Houses on the rock
Mud, stone and sarooj.
dconvertini — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Trubble — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Davide Mauro — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ji-Elle — CC BY-SA 3.0 · bint battuta — CC BY 2.0 · dconvertini — CC BY-SA 4.0 · dconvertini — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Trubble — CC BY-SA 2.0
A traditional mountain village in the wilayat of Al Hamra, set in an oasis 900 metres up in the Western Hajar Mountains. The World Tourism Organization named it one of its Best Tourism Villages in 2021, and about a thousand people live here. The village sits on a rock that acts as a natural fortress, with narrow stone-paved lanes and houses of mud, stone and sarooj mortar, some more than two hundred years old; its style has been compared to that of the Yemeni highlands. A falaj system more than 2,000 years old still carries water from a local spring to the houses and terraced fields, where mangoes, pomegranates, figs, olives and palms grow. The W9 mountain trail starts here along an old donkey path. The visit is free. It is a living village, so dress modestly with shoulders and knees covered, as signs at the entrance ask, keep out of private homes and farms, and ask before taking photos. The lanes are steep, so wear good shoes.
Mud, stone and sarooj.
Mango, pomegranate, fig.
An old mountain path.
Al Hamra, in the Western Hajar Mountains
Modest clothing covering shoulders and knees: it is a living village, and signs at the entrance ask for it.