Fun swimming in the deep blue water pools, Wadi Al Hoqain it’s about 01:15 Minutes drive from Muscat once we reach there we walk over the Wadi slopes which are not too high, and easy walk up to the end where are the tunnels of Wadi Al Hoqain, then we walk from the tunnels which include some easy swimming, then no walk any more only swim in beautiful marvelous water pools.
From Wadi Al Hoqain we’ll visit Al Hazm Castle located in the town of Al Hazm in the Wilayat of Rustaq in the Al Batinah region it’s very near to Wadi Al Hoqain, The great military stronghold of Al Hazm is full use of traditional Omani defensive features such as the huge wooden gate, secret escape tunnels, dungeons, cannon towers and slots on the upper floors and there are troughs above the main entrance to pour boiling oil or honey on the rushing attackers.
It was built by Imam Sultan bin Saif Al Yarubi, son of Imam Saif bin Sultan, nicknamed “The Land of the Land” in 1711 AD, he made Al Hazm his capital when he moved to it from Rustaq, it contains his tomb where he was buried, it was restored by the Ministry of Heritage & Culture in 1996.
Architecturally, the Castle is characterized by the absence of any timber in its ceilings, which are round arches fixed on cylinders – columns – and the width of one wall – the wall – is not less than three meters, the fortress has several huge doors that do not meet with a single corridor, and it has several Portuguese and Spanish archaeological cannons with a range of 70 K.M, it’s characterized by the presence of several special stairs for climbing horses, in addition to secret passages, each of which is two meters wide and two meters high, and these are passages that spread on the four sides of the fortress to exit after that to the city, Al Hazm Castle also has a number of rooms that were used to teach the Noble Qur’an, science and religious knowledge.
The Castle penetrates a falaj or flowing water, the area of the Castle is, length: 40 m – Width: 40 m – Total area: 1600 square meters