Barka ( ar, بركاء) is a coastal city and

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

in the region Al Bāţinah, in northern

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

. Bordered by the

Sea of Oman The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ar, خليج عمان ''khalīj ʿumān''; fa, دریای عمان ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ar, خلیج مکران ''khalīj makrān''; fa, دریای مکرا� ...

and the Al Hajar mountains in southern Batinah, Barka is about a half-hour drive from

Seeb Al-Seeb, As Seeb or As Sib ( ar, السيب) is a coastal fishing city, located several kilometres northwest of Muscat, in northeastern Oman. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 470,878. Landmarks include the Naseem Garden, the Royal ...

and roughly an hours drive from Al Khuwair and

Ruwi Ruwi () is a commercial hub and the main business area of Muscat, the capital of Oman. Attractions in Ruwi include a variety of multi-confessional religious buildings, a National Museum, a clock tower, and a park. The population of Ruwi is 85,6 ...

History

Al Bloushi,

Al-Farsi Al-Farsi is an Arabic, Arabic-language surname meaning "the Persian people, Persian". Notable people with the name include: * Rashid Juma Al-Farsi (born 1993), Omani footballer * Salman al-Farsi (Salman the Persian; died 656), companion of the Isla ...

, Al Zadjali, Al Habsi, Al Ajmi (

Ajam ''Ajam'' ( ar, عجم, ʿajam) is an Arabic word meaning mute, which today refers to someone whose mother tongue is not Arabic. During the Arab conquest of Persia, the term became a racial pejorative. In many languages, including Persian, Tur ...

), Al Owaisi, Al Amri, Al Badri, Al Raisi tribes live here. The area is known for its agricultural beauty, fishing, and traditional pastimes like horse and camel racing, halwa making, and Omani-style bullfighting.

Attractions

Nearby is Bait Na'aman (Nu'man), a four-towered fort of the 17th-century iman

Bil'arab bin Sultan Bil'arab bin Sultan () (died 1692) was the third of the Yaruba dynasty of Imams of Oman, a member of the Ibadi sect. He ruled from 1679 to 1692. Bil'arab bin Sultan succeeded as Imam in 1679 after the death of his father, Sultan bin Saif. This c ...

, renovated in 1991. Barka Fort is a known tourist spot. Barka Souq, near to the beach is an economically important area. There are two major resorts in Barka, the Al-Sawadi resort and the Al-Nahda resort.

Economy

A new quarter is now under construction in Barka, called "Blue City" (), located in Sawadi. The development is 8 km from Sawadi beach, and many international companies are involved in Barka development projects. There is an estimated $15 billion in new construction currently taking place in Barka. Barka is the site of several power and water plants including: * The Barka 2 water and power plant, with generation capacity of 678 MW and desalination capacity of 26.4 million gallons of potable water per day. * The Barka 3 gas turbine power plant, with generation capacity of 744 MW, sponsored by

Engie Engie SA is a French multinational utility company, headquartered in La Défense, Courbevoie, which operates in the fields of energy transition, electricity generation and distribution, natural gas, nuclear, renewable energy and petroleum. ...

, Yonden and

Sojitz is a ''sogo shosha'' (general trading company) based in Tokyo, Japan. It is engaged in a wide range of businesses globally, including buying, selling, importing, and exporting goods, manufacturing and selling products, providing services, and pl ...

. * A new 281,000 m³/d desalination plant is to be commissioned:

Itochu is a Japanese corporation based in Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka and Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo. It is one of the largest Japanese ''sogo shosha'' (general trading companies). Among Japanese trading companies, it is distinguished by not being descend ...

, Degremont and

International Power Engie Energy International, formerly International Power, is a multinational electricity generation company headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the French company Engie (formerly GDF Suez). The company was form ...

were named preferred bidders in 2015. BORCA BOCARRO

History

Attractions

Economy

References

Further reading