Mirbat

16.98861111111154.692222222222Koordinaten: 16 ° 59 'N, 54 ° 42 ' E

Mirbat (Arabic مرباط, Mirbat DMG ) is a coastal city and an administrative district ( wilaya ) in the province of Dhofar in the south west of the Sultanate of Oman.

History

Early Islamic period until modern times

From the 10th century Mirbat was an important commercial center and won the same degree of importance as Sohar in the north of Oman lost its importance. Its main commercial product was incense. Long it stood in the shadow of about 50 km to the south al - Balid whose meaning but vanished with the departure of the Portuguese occupiers. Mirbat was able to assert itself as a last and only commercial center in Dhofar. Since 1600-1800 the sea was infested by pirates through the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, also launched many caravans of Mirbat to transport the precious frankincense resin through the large sand dune desert to Saudi Arabia.

Modern History: The Battle of Mirbat

In recent history, the Battle of Mirbat marks the turning point in the Dhofar Rebellion. In the early morning of July 19, 1972 attacked by 5 clock a 250 -strong rebel army the only 9 men occupied base on. After vigorous defensive fire, the Luftwaffe attacked in the form of a three BAC 167 Strikemaster. In addition, gain was flown in by helicopter. Thus, the rebels were driven. In the defensive battle two British SAS soldiers and one government soldier and 38 rebels were killed. From this defeat the rebel army never recovered and in 1975 the Dhofar war was declared over. Supposedly have been the world's last battle this battle, in which a town was defended by a fort.

Geography / Location / Access

The place Mirbat is located about 75 km east of Salalah at the end of the well-developed main road No. 49

The Wilaya Mirbat is located in the eastern part of the Governorate of Dhofar. It is bordered to the east by the Wilaya Sadah, on the west by the Wilaya Taqa, on the north by the massif of Jabal Samhan and on the south by the Arabian Sea. For Wilaya of Mirbat is one of the Niyaba Tawi Attair (English Tawi Ateer ) that with its 116 villages among the largest in the entire province of Dhofar.

Attractions

Before the entrance there is a branch to the mausoleum of Sheikh Muhammad bin Ali al- Alawi, who immigrated from South Yemen Hadramawt and died here in 1161. The tomb has two pointed domes and shines in pure white. The sanctuary may be entered only by Muslims. At the building is adjoined by a large cemetery. The grave stones are often just simple, weathered pieces of rock. They are typical of the prevailing here Sunni branch of Islam.

Mirbat means " horse market ". At the entrance a horse sculpture has been erected, which points to this meaning.
In Mirbat is a 1806 built small fort that much in common with the nearby fort in Taqah has. The fort served the Wali as a fortified home and work.

Worth seeing are some traditional trading houses in the city center, which have a southern Yemeni -influenced architecture. All houses are constructed almost rectangular and two-story structured around a courtyard, which serves as light and air shaft. The roof terraces are bordered with stepped pyramid battlements. Some homes are equipped with a defensive tower. Typical of the south Yemeni architectural style is the plaster. In the wet plaster wells were pressed for ornament. In addition, some sketches show facades from the lake and trading life of that time. All these houses are apparently uninhabited and fall slowly.
From Mirbat you can enjoy a trip to the Jebel Samhan company, which is the highest mountain in Dhofar with its 1,800 m. You can drive by car directly to the summit plateau. There you have a good view of Mirbat and the sea. From there, even more side trip to Wadi Darbat and sinkhole of Tawi Attair can do.

Demography

The population in the county grew Mirbat according to official data, in the years 2003 to 2008 average annual rate of 3.4 %, with the CAGR of national share much more increased by 2.2 % and the proportion of foreigners CAGR of 10.1 %. The figures in detail:

Economy

Main source of income of the villagers is fishing. Off the coast there are rich fishing grounds for the Indian Ölsardine ( Sardinella longiceps ). The sun-dried fish used as protein-rich animal feed. But over-fishing of abalone in the past led to a drastic decline in this Molluskenart. Therefore, a feasibility study was conducted to investigate the possibility of abalone breeding, so that natural resources be able to recover from the government. As the sea in front of Mirbat teeming with fish just so that coral reefs have become a popular holiday destination for divers. The Government is committed to carefully develop the tourism in this area, which, however, given the peripheral location might not be easy.

Footnotes

Location in Oman
Dhofar

DIN 31635 Guberniya Dhofar Governorate Compound annual growth rate Al-Mazyunah

575087