Thug4Life
08-05-05, 12:24 AM
http://www.ontheway.ch/oman/oman_16.jpg
They say its possibly the best Wadi Oman where there is always water!
Personaly I never been there BUT from much of what I heard I frequently talk to my self....MAN this is a Place to Go...
Along the journey to wadi shab I was told that You can Hit on many wonderful places....
The road from Muscat ---Sur
Will Try and describe the road from Muscat to Wadi Shab in breif...........and if any one have any additional info or corrections Please Be my guest...
===
Along the way to Sur ..(the city I described in my other thread)...you Will find your self in the minddle of two wonderful natural sceenaries...
the Sea on your one side and the Wonderful mountains that I personaly Adore on your other side...I think this it self as a start is an exciting experience!
Reaching to Qalhat...Oman's old capital which was described by Marco Polo in 1292 as the most important port along that coast, where trade with India was very important (spices and porcelain for Arab horses which were much needed by India). According to Marco Polo, the population lived on dates and salt fish.
Ibn Battuta, the geographer, stopped there three quarters of a century later in 1386. He was also struck by the busy bazaars, and the trade with India. He also described the town overlooking the sea, and its magnificent mosque, with walls covered with enamel-like qashani tiles.
The Bibi Miriam mausoleum is the only major building to have survived the earthquake that destroyed Qalhat. It shows off the intricacy of the arched windows and the elegance of the circular architecture. On the mausoleum vault, traces of glazed colourful tiles can be seen. Archaeologists have also discovered some remnants of foundations, and the vault of an ancient cistern.
http://www.oryxoffroad.com/img/tomb.jpg
BB mariam Tomb
as you continue your route...
you will pass by a wonderful sink hole....where you have access to the bottom by stairs. The water is a beautiful color and is fed by the ocean. It's quite a large hole, in depth and breadth, and has a railing all around to prevent any accidents.
http://photos2.flickr.com/3550553_9b223a1059_m.jpg
http://image03.webshots.com/3/0/92/96/27509296NTcIlNJlQU_ph.jpg
in between Qalhat and the sink hole you will encounter Finns Beach and its breathtaking beauty as you enjoy the white sand as the waves splash onto the coast. We All do Know for Sure that Oman has one of the Most beautiful what I so call Virgin beaches and costal lines....with variation of colors and types!!
After Qalhat, the graded road arrives at Tiwi, a pretty coastal village. It has some mud houses with old carved wood windows and mashrabiyas
The village overlooks the sea and a fresh water lagoon. This is sometimes flooded by the sea during big storms - a game of power between the fresh water of the wadi and the salt water of the sea. Tiwi represents the very beauty of Oman, the meeting of the mountains and the sea. Pink mountains and emerald pools create a garden of Eden in the deep gorges where pink olleanders grow. Both Wadi Tiwi and Wadi Shab are pure delight. If only one wadi could be visited, the latter would have to be the one.Although they are all spectacular, Wadi Shab seems to have a life, and a soul that touches all the emotions.
Wadi Tiwi is accessible from the village by four-wheel drive. You have to cross the river bed several times and drive round large boulders. Then you enter a luxuriant valley with amazingly green meadows where cows are grazing. It is the ideal spot for "wadi bashing", so often mentioned in tourist brochures. The four wheel drives can travel for some distance in the large gorges, but then the tracks surrounded by lush vegetation narrow and exploration must be continued on foot. This is the best way to visit the timeless villages that move with the rhythm of the muezzins and the calls to prayers that echo in the neighbouring valleys.
...Wadi Shab can only be visited on foot. A short boat crossing takes you to the other side of the lagoon and to the mule track that travels deep into the magnificent pink wadi. The water comes in all shades of green, it runs and swirls around the stones, in the aflaj and leads to oleander gardens. Dates, bananas and pomegranates grow in this lush wadi. The beauty and generosity of nature is stunning. Sometimes, you can hear the echo of voices. Children playing in the river, women chatting while doing their washing, and the orders of the muleteer riding back up to the villages nestled up in the mountains.
As the water gets deeper, the warmth of the sun in the gorge invites visitors to take a swim in its beautifully fresh waters. Those with enough courage to continue (in T-shirts and rubber sandals) will be surprised to discover, after a short swim through a narrow keyhole, a large cave with a waterfall. Wadi Shab is accessible to everyone and does not, at least at the beginning, present any major difficulties for walkers except for a few river crossings in a very clear fresh water. The falaj runs parallel to the river and brings water to the village and to the small gardens kept by those who live in the wadi. It is possible to see the clever watering system which, depending on the time, takes the water from one garden to the next. This wadi is so beautiful that it is attracting more and more campers.!!!!
