Introduction
The old capital Nizwa is the birthplace of Islam in Oman and the site of many castles and ancient mosques. The nearby mud-brick Balha Fort in the 13th and 14th centuries by the Banu Nebhan, the dominant tribe of the time, has been added to UNESCO's World Heritage list.
Lying at the foot of the Al Jabel al Akhdar (Green Mountain) among the mountains that form its walls, the city of full of rivers, orchards and palm trees, which has earned the city the name ‘the courtyard of Islam'.