Oman - Travels in Old Arabia
Far to the east of Beirut, Damascus, Aleppo, Jerusalem and the other great cities of the Levant exists a completely different world, namely that of the Arabian peninsula.
The peninsula is, of course, dominated geographically by Saudi Arabia, whilst to the south-east we have Yemen (the land of Sheba) and Oman. Yet while Oman may lack ancient cities comparable in wealth or splendour to Palmyra, Petra or Jerash, it possesses some of the most stunning natural scenery and diversity of cultures to be seen in the Middle East.
At its northern tip is the Musandam Peninsula (‘the fjords of Arabia’) with one of the most dramatic landscapes in the whole of Arabia, still gloriously unspoilt and remote. To cruise these fjords by dhow (the sea is also perfect for swimming) is to enter a world of striated mountains spectacularly thrust and twisted upwards, whose sheer cliff faces plunge dramatically into the clear (and dolphin-filled) waters of the Persian Gulf. Clinging to these precipitous hillsides are numerous small villages that can only be reached by boat.
Fjords of Arabia
The Peninsula’s interior is taken up largely by the Ruus al-Jibal (heads of mountains) from whose peaks spectacular views of the “fiords of Arabia” are possible. Marine fossils (fish, shellfish) found even on the highest slopes show that, millions of years before, these heights were covered by sea. Perhaps not surprisingly, Musandam has always been cut off from the rest of Arabia. Many of its inhabitants (of whom the Shihuh are the majority) are not native Arabic speakers whilst the interior is still home to mountain leopards, foxes, wolves, and hyenas—creatures that have largely disappeared from the wild in most other countries making up the Arabian Peninsula.
Marine fossils from the peaks of the Musandam Peninsula
In contrast, central Oman with its spectacular mountain ranges and desert vistas, vast palm groves, hidden oases whose waters remain completely translucent, and its traditional mudbrick villages with their imposing tribal forts and cool suqs (markets), retains much of the flavour of Old Arabia—familiar to Doughty, Thesiger and other intrepid desert travellers —but long since vanished elsewhere.
Rising to almost 3000 metres, the Hajjar mountains in the north sweep in a gentle S-shape from Musandam to Ras al-Hadd in the south-east, constituting the great physical barrier separating the Omani coast from the interior. Even today (and certainly more so in earlier times), the worlds of coast and interior differ markedly as can be seen, for example, in the generally simple mosques of the interior (where Ibadi Islam holds sway) and the much more varied religious architecture of the coast with its large communities of Sunni and Shiite Muslims. The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat provides a splendid example of the differences between a purely Ibadi mosque and one incorporating the various streams of Islam. The vast domed main prayer hall is decorated with superb marble panelling, ceramic tiles in Ottoman, Syrian, Arabian, and other diverse styles, along with stained glass windows and five tapering, octagonal minarets, the tallest being 91.5 metres.
‘The Grand Canyon of Oman’ Hajjar Mountains
Simple Ibadi mosque, Hajjar mountains
The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Muscat
On the coast, especially in Mutrah and in the Dhofar region, houses tend to be larger and more often free-standing. Of thinner coral aggregate walls, they may be several storeys in height with their windows often covered with elaborate painted plaster or wooden screens. Within the interior, in towns such as Nizwa and in smaller villages like Birkat al-Mauz, houses are generally closely packed with little town planning. Frequently they are surrounded by a high wall with the rooms opening on to a central courtyard (“the heart and lungs of the house”). On at least one side of the courtyard is a shaded porch. Windows are usually small and set high up in the thick unfired mudbrick/pisé/stone walls; they are generally shuttered (plaster or wood) both to keep the rooms cool and to ensure privacy. The houses are often entered by elaborately carved wooden doors. In many of these older villages the falaj (subterranean water channel) continues to play a very important role. Wind towers (badjirs), although remarkably effective in keeping houses cool are now fast-disappearing in the face of air conditioning while the simple barasti, with its easily assembled frame and walls of palm-wood and palm-fronds (ideal to maintain a cool interior by allowing the circulation of air), has almost completely died out. Examples of the latter still exist, however, in scattered coastal areas and in the Wahiba Sands.
