Archaeology handicrafts and science and technology sites to visit Nizwa And The Western Hajar

We get up early, like the Omanis: no good trading in hot weather. The huge car park already sets the tone with its dozens of vans filled with goats, sheep and cows. In Nizwa, every Friday, cattle are haggled over! In the centre of the square, seated in a circle, a host of potential buyers watch as sellers parade past, tethering their cattle, waiting to be accosted. Everything happens very quickly and you have to exercise your neophyte's eye to try to understand the ritual of negotiation: an interested buyer asks for the price of the animal as the seller passes by and sometimes waits several turns before starting a negotiation, always quite fast and accompanied by a check of the good vitality of the animal (state of the teeth, stomach, legs). Buzzing of commercial conversations, alpine pastures, haggling, in the smell of cattle and the colours of the East. Each end of the square is a scene of life, almost a painting: old nomads with dull eyes, almost blinded by the sun, men in traditional costumes with their hands on sticks, rare Bedouin women with faces protected by a burqa. The deep and traditional sultanate: the spectacle of real life, a cultural plunge into a part of everyday life amidst the dust raised by the hooves of animals. Don't forget your camera for great shots, especially of faces, and take advantage of the hustle and bustle to capture attitudes without ever being pushy.

The particularity of the Birkat al Mawz falaj, along with four other Omani aflaj, is that it is classified on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Aflaj is the plural of the word falaj and means "divide into shares" in Arabic. This typical Omani irrigation system was invented 4,500 years ago to distribute water as equitably as possible among the inhabitants. It is based on notions of community and mutual dependence, and is guided in part by astronomical observations. The oldest ruins found on the territory date back to 500 AD. The principle is quite simple: water circulates by gravity over tens of kilometres from underground springs to houses and cultivated land. In the past, each falaj had watchtowers to protect it, as well as mosques and other buildings. That of Birkat al Mawz is marked by a stone stele with explanations in French near the fort. The overall layout shows that the falaj comes down from the mountain and was, at the time, built in such a way that the first to use it was the governor of the region. Park in the car park in front of the stele and climb a few steps. At the top of these is a small mosque on the right, built in 1649, very simple and without a minaret. A stroll along the falaj leads through the now abandoned old village and its oasis of date palms. To make a loop, return to the parking lot by the main road.

At the foot of the mountain, the abandoned village of Ghul is still home to beautiful old houses surrounded by palm groves. It is perfectly integrated into the landscape and merges in places with the rock. From this hamlet, the wadi Ghul starts, which, after 5 kilometres of track, leads to the marvellous weavers' village of Nakhar. The inhabitants are very welcoming and sell carpets that they weave on the spot. Then the cliffs get closer and you have to continue the adventure on foot. Several routes from 4 hours to several days are marked out.

It is one of the prettiest places in the Akhdar jebel, not too crowded so far. Staircases have been installed, to the left and right of the car park. Preferably take the ones on the right, they lead to the bottom of the wadi, incredibly green and lush. Walk in the wadi for a hundred meters: on either side of the dry river bed grow multiple fruit trees or not, protected by dry stone walls. Climb a few big stone steps on the right to reach the lower part of the first village; particularly scenic, the latter is literally hung on the mountain walls, a landscape that is well worth a photo. The hamlet is no longer inhabited and its houses, although fairly well preserved, are not very stable. It is pleasant to walk around and enjoy the coolness of the old walls, but beware of the risk of landslides. The walk continues down the wadi for about 200 meters until you reach a preserved mosque, but forbidden to tourists. 50 meters after the mosque, climb the steps of the stone staircase on the right to reach a second abandoned village, also perched high up, and from which the view of the first hamlet is worth the detour. At the top and at the back of the few houses and alleys, the view plunges on a second river bed, as if parallel to the first one and planted with as many crops. The walk is preferable at the end of the day when the evening light iridesces the ochre of the old facades. Return to the parking lot by the same way.

Like those of Bat, the tombs of Zukait bear witness to the expansion of an ancient civilization present on Omani territory as early as 3000 BC. Overlooking the village, the site has several cylindrical towers of tightly packed stones without mortar, each pierced by an entrance and topped by a roof composed of flat stones (beehive tombs). The archaeological missions carried out in the immediate vicinity testify to the ancient existence of a vast Hafit-style necropolis, composed of hundreds of burials similar to those of Zukait.

It is a very nice walk, easy, although you have to go down and up, and of real diversity in the heart of a landscape of mountains with rough and arid walls and gorges that make you dizzy, but which the human presence has tamed and made much softer. On the rocky hillsides, picturesque villages, typical alleys, miniature mosques, orchards, gardens, trees that crumble under the fruit, bushes that smell of flowers... and, omnipresent, the aflaj: a guarantee of freshness and zenitude, the soft crystalline sound of rustling water. We start from the first village (Al Aqur) and walk to the fourth (Sayq) following the markings, three coloured stripes - circuit W18b. It is also possible to start from any of the 4 hamlets to shorten the walk, as all of them are accessible by an asphalt road. The signposting starts to the left of the Al Aqur car park at the level of a lane that you follow to the end (signs on the posts). You then follow the falaj down to the terraced fields. Beautiful panoramas open out over the surrounding mountains, sometimes hidden by the greenery, until you reach the second village of Al Ayn, where signs are a little too rare for a while. In order not to lose your way, turn left in the hamlet and cross a semblance of a gallery. Walk up to a small mosque with a blue dome, pass to the right of it and go down into the wadi. On the left is a small pool of green water: ideal for a cool break. A few meters before, on the other side of the river bed, big stone steps go up to the third village (Ash Shirayjah), again well signposted. Then you have to follow the road for about 600 meters, before you find yourself back on a path to Sayq. Count about 3 hours round trip (8 km in total), but do not hesitate to make some diversions to go deeper into the streets of the hamlets to capture some scenes of life ... Also go down along the terraced fields to the edge of the canyon for the panorama; or excavate the pebbles to unearth marine fossils, very numerous in the area and over 270 million years old. A word of advice for the ladies: do not go to the mosque and walk with your shoulders and knees covered, out of respect for the local, rural and traditional populations. Tank tops and shorts should be avoided, even in the hot season.

There are several hiking trails in Jebel Shams. But one of the easiest and most beautiful is the one leading to the abandoned village of Sap Bani Khamis (or As Sab). To reach the start of the walk, follow the main track to the village of Al Khitaym: a former hamlet transformed into accommodation for travellers, where goats outnumber men. From here, head for the edge of the ravine to spot the markings: one trail, W6a, heads off to the right towards Wadi Ghul, in the valley, a several-hour walk with a 1,150-meter vertical drop - from 1,900 to 750 meters above sea level. The other path, the W6, marked like the previous one by three yellow/white/red stripes, leads off to the left and skirts the grand canyon for four kilometers: an incredible old mule track, as if suspended above the void, and yet wide enough not to be vertiginous! To the left are the sheer cliff faces, which make you wonder, whenever a panoramic view allows, how and where they can accommodate a trail. To the right, a deep gash reveals the valley floor and a few villages.

There are few, if any, trees to shade the path. Unless you set off early, you'll have to accept that you'll have to hike in the middle of the heat, amidst the rocks. However, this disadvantage is offset by the gentle gradient and good signposting. After an hour and 15 minutes' walk through an XXL landscape, we reach the abandoned hamlet of Sap Bani Khamis: an impressive group of houses clinging to a rocky overhang just a few metres from the void. These are quite well preserved and were probably abandoned only some forty years ago, in favor of slightly less hostile terrain on the plateau. They were built around 400 years ago, using only locally sourced materials: olive and acacia wood, dry stone. The choice of location, almost unthinkable for us Westerners, was justified by isolation (the best protection against enemies) and the proximity of a water source located on the upper plateau and accessible fairly quickly on foot via a steep fault. Fifteen families lived there, mainly raising livestock (goats, sheep, donkeys) and farming (watermelons, onions, chili, tomatoes, wheat...), as evidenced by the presence of terraced farming areas.

If the craft of pottery has existed for centuries in Oman, as evidenced by the various forts and museums in the country where jars, pots, incense burners, etc. are displayed, traditional workshops hardly exist anymore. That of the al-Adwi family is one of the most authentic, rich in a know-how that has been passed down from father to son for several generations. The complex covers 1,200 m² (1,200 sq ft) and also houses a small room where old tools and clays are displayed.

Recently opened to the public but still partially under construction, this old walled village, one of the oldest in Oman, is the largest group of houses and buildings currently undergoing total renovation. In all, no fewer than 376 houses and 250 wells dating back more than 900 years will eventually be renovated, enabling visitors to immerse themselves in the Oman of yesteryear and gain a more accurate understanding of the architecture and lifestyle of the Omanis of yesteryear. While old villages and mud houses can be seen in many parts of the sultanate, no other group of buildings is so cohesive or so aesthetically pleasing. In addition to the charm of the narrow streets, vaulted passageways and low, elaborate doorways, there are four very old mosques (all accessible from the main street): Al Sharah, Al Ain, Al Rahba and Al Aa'li, probably built in the early ^16th century. A rampart and towers encircle and protect the village, which is accessed through a number of gates, including the beautiful Bait Al Hisn on the south side, still called Hisn Najad after one of the wilayat's most famous students. Part of the work has been completed, but the site is far from finished, and additional attractions in the form of cafés, local craft stores, restaurants and guesthouses should eventually see the light of day. A short distance away, a visit to the brand-new Oman Across Ages Museum completes the visit admirably.