Oman's forgotten capital — a towering fort, hot springs, and falaj irrigation from 2,500 years ago
Rustaq was Oman's capital before Muscat — the seat of the Yaruba imams who expelled the Portuguese from Oman in the 17th century — and it retains a grandeur that most visitors miss entirely. The Rustaq Fort is one of the largest and best-preserved in Oman, a four-tower structure with a 40m watchtower that has been continuously used for over 1,000 years. Below the fort, hot sulphur springs emerge from the Al Hajar mountains and fill a traditional communal bathing pool. The surrounding area has the densest network of falaj (ancient underground irrigation channels, UNESCO WHS) in Oman.
Rustaq was the stronghold of the Yaruba dynasty (1624–1744), who unified Oman and drove out the Portuguese using locally built ships and Indian Ocean alliances. Imam Sultan bin Saif I, who expelled the last Portuguese from Muscat in 1650, was born in Rustaq. The town later became a centre of Ibadi Islamic scholarship — Oman's distinct branch of Islam — and the Al Hazm Fort 15km away was built by his successors as an even more imposing symbol of power. Rustaq's falaj network dates back at least 2,500 years and still irrigates date palms, citrus, and vegetables across the Batinah plain today.