Mountain village in the interior of Oman
Wahiba Sands with barasti dwelling
As Oman becomes wealthier, traditional houses are progressively being superseded by larger dwellings. Although more in the western tradition, these houses still retain many Omani features—in particular towers, crenellations, and strikingly decorated doors. The combination of whitewashed walls with colourful flowers (oleanders, hibiscus, bougainvillea) alongside or draping them is often remarkably attractive and, thankfully, a far cry from the concrete blocks so typical of much of the modern architecture in the Gulf.
Modern house, Oman
The Hajjar mountains have always played a central role in shaping the history of Oman. The mountains are pierced by several great wadis (the beds of ancient rivers, the largest being the Wadi Samail which separates the Western and Eastern Hajjar Ranges) that have always served as the main routes from coast to interior. Not surprisingly, therefore, many of these wadis were guarded from earliest times by watchtowers and by some of the strongest and most impressive forts in Oman. At the head of Wadi Samail and dominating the important town of Nizwa with its vast date groves (which Wilfred Thesiger avoided in the 1940s due to the fierce reputation of its inhabitants) is the great fort whose thick walls were built to withstand the strongest cannons whilst its massive tower, with a central earth and stone core, provided a powerful and stable platform for the firing of artillery. While Nizwa itself has seen a lot of recent development, with much of its suq now remodelled (although the East Suq is a reminder of earlier times), a short stroll from the centre reveals many vestiges of the older town with its picturesque mudbrick and stone walls and superbly carved wooden windows and doors.
The Great Fort, Nizwa
Old village of Al Hamra from the rooftop of the Nizwa fort
The Omani landscape is dotted with some 500 forts usually sited in strategic areas, especially on the north-east coast where they guard the great wadis cutting through the Hajjar Mountains into the interior. Numerous smaller watchtowers are also scattered throughout the countryside overseeing small villages, palm groves, and other patches of arable land. While most of the forts date to the Islamic period, some appear to have pre-Islamic roots. On the other hand, the imposing fortresses (al-Mirani and al-Jalali), guarding the entrance to Muscat’s ‘hidden harbour’ were both constructed in Portuguese times (the 16th century) though some form of earlier defences must have been present as Oman’s main port and capital has been in existence since at least the first century CE. Its position at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, as well as well-protected anchorage, ensured that Muscat, “a port unequalled in all the world”,remained an important harbour throughout Omani history.
Muscat: port and Portuguese (al-Jalali) fort
Occupying almost a third of Oman, the southern province of Dhofar is geologically very different from the rest of the country and, in fact, its landscapes (and much of its religious architecture, as in the tomb of Mohamed Bin Ali below) are closer to Yemen, its southern neighbour. This is chiefly because during the months of June to September the mountain ranges of both Dhofar and Yemen attract the south-west monsoon (al-Khareef) resulting in a reliable annual coastal rainfall of up to 100mm on the mountains and coastal strip.
Tomb of Mohamed Bin Ali (died 1135 CE), Dhofar
The coastline of Dhofar stretches for some 560 km, widening around Salalah into a broad and fertile plain (al-Gharib). Well-watered and humid for much of the year, it is remarkably fertile with abundant cultivation of tropical fruits— such as coconut, banana, orange, papaya—and exotic plants like bougainvillea and hibiscus. Large herds of cattle are also able to graze on the abundant fodder crops throughout the region. The coastal strip is fringed with long white sandy beaches, warm water and a decent (for bodysurfing!) small surf.
Tropical fruits, Salalah
The white beaches and crystal-clear water of Dhofar
Due to the monsoonal rains washing down from the mountains into the sea, the coastal strip is punctuated by lagoons (khors), surrounded by tall reeds and grasses and are home to exotic migratory birds flying between Europe and Africa. These lagoons were also ideal small harbours for the ancient and medieval dhows plying their trade along the coast or daring to harness the monsoon winds eastwards and back across the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. It is along the Dhofari coast that we still see the remains of some of the greatest frankincense ports of Antiquity (including Sumhuram/Moscha, one of the main maritime marts of southern Arabia) and of Medieval times (al-Balid, described by Marco Polo as “a great and noble and fine city”).
