I visited this WHS in December 2020. Even though parts of this fort have been reconstructed rather than restored since it was inscribed as Oman's first WHS in 1987, shamefully using concrete instead of mud and straw-based plaster called juss, its importance and sheer size when compared to other desert fortifications in Arab states in my opinion still justify its place on the WH list.

The original ornate features, inscriptions and also graffiti etchings on the plastered walls which can still be seen in the fort as well as in the old mosque outside the fort (near the free parking lot), together with the crumbling yet impressive fortification wall opposite the fort on the Hajar Al Gharbiyah mountains possess enough OUV when comparing this fort with the ones in the United Arab Emirates for example. Possibly the best way to appreciate the Bahla oasis town of old would be to combine it with a visit by 4x4 to Wadi Bahla, where a natural route through the surrounding rugged mountains of ophiolite leads to the town's date palms. This will give you a much better understanding of how well protected this oasis town was, even without the fort, so much so that during the Abbasid dynasty, Bahla was the seat of the governor in Oman. The fort was used as the governor's residence, the guards' headquarters and a court complex during different periods in its history undergoing multiple constructions, additions and modifications.

Personally, I was really impressed by the remaining 13km of the ancient wall and the only one of the seven principal gateways which gave access into the oasis town and together with fort itself protected its prized asset - farms and orchards of the town's people. In a way, it reminded me of what's left of the huge walls around Istanbul too. Nowadays, approaching from the Nizwa highway, literally littered with speed cams, doesn't give you the same experience without some imagination, even though the Bahla Fort still dominates the town. A number of artefacts dating to a phase of Oman's Bronze Age when the country was then known as Magan and was famous for its copper production and which had well-established trade links with Mesopotamia, Dilmun and the Indus civilisations. It was also a time when oasis agriculture was already flourishing.

Even though the overall information boards are still very confusing, recently information boards have been placed in some of the main (mostly empty) rooms/buildings. An even more confusing photocopied map is given to every paying visitor (we were the first after two months according to the staff's ticket book!). It is worth mentioning that the entrance fee for tourists is only 1.20 EUR compared to the 12 EUR for the busier Nizwa fort (which I'd still recommend visiting)! Since we had the fort to ourselves (apart from the sleeping bats on the ceilings!), we enjoyed a sort of personalised treasure hunt to find all the separate places mentioned in Els' review. The "former place of prayer which has a small opening pointing at Mecca" is not the one linked in Els' review. Apart from checking it against the photocopied map we were given, we're pretty sure we found it as one of the staff on duty had placed a small rug with Coranic verses in front of the opening and fell asleep there!

The oldest and perhaps also the most interesting part of the fort is the Al Qasaba, usually ascribed as being constructed during the time of the Nabhani dynasties though archaeological finds with Sassanid influence suggest that an even earlier origin might be possible.  Next to it is Bait Al Hadith (the modern house) and Bab A'Sabah, the main entrance to the fort, which features 3 of the main defensive features of the fort: "murder holes" above the entrance which allowed boiling dibs (date syrup) to be poured down onto attackers; "double trap doors and stairs with deep well receptacles"; and "loop holes", i.e. small openings in the walls which allowed musketeers to fire from interior through central holes. The most prominent part of the fort when viewed from the main road (best lighting for photography in the afternoon), is Burj A'Rih (the wind tower), which gives panoramic views over the oasis. Above two cannons, outside the entrance gate, you'll find a UNESCO WHS certificate plaque on the wall.