tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54064496010949625182024-03-08T13:36:06.480-08:00Bahla historyMohammed AL-houmaimihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268135177583444355noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406449601094962518.post-52685100880381167302011-12-28T00:51:00.000-08:002011-12-30T22:30:55.750-08:00Pottery in Bahla<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_iZxzEbxPi8/Tv6r7rfPuTI/AAAAAAAAAA0/5JmIjKguGRs/s1600/untitled.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" rea="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_iZxzEbxPi8/Tv6r7rfPuTI/AAAAAAAAAA0/5JmIjKguGRs/s200/untitled.bmp" width="200" /></a></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">To be Bahla born means to enter a world where the ancient art of vessel making is the way of life. Oman Today is beguiled by the spin of the potter's wheel</span></span></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;">Any day of the week – except Friday – it is easy to find a metal worker tooling next to his red-hot furnace, or a weaver assembling a goat hair cloak. But the king of craft in Bahla is pottery</span><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span></span><span lang="AR-OM" style="color: #558ed5; font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span>.</span><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"></span></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;">This exceptional art is famous throughout the Sultanate and beyond. It is said that the potters of Bahla – apart from being born of land containing very special clay – are born with magic in their fingers. The fruits of this magic can be seen in modest homes through to top hotels from Mutrah to Mikonos</span><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span></span><span lang="AR-OM" style="color: #558ed5; font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span>.</span><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"></span></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;">The clay used in these vessels comes from the wadi floor, and to make it pliable enough to be worked on the wheel, men trample upon it. Any workshop in Bahla worth its salt has at least one dining-table-sized slab of clay covered in footprints fresh from its latest stamping. It is a time-honoured way to soften the clay before it is worked and reworked into a thing of beauty</span><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span></span><span lang="AR-OM" style="color: #558ed5; font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span>.</span><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"></span></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Making magic</span></span></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;">A potter working at his wheel is oddly like creation itself. As long strokes are performed time and time again on the damp clay, shapes and sizes start to emerge. Patterns being seemingly woven into the air transpose themselves onto the object. Slowly and patiently rims develop and spouts appear as the magic fingers mould and curve the softened earth. While the electric potter's wheel is in wide use, it is possible to find a traditionalist or two who continue to cling to their much loved kick wheel</span><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span></span><span lang="AR-OM" style="color: #558ed5; font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span>.</span><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"></span></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;">It's a mesmerising vision so don't be surprised to suddenly realise an hour has passed just watching the potters' hypnotic performance. After this ritual of creation, the objects are packed carefully into a huge kiln to be fired</span><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span></span><span lang="AR-OM" style="color: #558ed5; font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span>.</span><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"></span></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cool kilns</span></span></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;">Over the years kilns have changed significantly in Bahla from the original small dome-shaped oven that was a little more than a metre wide to huge multi-level structures that, while still very traditional, are stacked and only sealed and fired up when they have dozens of pieces inside</span><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span></span><span lang="AR-OM" style="color: #558ed5; font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span>.</span><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"></span></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;">Bahla has literally hundreds of potters and the region has always been considered a market leader when it comes to cottage industry. However, as fine workmanship became more widely known, demand increased and many industries have gone from simple backyard businesses to thriving industries</span><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span></span><span lang="AR-OM" style="color: #558ed5; font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span>.</span><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"></span></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;">In fact, the elaborate kilns that dot the lovely landscape flatly show that the pottery pursuit for many has surpassed the 'cottage' cliché. The most contemporary type of kiln is large and square with four posts at each corner acting as chimneys. It is easy to not realise what these edifices are until to you get too close to one in action. The heat can be felt from several metres away and a mirage radiates around them. While most of these ovens are still fed traditional palm fronds, the voracious appetites of more recent arrivals require fronds and a rich supply of firewood</span><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span></span><span lang="AR-OM" style="color: #558ed5; font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span>.</span><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"></span></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;">In Bahla a small bowl will cost as little as 100 baisa while a large decorative pot has a price tag of RO12</span><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span></span><span lang="AR-OM" style="color: #558ed5; font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span>.