{"id":47121,"date":"2022-02-22T18:35:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-22T18:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mircorp.com\/?p=47121"},"modified":"2022-03-17T18:51:37","modified_gmt":"2022-03-17T18:51:37","slug":"omans-unesco-world-heritage-sites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mircorp.com\/omans-unesco-world-heritage-sites\/","title":{"rendered":"Oman\u2019s UNESCO World Heritage Sites"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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An Omani Man in Traditional Clothing. Photo credit: courtesy Desert Adventures<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Oman<\/a> is a relatively small country, in an area known principally for deserts and sand dunes, yet it has a surprisingly diverse geography and history. The desert dominates, of course, with large fields of sand dunes in the Wahiba Sands<\/strong> and the Omani portion of the Empty Quarter, but there is so much more. Monsoonal forests, seasonally bright green and where frankincense has been harvested for millennia, are a highlight in the southern Dhofar Governorate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stunning Al Hajar Mountains in the north<\/strong>, which generate much of Oman\u2019s rainfall, allow for a complex and ancient system of irrigation known locally as falaj<\/em>.<\/strong> The falaj<\/em> channels feed extensive agriculture in the mountains and the plains below. The same water that feeds the falaj<\/em> networks also flows into wadis<\/em>, or ephemeral rivers that create veins of deep green inside of jagged gorges that course from the mountains to the sea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, finally, a highlight for any visitor is Oman\u2019s spectacular coastline<\/strong>, with deep blue seas and skies set against a backdrop of rugged mountains. The iconic Mutrah district of the capital Muscat is a prime example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Mutrah Corniche in Muscat. Photo credit: Oman Tourist Board<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Oman\u2019s cultural and historical heritage is equally diverse and fascinating, earning the country a total of five sites on UNESCO World Heritage List.<\/strong> Here are those sites, and some imagery of the beautiful geography they are set against.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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1) Archaeological Sites of Bat, Al-Khutm, and Al-Ayn<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Dating back well over 4,000 years to the 3rd<\/sup> millennium BCE, the ruins and necropolises of Bat, Al-Khutm, and Al-Ayn<\/a> bear testament to the cultures and religious practices of early cultures on the Arabian Peninsula. Beehive-shaped tombs are characteristic structure at these sites. They have been well preserved for their age and are currently protected by the Omani government in addition to being on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Bat, Al-Khutm, and Al-Ayn are located in the deserts west of Nizwa and Bahla, in Oman\u2019s interior.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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2) The Land of Frankincense<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Oman\u2019s southern Dhofar Governorate experiences both year-round warmth owing to its tropical latitude and monsoonal drizzle and fog each summer. This unique weather pattern allows for a thin belt of scrub forest, just inland from the coast but before the sandy expanses of the Empty Quarter set in. Here, for millennia, frankincense has been harvested by locals for export. This trade has been enshrined as of Oman\u2019s World Heritage Sites, both the frankincense-producing areas themselves and the ancient ports<\/a> from where it was exported in antiquity. Salalah, capital of the Dhofar Governorate, is also home to a museum dedicated to the trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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