffer Zone. Conservation and developmental policies and guidelines established for the settlement will

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apply to the Buffer Zone to retain integrity.

Settlement infrastructure

Development of an integrated modern infrastructure provision of water and electricity supply, and waste management system is crucial to elevate environmental standards within the settlement and to attract and manage tourism. It is proposed that all new and existing infrastructural elements related to electrical and water supply provisions are to be laid underground or buried within walls. Appropriately located and concealed solar panels are envisaged to provide for at least part of the electricity demand. Given the presence of fresh water in the falaj no significant piped water supply system is envisaged. However, new programmatic insertions will require water storage and purification facilities. A new infrastructure of ecological toilets and wa-terless urinals are to be installed for individual properties and public toilets, as and where necessary. Removal of all debris and waste (organic and inorganic) and the creation of defined points of waste disposal along the streets, passages and civic spaces will be a priority. Appropriate collecting and channelling measures should be put in place to divert storm water from the settlement into the gardens and to prevent fa-laj water contamination.

To retain the urban layout and spatial appearance, the internal streets of Harat al-‘Aqr will remain pe-destrianized with no direct vehicular access. The large already existing car park at the western end of the harah would act as the principal vehicular parking area, providing access on-foot through

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the western gate, Sabah al-Nargila. Vehicular access is also present to the eastern gate, Sabah al-‘Aqr, and such access could be provided also to Sabah al-Hawashim. In addition, and to aid the transport of supplies and raw materials, a hard-top road is to be provided along the eastern edge of the Friday Mosque, extending the present track giving access to the mosque. Wherever necessary, the paths will be paved in locally available stone, aiding storm water drain-age and safe access. It may be necessary to shape the existing bedrock appearing on the surface to provide accessible steps and ramps.

In order to protect the architectural values of the settlement a number of measures will need to be carried out. It is proposed to define the boundaries of the constituent settlement quarters of al-‘Aqr by applying differing conservations techniques. It is proposed to conserve and partially rebuild the gateway structures into the harah: Sabah al-Nargila, Sabah al-Hawashim and Sabah al-‘Aqr, along with their associated structures such as mosques, ablution (wudu) facilities, aflaj, sablah and defensive features. Conservation and partially rebuilding of the wall enclosing the quar-ters is also necessary. Restoration of the highly complex falaj network of Harat al-‘Aqr, not only within the settlement but also beyond its walls, is also a priority. Associated features, such as wudu and water access points on streets and within buildings, must be conserved and restored.

As crucial morphological evidence, the en-tire rear building line running east-west through the middle of the central block has to be investigated and restored with care. Passag-

es running east-west through the settlement act as the main thoroughfares and as such will need to be subtly surfaced. Other passages, such as those that climb the hill towards the Fri-day Mosque, display significant topographic negotiations and will need to be restored with great care. A possibility may be to cut steps into the rock, retaining the current materiality. The large square, Rahbat al-Ghilah is one of the central features of al-‘Aqr and displays some of the set-tlement’s grandest buildings. As such the ground needs to be resurfaced and provided with ade-quate water runoff systems.

While in the first instance many of the houses will have to be secured from further collapse to provide a safe environment for visitors and workers, a second phase should be aimed at putting a number of buildings and sites to appropriate reuse and reconstruction. As the ultimate aim is the revival of al-‘Aqr as living and self-sustained quarter, it is necessary to provide the future inhabitants with housing and business opportunities to make the settlement economically viable. Therefore, after the conservation and reconstruction of specific monumental features, a number of buildings and spaces have been suggested for reuse as eateries, shops, short-stay accommodation and other facilities. Provision is also made for doctor’s surgery, pharmacy as well as a kindergarten and school. These facilities are expected to act as catalysts for the gradual re-settlement of the village, encouraging modern Omanis to re-inhabit their ancestral homes and once again take pride in their ancient towns and villages.

ArCHIAM. 2012. Heritage Management and Development Plan for Дārat al-‘Aqr, Bahla (Oman). Ministry of Herit-age and Culture, Oman. : 978-99969-0-304-5

Bandyopadhyay 2005. The Deconstructed Courtyard: Dwellings of Central Oman. In Edwards, B., Sibley, M., Hakimi, M. & Land, P. (eds.) Courtyard Housing: Past, Present and Future: 109-121. Abingdon (Oxon) & New York: Taylor & Francis.

Damluji, S.S. 1998. The Architecture of Oman. Reading: Garnett.

d’Errico, E. 1983. Introduction to the Omani Military Architecture of the Sixteenth, Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. Journal of Oman Studies 6(2): 291-306, plus

Cleuziou S., & Tosi M., 2008, In the Shadow of the Ancestors: The Prehistoric Foundations of the Early Arabian Civilization in Oman, by, Ministry of Heritage & Culture, Sultanate of Oman

Bibliography and further reading