Jabrin Castle

The Jabrin Castle is a residential fortress built-in 1670 by Sultan bin Saif al-Ya’arubi. Here, visitors can find more than just another small traditional old-Arabic style fortress among the many present in Oman. At the Jabrin site, visitors will see a structure complex enough to be called a castle. The ancient clay brick structure offers fascinating and unexpected glimpses into the fortress’ design and the people who once lived here.

The Design: Something special

Hardly any other fortress in Oman can claim such precision and gracefulness in the adornment of the structure. The arabesque style of the fortress’ windows makes the building appear like something from the fairy tale of 1001 Nights. In this fortress, it is easy to see the contrasting forms of the traditional old European construction at play with the Arabic styles. The merging of these styles creates soft transitions that make the castle stunning and timelessly elegant. A few highlights of the Jabrin Castle are the curving arches, the wood galleries and painted interior ceilings. The design of the interior stairs of the castle is also remarkable. The stairs along the first-floor stairwell are unusually low and shallow so they can be easily traversed by horses. This is because the Sultan’s most prized and attractive horse was presented in his first-floor reception room to impress the guests he was entertaining. The second floor contained the Koran school and the mosque of the fortress during that time. Other staircases inside the Jabrin’s castle are designed to symbolically represent to the visitor a journey through the seven heavens of the Islamic faith.

An authentic attraction of historical significance – even today

The kitchen on the ground floor was set up so that it could easily supply the more than 300 residents of the castle. To restore this ancient site to its former glory, an elaborate rehabilitation of the site was completed in 1984. A trip to the Jabrin Castle allows you to travel back in time to the Arab world of the 17th century for a few hours and to get a sense of how the rich and powerful lived. This is a must-see site in the area if you wish to understand the historical Arab world.