Almost everything
here in the town looks new —
modern development occurred only since 1971. Nizwa had long been the
seat of an area of sharia rule by Ibadi imams; the first half of the
twentieth century saw periods of armed hostilities between the
powerful Imamate and the Sultanate of Muscat. To put it very briefly,
in the 1950s the Sultan defeated the rebels ‒
with some difficulty and British assistance ‒
on a nearby mountaintop here, and the Imamate was abolished. Nizwa's
conservative religious history included a period of notable Islamic
scholarship. It was sometimes called "The Pearl of Islam,"
discouraging outsiders.
Nowadays tourists
are very welcome. The weather is extremely warm even at this time of
the morning and it's a relief to go into the food souk on the main
level of the castle complex (entrance above). Here we sample coffee and date treats.
And we stroll the aisles of market produce: vegetables and fruit,
meat and sweets. The sellers are still setting up for the day; few
customers have arrived yet. Fresh date confections, nuts, and spices
tempt us to buy. Unfortunately this was not a day for the livestock
market where goats predominate.
Adjoining
the
marketplace
is a
handicrafts area lined
with pottery
and
souvenir stalls, and
silversmiths
who create exquisitely crafted khanjars.
The outstanding
feature of the large castle is the huge round tower fort that
defended the city. Inside, various sets of narrow stairways zigzag to
lead up but without a guide you might never find the right ones to
reach the top and catch distant views of the date palm plantations
and surrounding mountain heights. Dates are the biggest export here.
The castle museum is
a great source for cultural heritage, showing clothing and daily life
of this particular region. Although at this hour very few women are
about, the museum gives information on the fascinating (what I call)
"Nizwa Niqab," a distinctive face-covering that originated
among the conservative Muslim women of the area. Known as battoulah,
the same practice apparently also spread here and there around the
Gulf region; only an older generation wears it more or less
consistently.
Certainly I noticed
it at a Bedouin camp in Wahiba Sands and occasionally in other Omani
souks. Resembling a falcon's beak, the original purpose was simply to
keep sand and dust from the nose and mouth. It is generally handmade
of such fabrics as silk or leather. Sometimes it can look menacing,
sometimes it is elaborately designed for special occasions, but
always considered a sign of modesty. [The names of Muslim women's
clothing items familiar to us ‒
e.g. burqa or hijab ‒
do not necessarily refer to the same clothing item in different
countries.]
Here is the coffee
"shop" where we could sit and relax after climbing and
exploring.
Nizwa offers more
than we were able to see or do in a few hours; mountain trails
attract hikers who want, literally, to go off the beaten path into
the former rebels' stronghold. Further up those mountains is UNESCO
World Heritage (restored)site Bahla Fort, an enormous complex, the
original section older than Nizwa's fort. The sheer size is
overwhelming, with seven miles of walls and labyrinthine sections
within. Beside it lies a village apparently scarcely changed from
mediaeval days. And Jabreen Castle, perhaps the most impressive of
all, which I deeply regret not seeing. It's a monument built by the
seventeenth century imam who encouraged the arts and made it a centre
of learning. Full of splendid, surprising architectural details and
artistic decoration, it says much for the best of Islam.
Yet another facet of
this interesting country.
©
2019
Brenda
Dougall Merriman
No comments:
Post a Comment