</span><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"></span></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cottage industry cliché</span></span></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;">One business – the Alladawi Clay Pots Factory – typifies the growing nature of traditional pot making. Four industrial size kilns are in constant use and each oven produces about 100 large pieces a month. The grounds of the factory are connected to current and defunct pits from where the clay was drawn. It also has its own industrial mixer that saves time and money on the immense task of creating the clay by hand</span><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span></span><span lang="AR-OM" style="color: #558ed5; font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span>.</span><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"></span></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;">The end result is a seemingly endless source of bukure burners, bowls, water holders and storage urns. The current factory has been operating since 1993 but its earlier life as a backyard business is evident when you observe the different styles of architecture as buildings have been added on</span><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span></span><span lang="AR-OM" style="color: #558ed5; font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span>.</span><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"></span></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;">At the entrance to Bahla is a small pottery works that was developed by the government with some help from Chinese experts. In fact, Beijing has donated a lot of equipment and provided some technology to help further establish Bahla as a pottery capital. Shards of brightly coloured Chinese pottery have recently been excavated on Omani sites</span><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span></span><span lang="AR-OM" style="color: #558ed5; font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span>.</span><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"></span></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;">While Bahla is historically known for its genies and alchemy, it seems the best magic is in the beautiful care taken when establishing the souk, which is in the town square and shaded by a huge tree. In this souk, arguably like every souk in the Sultanate, the magic of the potters' paw is for sale in solid clay</span><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span></span><span lang="AR-OM" style="color: #558ed5; font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span>.</span><span dir="ltr" style="color: #558ed5; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #558ED5; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: "lumm=60000 lumo=40000"; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text2; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themetint: 153;"></span></div>Mohammed AL-houmaimihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268135177583444355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406449601094962518.post-89557277081090179022011-12-22T10:03:00.000-08:002011-12-30T22:59:42.403-08:00Bahla fort<div class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span dir="ltr" style="mso-bidi-language: AR-OM;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Calibri;">Bahla Fort</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4o4v9eE1aYg/Tv6yh2OvCuI/AAAAAAAAABA/mX3j8oRPq9M/s1600/%255Dp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><img border="0" height="214" rea="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4o4v9eE1aYg/Tv6yh2OvCuI/AAAAAAAAABA/mX3j8oRPq9M/s320/%255Dp.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span dir="ltr" style="mso-bidi-language: AR-OM;">Photo provided by Philipp Peterer (2011</span><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span></span><span lang="AR-OM" style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span>)</span><span dir="ltr" style="mso-bidi-language: AR-OM;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span dir="ltr" style="mso-bidi-language: AR-OM;">Bahla Fort comprises the ruins of a typical Omani military fortress, built by the local Banu Nabhan tribe that ruled between the mid-12th and 15th centuries. It is one of four historic fortresses situated at the foot of the Djebel Akhdar highlands - the others being Rustaq, Nizwa and Izki</span><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span></span><span lang="AR-OM" style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span>. </span><span dir="ltr" style="mso-bidi-language: AR-OM;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span dir="ltr" style="mso-bidi-language: AR-OM;">Its walls and towers were built in adobe, on a sandstone base. To the southwest is the Friday Mosque with a 14th-century sculpted mihrab</span><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span></span><span lang="AR-OM" style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-OM; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span>.</span><span dir="ltr" style="mso-bidi-language: AR-OM;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span dir="ltr" style="mso-bidi-language: AR-OM;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Calibri;">The fort was put on the Danger list a year after inscription, because it was dilapidated and decaying rapidly after each rainy season.http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/433</span></span></div>Mohammed AL-houmaimihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268135177583444355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5406449601094962518.post-28893470222747119282011-12-22T00:20:00.000-08:002011-12-30T23:34:26.247-08:00bahla<div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0b5394; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_Lb9QRIGZU/TvLnj8chZLI/AAAAAAAAAAQ/GnATcJ_uips/s1600/bahla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_Lb9QRIGZU/TvLnj8chZLI/AAAAAAAAAAQ/GnATcJ_uips/s1600/bahla.jpg" /></a></div><div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bahla in Oman is a small town and the origin of the town dates back to the third millennium BC and the town is guarded by a defensive wall, length of which is about seven miles. The ancient town of Bahla has been declared as a World Heritage Site and the place is known for its pottery making and there is a Souk in town where all such products are sold</span></div>Mohammed AL-houmaimihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268135177583444355noreply@blogger.com0Bahla, Oman22.9684816 57.280486999999994-14.8961084 -2.4851380000000063 60.8330716 117.046112