Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Wadi Shab is signposted off the Muscat-Sur coastal highway. You can't miss Wadi
Shab: the vista of mountains opening into a pea-green lake is sublime after the barren
plain.
Vehicles, thankfully, cannot navigate the wadi beyond a small parking area. Toilets,
open from 7am to 7pm in the parking lot, are intended to disuade visitors from urinating
in the wadi.
Camping and lighting a barbeque are not permitted in the wadi. As with all wadis in
Oman, flash flooding can make them impassable for a time. Check with any of the tour
companies reviewed by Lonely Planet (
Click here
)
for up-to-date information on Wadi
Shab's accessibility, especially after rains.
OMAN'S ANCIENT IRRIGATION SYSTEM
As you travel around northern Oman, be sure to look out for Oman's ancient irrigation system - an engineering
highlight of such sophistication and complexity that it has earned Unesco heritage status.
Comprised of channels, known locally as
aflaj
(plural) or
falaj
(singular)
,
cut into mountainsides, running
across miniature aqueducts and double-deckering through tunnels, this irrigation system is responsible for most of
the oases in Oman. The precious water is diverted firstly into drinking wells, then into mosque washing areas and
at length to the plantations, where it is siphoned proportionately among the village farms. Traditionally, a
falaj
clock, like a sun dial, was used to meter the time given to each farm; nowadays, some
aflaj
are controlled by
automatic pumps.
There are more than 4000 of these channels in Oman, some of which were built more than 1500 years ago. The
longest channel is said to run for 120km under Sharqiya Sands. Although they can be seen throughout the moun-
tains, the best, most easily accessible examples are in Nizwa, Tanuf, Wadi Bani Awf, Wadi Dayqah and Wadi
Shab.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Tiwi
25
There's not much to the little fishing village of Tiwi, but being flanked by two of Oman's
beauty spots, Wadi Shab and Wadi Tiwi, it has found itself very much on the tourist map.
Not that it has made many concessions to tourism - there's no hotel and no public trans-
port, either to Muscat or to Sur. The locals are nonetheless forbearing of the convoys of
passing 4WDs and are delighted when a driver bothers to stop for a chat. If you do stop,
ask about Ibn Mukarab. The story goes that this Saudi fugitive paved the steps from his
house (the ruins are still visible on the hill) to his tomb in gold. As anticipated, the locals
dug the steps up for the booty, making the tomb inaccessible. Ibn Mukarab has since been
able to enjoy the peace in death that he couldn't find in life.