The walls of ancient Sumhuram/Moscha with the lagoon (‘Khor Rori’)
Behind the coastal strip and extending for about 180 km rise the Dhofari highlands. Whilst their average height is about 1300m, several peaks are considerably higher with Jebel Samham being the tallest at over 1800m. It is these highlands that attract the monsoon, causing the mountains to become shrouded in mist and clouds with rain deposited on their southern face.
This results in a temporary south-facing band of verdant woodland with much of the excess rainwater being distributed to the coast. Scattered throughout the northern slopes are numerous specimens of an unprepossessing, somewhat spiky tree of medium height (rarely more than three to four metres) and sparse foliage. This tree—Boswellia—grows throughout Southern Arabia, the Horn of Africa, and India while its sub-species, Boswellia Sacra, is much more restricted in its habitat, growing only in the Dhofar region and to a lesser extent in Yemen and Somalia. It is Boswellia Sacra from Oman which produces the highest quality of frankincense and in Antiquity was responsible for much of the enormous wealth which Southern Arabia (‘Arabia Felix’ of the Romans) accumulated due to trade with the West. By Graeco-Roman times, prodigious quantities (somewhere in the order of 3000 tonnes, most to go up in smoke on sacrificial altars) were being transported to the West, either by the overland route (from Dhofar and Yemen through Saudi Arabia and on to the Persian Gulf or to Petra and Gaza) or from important ports such as Sumhuran and Qana (in Yemen) through the Red Sea and then overland to either Petra or via the River Nile to Alexandria.
With the advent of Christianity, the sacrificial use of frankincense plummeted although the 12th and 13th centuries saw a temporary revival of the incense trade, but with China rather than with the West. Today, frankincense—burnt in small incense burners of clay or stone rather than on large altars—is still used in many Omani households for fragrance, to keep away pests and, often in larger quantities, at weddings. Very little, however, finds its way overseas.
Frankincense tree, Dhofar highlands
At the northern foot of the Dhofari highlands the desert (‘Nejd’) begins, initially as a stony plain cut by canyons and wadis but then progressing to sand dunes and eventually merging with the vast Rub’ al-Khali (Empty Quarter) covering much of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula including the fringes of Oman.
But the Empty Quarter is not the only sand desert seen in Oman for well to the east, and completely separated from the Rub’ al-Khali, are the remarkable Wahiba Sands, a “perfect specimen of a sand sea”. While much smaller than the Rub’ al-Khali, its sand dunes may still attain a height of 50 metres! It also contains a much richer array of flora and fauna, with over 150 plant species (including the drought-resistant Prosopis Cineraria) and some 200 species of animals, birds and reptiles. Despite its relatively small area (10,000 sq. km), it was scarcely explored by Europeans until traversed by Wilfred Thesiger in 1949-1950, who described the Wahiba Bedu tribe (the largest and most powerful in southern Oman) as having “the bearing of aristocrats”.
The Wahiba Sands of the Arabian Desert
To stay overnight in the Sands (in, I might add, large, well-appointed, and extremely comfortable tents) means an opportunity to explore the dunes in the absolute peace of the morning as the sun is rising and to observe the fresh tracks of those small nocturnal creatures which inhabit the Wahiba Sands.
This experience, along with travelling through a country like Oman which remains largely unspoilt, is something I never tire of.
Tour Oman
From dune-like desertscapes to remarkable hill forts, traditional souqs and bronze-age archaeological sites, discover this wondrous state on the Arabian Peninsula.
Led by Dr John Tidmarsh, our comprehensive 16-day itinerary includes the highlights of this vast country: the Fjords of Arabia and the inland forts of Nizwa and Jabrin; the mountain scenery of Western Hajar and the remoteness of Wahiba Sands; the bustling capital of Muscat and the contrasting landscapes of the southern region of Dhofar.