Indeed as I read from one of the sources links
Wadi Shab......is Paradise on Earth!!!
Sources thankfuly:
http://www.omanlng.com/htm/community_affairs/sharqiya.asp
http://www.oryxoffroad.com/se003.htm
http://www.soukofoman.com/index.html
They say its possibly the best Wadi Oman where there is always water!
Personaly I never been there BUT from much of what I heard I frequently talk to my self....MAN this is a Place to Go...
Along the journey to wadi shab I was told that You can Hit on many wonderful places....
The road from Muscat ---Sur
Will Try and describe the road from Muscat to Wadi Shab in breif...........and if any one have any additional info or corrections Please Be my guest...
===
Along the way to Sur ..(the city I described in my other thread)...you Will find your self in the minddle of two wonderful natural sceenaries...
the Sea on your one side and the Wonderful mountains that I personaly Adore on your other side...I think this it self as a start is an exciting experience!
Reaching to Qalhat...Oman's old capital which was described by Marco Polo in 1292 as the most important port along that coast, where trade with India was very important (spices and porcelain for Arab horses which were much needed by India). According to Marco Polo, the population lived on dates and salt fish.
Ibn Battuta, the geographer, stopped there three quarters of a century later in 1386. He was also struck by the busy bazaars, and the trade with India. He also described the town overlooking the sea, and its magnificent mosque, with walls covered with enamel-like qashani tiles.
The Bibi Miriam mausoleum is the only major building to have survived the earthquake that destroyed Qalhat. It shows off the intricacy of the arched windows and the elegance of the circular architecture. On the mausoleum vault, traces of glazed colourful tiles can be seen. Archaeologists have also discovered some remnants of foundations, and the vault of an ancient cistern.
http://www.oryxoffroad.com/img/tomb.jpg
BB mariam Tomb
as you continue your route...
you will pass by a wonderful sink hole....where you have access to the bottom by stairs. The water is a beautiful color and is fed by the ocean. It's quite a large hole, in depth and breadth, and has a railing all around to prevent any accidents.
http://photos2.flickr.com/3550553_9b223a1059_m.jpg
http://image03.webshots.com/3/0/92/96/27509296NTcIlNJlQU_ph.jpg
in between Qalhat and the sink hole you will encounter Finns Beach and its breathtaking beauty as you enjoy the white sand as the waves splash onto the coast. We All do Know for Sure that Oman has one of the Most beautiful what I so call Virgin beaches and costal lines....with variation of colors and types!!
After Qalhat, the graded road arrives at Tiwi, a pretty coastal village. It has some mud houses with old carved wood windows and mashrabiyas
The village overlooks the sea and a fresh water lagoon. This is sometimes flooded by the sea during big storms - a game of power between the fresh water of the wadi and the salt water of the sea. Tiwi represents the very beauty of Oman, the meeting of the mountains and the sea. Pink mountains and emerald pools create a garden of Eden in the deep gorges where pink olleanders grow. Both Wadi Tiwi and Wadi Shab are pure delight. If only one wadi could be visited, the latter would have to be the one.Although they are all spectacular, Wadi Shab seems to have a life, and a soul that touches all the emotions.
Wadi Tiwi is accessible from the village by four-wheel drive. You have to cross the river bed several times and drive round large boulders. Then you enter a luxuriant valley with amazingly green meadows where cows are grazing. It is the ideal spot for "wadi bashing", so often mentioned in tourist brochures. The four wheel drives can travel for some distance in the large gorges, but then the tracks surrounded by lush vegetation narrow and exploration must be continued on foot. This is the best way to visit the timeless villages that move with the rhythm of the muezzins and the calls to prayers that echo in the neighbouring valleys.
...Wadi Shab can only be visited on foot. A short boat crossing takes you to the other side of the lagoon and to the mule track that travels deep into the magnificent pink wadi. The water comes in all shades of green, it runs and swirls around the stones, in the aflaj and leads to oleander gardens. Dates, bananas and pomegranates grow in this lush wadi. The beauty and generosity of nature is stunning. