Archaeology handicrafts and science and technology sites to visit Oman

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.

It is one of the most famous wadis of the sultanate for its superb freshwater basins of a beautiful emerald. As always, you are advised to take precautions before venturing out. Don't venture out without a sun hat, sun cream and of course water, as the heat can be overwhelming; and above all, check the weather forecast to make sure that no thunderstorms are expected that day, as the risks of flooding and drowning are real in the wadis. To access the more remote pools, you must first swim across the arm of the river or simply go by boat. Some kids propose this crossing of a few meters. Opposite, a dirt path drowned in palm trees leads to the heart of the wadi along the river. Very quickly, the water disappears and we find ourselves walking on the rock, between mountains with steep walls. Big boulders and touches of greenery: a wild and rather masterful environment, especially when the water shows up again, in the form of punctual basins of incredible green! The most beautiful ones are at the bottom, about 40 minutes walk away on a pseudo path that one loses and finds again at random luck (but, impossible to get lost, since one is so to speak "stuck" in the dry river bed). After about 20 minutes, keep to the right and go up a few meters overhanging following the cliff face and in particular a black pipeline. The path goes down naturally and you must then walk until you spot some abandoned stone constructions, a little higher up, on the left. Further on, there are several pools lined with small pebble or coarse sand beaches: an idyllic setting to spend a few hours. The highlight of the walk is there. It's not really a secret: in informed circles, we all talk about "the famous wadi Shab cave". But still, if you don't know, you can't find it! It is by swimming to get there, following the pools to the bottom, where the mountain forms a sort of cul-de-sac. Slightly on the left, a corridor of a few meters offers itself as a notch, which allows only the passage of the head (the rest of the body remains immersed, which allows to progress while swimming). One enters it with a little apprehension, with one's eyes riveted on the light, at the bottom. Suddenly, the reward is there: an open-air cave into which an adorable waterfall falls! A basin of a few meters in diameter, but abyssally deep, set in its rocky setting.

The main entrance to the souk opens onto the cornice, to the left of the great blue mosque as you head towards Old Muscat. With your eyes closed, you are sure to arrive safely following the heady scent of incense! The main street of the market, entirely covered like the rest of the spaces, quickly splits in two. On each side, alleys full of all kinds of goods leave. Those that run to the right lead to the jewellery sector and its display cases of necklaces, bracelets, pendants, in silver and solid gold. Immediately after the entrance, still on the right, stands the corner of perfumes and pashminas. When you leave the central axis to the left, it is the area of poetic bric-a-brac. At the far end are the garment stalls. The atmosphere isn't intrusive, the salespeople just encourage you to come in without ever chasing you. Aboriginals and tourists rub shoulders in a good mood. First necessity purchases for some, superfluous for others, the possibilities are not lacking: from a pair of sneakers to old chests, through spices, jewellery, kandjars, pottery and various handicrafts. The stroll can be pleasantly prolonged, not to mention the time spent haggling for a "good price", a vague and rather arbitrary concept. Even if one has nothing to buy, the place is worth the detour for its very oriental atmosphere, its painted ceilings, its sometimes decorated beams, its scenes of life.

A village suspended from the scorching slopes, drowned in green palms, forms one of Oman's most striking postcards. Easy access by tarmac road, well-equipped parking lot, tourist coffee shop, natural pools crossed by modern, secure footbridges - this is a major destination for Omani families and travellers alike. From here, following the long-distance footpath, walkers cross the range in 14 hours. It takes considerably less energy to laze on the large rocks and dive into the green water. On weekdays, when it's quieter, this water park, given by nature and redesigned by man, is a recommended excursion. To make the most of the place, take a towel and a bathing suit, which for the ladies must be covering, as the posters remind us. Between the parking lot and the pools, there's a goat path. Don't hesitate to get away from the crowds and head upstream along the wadi to enjoy the peace and quiet. The gorge narrows to form a vertiginous canyon. After the sometimes tricky passage of several large limestone boulders and the crossing of several basins whose water level varies according to the season, you reach a very narrow cave after 1 km - Muqal Cave. It stands halfway up the wall. Following a narrow corridor that requires crawling, it opens onto a vast, dark cavity, extended by vaults and galleries. Even though the area is marked out, it's best to come with locals or a guide.

Much wider than its neighbour the Wadi Shab, the Wadi Tiwi allows you to drive there. It can be reached by a recent road, then by a track that runs along the river through the plantations of date palms, banana and fig trees. It is important to be very careful while driving, as some passages are quite brittle or narrow. A driver who does not feel comfortable with his off-road vehicle will have to make do with the access road, which is flat and well paved. On a regular basis, it is possible to park your car on the side for a swimming break - opt for a discreet spot, as the locals are not used to seeing European women in swimsuits, although this is tolerated. If you like walking, you can also discover the wadi on foot, as you explore the hamlets and terraced fields surrounded by low walls specific to Tiwi, also known as "the gorges of the nine villages". To visit all the hamlets, count one or two days on foot depending on the pace adopted or several hours by car.

The increasingly steep and narrow mountain road goes down 36 kilometres into the wadi and reaches the very last village of Mybam: the wadi citadel, perched at an altitude of 800 metres. The complex, consisting of mud and stone houses and defensive constructions built on a rocky outcrop, is fairly well preserved.

On the way, about 20 km from the entrance to the wadi, you can stop at the sign indicating the start of the hike to the very picturesque village of Saymah (about 1h30 round trip). Clinging to the side of the Bani Jabir djebel, this one conceals an old defensive round tower also used as a grain silo.

Several beautiful natural pools decorate the wadi. From the small village of Umq Bir there is a superb aquatic canyon 6 kilometres long, with numerous pools and long pools to swim in. Lasting about 7 hours, this canyoning is spectacular and is for experienced and enduring people accompanied by a guide (www.omantrekkingguides.com).

For experienced hikers who are willing to be self-sufficient for three days, there is also the ultimate opportunity to link Wadi Tiwi to Wadi Bani Khaleed via the Hallut Plateau. This is a good level hike that can only be done in the company of a mountain guide who knows the area well. It offers a beautiful panorama of the Arabian Sea and the entire coast from a rocky balcony at an altitude of 1,900 metres.

The port and walled city of Sumhuram were founded in the 3rd century BC. In the stone, on the bronze, its occupants left moving traces of the extinct Sudarabic language, which is now extinct. Established to control the incense trade in Dhofar, the site is identified in the 1st century as the Moscha Limen of the Eritrean Sea Journey, where Indian sailors who brought cotton cloth, corn and oil in exchange for incense spent the winter, waiting for the favourable monsoon winds to return home. During the first and second centuries AD, the port was the heart of the merchant settlement on this coast, enriched by its close links with the powerful Shabwa of Hadramaut in Yemen. At that time, it was a small walled town, two metres wide, covering about 1 hectare on a natural eminence. The decline began in the first half of the 4th century and ended at the end of the century.

On the spot, one discovers foundations that were once supposed to support a palace protected by walls and decorated with grandiose staircases, and which undoubtedly housed large incense storage stores. Excavations have revealed coins with Alexander's profile, earthenware jars, conservation jars (some of them in Roman style), bronze objects and a large incense burner. The precious resinous gum was transported by nomadic caravans from the interior and was shipped to the Red Sea, the Mediterranean and India. In exchange, ships loaded with products from Asia docked.

One can move freely in these ruins rustled with all the noise of history, without forgetting, near the car park on the right, to also follow the path that leads to a small temple near the water - a construction quite recently identified without it being possible to know with certainty which cult was practised there.

Shaped and occupied for 800 years, the site overlooks the beautiful Rori Lagoon , separated from the sea by a sandbank during the dry season and submerged during the monsoon. One could not talk about Khor Rori without mentioning the dozens of camels that come here, attracted by its greenery and freshness, as well as the numerous birds. The lagoon is indeed a nature reserve which serves as a habitat for more than a hundred species of birds including pelicans, storks, spoonbills, pink flamingos, ibis, grebes, cormorants, etc.. Fed by the wadi Darbat, it is also home to several varieties of fish and plants.

After the heatstroke of the visit and the fifteen minutes that one will devote to the small museum located 300 meters from the site, it will be time to go to the sea. From the museum car park, take the track towards the mouth of the river. Depending on the capacity of your vehicle, you will approach more or less and finish on foot to reach one of the most beautiful beaches of the sultanate: 200 metres of virgin sand between the sandstone jaws that partially block the entrance to the lagoon. To your left, the rocky spur is called Al Hamr Al Sharqiya and archaeologists have found the remains of a 700-metre long defensive wall punctuated by towers facing the sea, testimony to a late occupation between the 8th and 10th centuries, at a time when the city of incense was long since abandoned. In the heart of this site inhabited by ghosts, you will take a masterful bath!

Even though Sur now only produces one or two dhows a year, Indian workers here repair the famous boats that have made the reputation and prosperity of the city since the first millennium BC. The two most popular models at that time were the baggala and the ghanja. Today, the tradition continues in the rules of art, and the ghanjas, smaller sailing boats, are still built according to ancestral methods, caulking being done with shark fat and plaster. Electrical instruments are used to cut the dhows, which six workers manage to complete in 5 months at an average cost of 40,000 OMR. The shipyards also produce Sharks, slender wooden boats that can be rowed like skiffs or outriggers. Specific to Sur, these boats are used every year in February, on Special Day, for extremely popular races. If you continue along the road along the lagoon, you will see a magnificent example of a dhow built in Sur more than seventy years ago, which has now emerged from the water and is erected on the ground like a statue or rather a museum witness of the past: the Fatah al-Khair. If it is not possible to get on board to visit the interior, it is interesting to approach the sides of the boat to observe the finishing touches. Traditionally, ships were made by hand, without nails, and hand-woven ropes were used to strengthen the joints.

