'Ibrī

Ibri’s old market stood beside a substantial fort, with several entrances, towers and a congregational mosque. The surrounding oasis country joined agriculture to routes across inland Oman. One particularly well-dated defensive site is Al Sulaif, about five kilometres from the centre of Ibri.

Built in 1718 under Imam Sultan bin Saif al-Yarubi, Al Sulaif Fort overlooks its wadi from the foot of Mount Shanboh. A large wall and seven towers protected the settlement. Its position above the eastern approaches to Ibri made it a defensive lookout as well as part of a village known for palms and cultivated resources. Fort, houses, market and gardens occupied the same local landscape, bringing protection of the settlement into close relationship with the routes and productive land around it.