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OMAN: Magic charm of Jabal Akhdhar’s old village





OMAN: Magic charm of Jabal Akhdhar’s old village

21st, April 2016

Among the blooms, greens and cool breeze runs the ruins of time — the abandoned village — clinging high up along the mountain cliffs telling an untold saga preserved for every passerby along Wadi Bani Habib          

Around 150 km away from the hustle bustle of the city of Muscat lies an untold saga of the abandoned village of Wadi Bani Habib along the edges of the Green Mountains (Jabal Akhdhar). The crumbling remains clinging along the green Hajjar peeps through the green shades of pomegranates, walnut and other trees inhabiting the wadi.

A day’s trip to the green mountain unfolds the tale of villagers who moved away and scattered along the other side of this valley due to access education and other daily necessities; but has left behind a history. A history of how creatively and through hard work the homes were build to secure oneself from the flooding wadi during the rains and the materials used to keep the rooms cool in summer, a history that unfolds the tale of how a rope-way was used to deliver heavy goods from one cliff to the other and a history of artistic hands and creative beings. The abandoned village offers stories in abundance.

A tale almost as old as four hundred years, the abandoned remnant of the dwellings along the Saiq Plateau of Jabal Akhdhar though crumbled is yet as new in the books of Oman history.

“All the people and families who once crowded this part of the valley have been shifted to the other side of the wadi since past sixty to seventy years,” says Pradeep Hingorani, a tour guide with Zahara Travels.

Almost one and half hours’ drive the Wadi Bani Habib is the green, picture perfect and one of the must-to-visit wadi of the al Sharqiyah Governorate. The deserted village of Wadi Bani Habib is the best example of a tale without its people. “Most of the tourists are greatly attracted towards this part of the green mountain. A framed view of the greens below and the mud-brick homes fixed along the walls of the cliffs build up a perfect poster.”

The old ruined complex of the houses are perfectly juxtaposed to the deep green valley (Wadi Bani Habib) which runs as low as high does the rugged mountain cliffs holding the panoramic abandoned village homes. The light and shadow plays hide and seek from below the green trees offering views of the unusual earthy colours of the homes up on the mountain top that peeps through the foliage. The vibrant hues, warm rooms are predominant in every corner of the abandoned village.

As the stairs leads down to the beautiful lush green wadi through the falaj, the walnut and the pomegranate trees blows a soothing breeze. Though the paved staired walk-way ends reaching the valley bottom, the rocky and undulated pathway leads upto the debris of mud-thatched homes still holding the frameworks of the room walls, ceiling and the window panes. The boulders now run loose due to the weather erosion yet the way upto the abandoned village is much a fascinating trek in Jabal Akhdhar. A trek worth taking.

The debris of the collapsed mud walls, the stones falling apart from the rooms, the steep path climbing upto the dweller’s den are much more than remains of an era. Each room and each house reflects an age of architectural pattern, which speaks of the past. High up on the hills, still clings the framework of architectural finesse along the mountain slopes once providing shelter to hundreds and thousands of occupants who have now been shifted to some other location, leaving behind the ethnographic traces.

Among the blooms, the greens and the falaj is a beautiful nature made pathway that leads high up to the ravaged village replete with tales. Told to us today in forms of painting on the walls of the dweller’s rooms, the houses though rampaged by time yet stands erect to give a clear blueprint of architectural excellence of a bygone era. The earthy feel of the houses comes from the mud, wood and the natural colours used to build these homes. The paintings in some of the walls of most of the houses reflects how art and colours ruled the lives of the dwellers.

To make the plain stone walls of the houses look more artistic each homes have their own patterns none similar to the other. “All the colours used for painting along the walls of these homes are natural; taken from the extract of fruits, leaves, flowers and even the colourful mud,” Pradeep added.

The wooden framework of the windows overlooking the deep and lush green gorge running below the cliffs allowing fresh winds to sweep the rooms giving them a cooler feel. The painted doors reveals artistic facts of the village. The wooden ceiling hold the Omani imprint of wooden frameworks. “The woods used to build up all these frames and the ceiling were all from the walnut and mango trees which are still found in abundance in the wadi down below,” says Pradeep.

Ravaged by the years yet standing still on the rocky heights the abandoned muddy and stone-walled remains lights up the clue to old ways of life in the village. A fascinating glimpse of the village from down the wadi through the green branches of the well grown trees gives the best landscape shots.

Beating the heat during summer to enjoy the magnificent landscape of rugged, untouched beauty, it is really a haven for adventure travellers, nature and history lovers and those seeking retreat from desert heat.


 














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