Besides the Obvious

Jabreen Castle or Jibreen Castle is a very impressive castle in Oman. It is a heritage building close to Bahla and Nizwa. Jabreen Castle in the Dakhiliyah province of Oman. The authorities fully renovated the building and they have made a visitable museum out of it. As a visitor you can enjoy admiring its wooden ceilings, Arabic calligraphy and decorated windows. Jibreen Cadtle is nowadays one of the best tourist assets of Oman.

Jabreen’s location is a particularly arid part of the desert, hence a falaj, Omani irrigation channel, runs through the outer courtyard and it was used as an early innovative air-con system.

The castle dates back to 1675 and it was an important center of science learning, medicine and Islamic law. It is worth discovering inside the vast battlements and the interesting date store. Regardless of its value, the entrance could be cheaper since it was 3 OMR. 

Highlights of Jabreen Castle

Madbasa 

A madbasa is a processing room for extracting date syrup. Madbasa is often translated as “date press” for the extraction method that is being used but actually is a kind of room present in many castles of the Middle East. 

The date syrup goes down by taking advantage of the force of gravity over bags of dates in piles of an elevated floor in a closed and non ventilated room. The pressure created pushes the syrup out and flows through indented channels to a pot or jar.

The dates should stay at least around 3-7 days in the room to get the date syrup. The date syrup can stay in good condition up to around 2 years. Good quality syrup will not go to bad after storing at least in two months.

Library

There is a beautiful reading room in Jabreen Castle which is not a proper library with its classified books. However, this is one of the most beautiful rooms of the castle were the visitor can admire the books on the nice shelves and enjoy the peaceful vibe. 

Ceilings and wooden decorated elements

These wooden elements are not exclusive to Jabreen Castle but are very much worth it of being underlined. In Jabreen Castle you can admire ceilings and wooden elements with decorations and paintings of natural elements. 

The Oasis of Jabreen Castle

You would have as a visitor the chance to check the views from the upper terrace of the castle. From up there, you would be able to admire the set of palm trees, the village and the mountains in the background.

The mosque of Jabreen Castle

Just in close to the entrance, there is a the mosque of the castle. The personnel who nicely charge the expensive price of the entrance ticket, would gently indicate the way to the small mosque. It is a cute detail in the whole visit, but worth it.

Where to stay in Jabreen Castle

Since Jibreen Castle is one of the tourist assets of the country, you would be able to find good accommodation options around. Nevertheless, to stay for the night the best is to go to Bahla. Check here the best accommodations for all the budgets in Bahla in Oman. 

• Bait Bahla Hospitality Inn: Probably the best option in town. Excellent and very well rated hotel in an old house, serving a nice breakfast buffet. You can catch the vibe of sleeping in an old medieval castle.

How to get to Jabreen Castle in Oman

Jabreen Castle is very close to Bahla, 40 km away from Nizwa, and about 200 km from Muscat. The best option is to drive your own car or rent one. There does exist the chance of catching a bus in Azaibah Bus Station to Adam and from there to take a taxi from Adam to Bahla. Nevertheless, this adventure would take longer and may be even more expensive than renting a car in Muscat.

Enjoy our discounts in the place

Dear Traveller! Thank you for reading the latest article from Besides the Obvious. Please do not hesitate to subscribe to our newsletter, if you don’t want to miss our next travel story.