Sur Al Tarif Fort

Sur Al Tarif Fort lies in the village of Tarif in the Al Batinah South Governorate in Oman.

I know absolutely nothing about the history of Sur Al Tarif 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.

Not much remains of Sur Al Tarif but a much ruined remnant of a corner tower with connecting wall parts. A mosque has been built over the area where the eastern half of the fort would have stood.

The remains of Sur Al Tarif Fort are freely accessible. Its situation in the center of a village, next to a well-attended mosque, causes it to be a bit derelict. So, not very interesting.

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