Heritage Development Tourism Operation A Privatisation Pilot Project in Harat Al Bilad, Manah, Oman
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The ArCHIAM Centre is an interdisciplinary forum currently based at the University of Liverpool which brings together a wide range of researchers interested in the study of the architecture and cultural heritage of India, Arabia and the Maghreb. Cutting across traditional disciplinary boundaries, the Centre provides an exciting opportunity for the study of both historical and contemporary phenomenon with an aim of developing theoretical positions but also through practice-based research. ArCHIAM welcomes possibilities of establishing connections across the wider academic and professional communities through doctoral research programmes, collaborations and networking opportunities.
Prof Soumyen Bandyopadhyay, Director CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF
ARCHITECTURE AND CULTURAL HERITAGE OF INDIA, ARABIA AND THE MAGHREB 2
RESEARCH AND DESIGN TEAM PROF SOUMYEN BANDYOPADHYAY Principal Investigator
DR GIAMILA QUATTRONE Project Coordinator
CLAUDIA BRIGUGLIO Research Assistants
DR HAITHAM AL-’ABRI Honorary Fellow
Design by: Konstantina Georgiadou All rights reserved. No part of this brochure may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of copyright holder.
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Research
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Capacity building
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Heritage-led Tourism Development
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Raising heritage awareness
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Harat al Bilad (Manah) Tribal Pattern, Settlement Structure and Architecture
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Raising Heritage Awareness 21
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هئتهش Harat al-Bilad
هئتهش Harat al-Bilad The oasis of Manah lies 20kms southeast of Nizwa, east of the main highway linking Muscat to the southern city of Salalah. Its principal settlement quarter (harah), Harat al-Bilad, is located at the heart of the oasis. The other quarters – al-Fayqayn, MaΚmad and al-MaΚarra, however, lie on the northern, western and southern edges of the oasis, respectively.
The settlement is a fine example of a fortified town on the desert borderlands, pierced only by the four entrances located on the cardinal directions. It is surrounded by a stone and mudbrick wall, its height varying between 4m and 10m, with two formidable watch towers – one square (Burj alJuss) and the other circular in plan (QalΚat an-Nasr), and at least three prominent turrets.
Before the Ministry of Heritage and Culture decided to conserve Harat al-Bilad in the early-2000s, it had been uninhabited for decades and was quickly attaining a state of extreme dilapidation. The Ministry’s restoration and rebuilding effort has focused on the main street and its three mosques and a selection of houses.
The northern gateway next to Burj al-Juss, Bab al-Burj/ Bab ar-Rawlah (gate G1), is located opposite the Suq and the southern gateway, Bab an-Nasr (gate G3), flanked by QalΚat an-Nasr, faces the fort.
The topography generally slopes in a south-easterly direction, where a minor wadi (dry river bed) had originally defined the eastern boundary for Harat al-Bilad. This is where the main civic facilities of al-Bilad are located. The market (Suq al-Bilad), the settlement (Harat al-Bilad), the fort (Hisn an-Najad) and the Friday Mosque (Masjid alJamiΚ al-Kabir) stretch like beads along an axis that extends from Fayqayn through the oasis, south towards al-MaΚarra.
HARAT AL BILAD
The eastern gate, Bab Harat al-ΚAyn/ Bab al-Qasab (gate G2), provides access into the agricultural area that was incorporated into the Harat probably in the eighteenth century. The deep-vaulted western gateway, Bab ad-DaΚnayn/DaΚnin (gate G4), faces the even later settlement extension beyond its boundaries. The best preserved and the most formidable is the northern wall and gate.
M1= KaΚb al-Bilad M2= Sikkat al-ΚUqud M3= Sikkat Harat al-ΚAyn
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CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF ARCHITECTURE AND CULTURAL HERITAGE OF INDIA, ARABIA AND THE MAGHREB www.archiam-centre.com
Prof. Soumyen Bandyopadhyay soumyenb@liverpool.ac.uk Phone: +44 (0) 7 588 579 084
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Leverhulme Building, Abercromby Square University of Liverpool, L69 7ZN