Mirbat Castle

Dhofar


The town’s main fort is now derelict despite being the site of the well-documented Battle of Mirbat. Nine soldiers kept 300 insurgents from taking Mirbat during this battle in 1972, during the Dhofari insurrection. The British armed forces were called in by the Sultan to assist and two British Victoria Crosses were earned by the Special Air Service (SAS) but not awarded, to help keep the war out of the public eye.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Dhofar attractions

1. Merchant Houses

0.23 MILES

Of passing interest in the town of Mirbat is the old quarter, where some merchant houses still stand proud along the beach front. Some are still lived in,…

2. Mirbat Fort

0.28 MILES

Recently restored, this old crenellated castle is set square to the sea as if designed to repel invaders. It's closed to the public but makes a photogenic…

3. Bin Ali's Tomb

0.75 MILES

Housing the remains of Mohammed Bin Ali, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, this tiny tomb, with its two distinctive onion domes, marks the old…

4. Baobab Grove

6.97 MILES

Botanists may be surprised to find a small stand of baobab trees gracing the thickets just above the Salalah Plain. These magnificent giants, their trunks…

5. Jebel Samhan Viewpoint

7.78 MILES

The upper plateau of Jebel Samhan suddenly ends in a vertiginous drop more than 1000 meters to the coastal plain below. Barely a ledge interrupts the…

6. Taiq Cave

12.01 MILES

Identified in 1997, this 90 million cu metre–sinkhole is one of the largest of its kind in the world. Elliptical in shape, it has a depth of 250m and is…

7. Tawi Atayr

12.03 MILES

This deep sinkhole (1 million cu metres), known as the Well of Birds, gapes without warning in a corrugated landscape of rock, covered in thicket. A small…

8. Khor Rori Beach

17.05 MILES

A celebrated local beauty spot, this khor (inlet) is often partitioned from the sea by a sandbar that shrinks and grows according to the season. In the…