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.

The Bay of Najd, a model of balance in its volumes and colours, is displayed on all Musandam's promotional documents, in blue and ochre, with its hairpins falling towards the wave. After the asphalt, we take a trail that climbs to 400 meters and allows us to embrace the landscape of this "fjord" from above before plunging down towards the bay. On the way back, at the junction of the two tarmacs, we discover a beautiful expanse planted with acacias and thorny jujube trees, large parasols offered by Mother Nature - the Khalidiya Park. Snack break.

Less than an hour from Muscat, the Omani capital holds its small natural paradise as Marseille has its creeks. There are two options to treat yourself to this superb site: either take part in a day trip with one of the operators of the Bandar Al Rowdha Marina (10am-5pm, drinks, shelter and meals included), or go alone by car knowing that the most beautiful beaches are only accessible by sea - thus via a local service provider. These lonely ribbons of fine sand, embedded in the mountains, are the privilege of sailors.

Some moments, during the journey, are immediately precious, certified unforgettable. On this island, made far away by the brisk slowness of its ferry, half a thousand kilometres from the capital and as if light years away from the present time, here is one of these rare moments. They do not appear on any catalogue of approved tour operators, are not signposted, let alone listed in the guides. They are a precipitate of simple nature at the birth of the world, a wild shock. There are two solutions: you can either sleep in a hotel 13 km to the north and come here on a day trip, or you can stay overnight and maybe get a chance to see the Loggerhead ladies in the early morning. To bivouac or swim, you may prefer to go down 6 km further south, on the other magnificent beach decorated with a wreck, with the advantage of a narrower sand ribbon making the sea easier to access by car. Travellers are asked to show the utmost respect and a true sense of responsibility so as not to disrupt the egg-laying process and lead to a premature return to the sea: do not walk anywhere at night on the beaches where turtles breed (risk of crushing the young or cutting off reptiles), do not shine flashlights or use flashes, do not speak untimely, do not encircle the animals or try to approach them. Overall: remain discreet, keep your distance and do not touch anything.

A must-do, even if you don't live in this area, to discover this particular facet of the capital: the mountains that come close to the coast and plunge into the sea, cutting into bays and valleys where luxury resorts or white neighborhoods like villages in the city are tucked away.

From Old Muscat, follow the coastal road to the Al Bustan traffic circle - you can stop to marvel at the atrium, which is open to all if you are dressed appropriately. Turn right onto An Nuzhah Street and then take the first left onto Qantab Street. Well before the junction leading to the new residential and hotel area of Jumeirah Muscat Bay, a wide esplanade offers a sublime panoramic view of the jagged coastline, the white neighborhoods encircled by their chaos of brown rocks, the hard blue of the sea so photogenic echoing a sky often of the same blue, powerful and limpid. Continue straight ahead on Al Jissah Street in the direction of the Shangri-La. At the Bandar Jissah traffic circle, start the wonderful panoramic descent towards the Muscat Hills Hotel just for the photo and the pleasure of seeing the bay gradually unveil itself between two twists and turns. Go back up to the traffic circle, gain height and continue for a few more kilometers on the ridge of the coastal mountains, until you reach the Shangri-La hotel area. Then turn around.

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.

To reach Ain Razat, take the direction of Mirbat then, shortly after Salalah, the spring is indicated 8 km on the left. We arrive at the foot of the Jebel Al-Qara; many springs flow along the wall to end up in the same basin, itself connected to a falaj system in charge of irrigating the region. A park, open only at weekends, has been set up at this point. The springs of Hamran are located a little further on. First take the road to Mirbat and then follow the road that goes to the left towards Ain Hamran until a dead end.

To get there, take the Atin Road (the one that also leads to Job's tomb), in the direction of the village of Atin for about fifteen kilometers from the city center, then you reach a dead end. The area around the spring has been landscaped with picnic and rest areas, benches, steps to access the water... The site is especially interesting in summer when the spring, fed by regular rains, forms a superb waterfall. The water is then centralized in aflaj which supply the nearby village.

It is the local "croisette" where you can stroll in the mild hours if you sleep on the spot. The place runs along the beach and comes alive especially at the end of the day, when the football players take the sand by storm and the fishermen come to sell their catches. The cornice is then enlivened by a beautiful effervescence, very local and essentially masculine. At high tide, as you approach the port, you can watch the ballet of fishing boats and dhows coming in and out. Little advice to these ladies: as always, wear covering clothes.

This wild lagoon is part of a group of seven others, all located in Dhofar, protected and classified as reserves. The one of ad Dahariz has the particularity to cut the long coastal road which traces on about thirty kilometers between Salalah and Taqah. Far from the hustle and bustle of the city, it materializes in a way the eastern border of the metropolis. The density of its vegetation provides a providential habitat for hundreds of birds, including many migratory species that can be observed from shelters designed for ornithology

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.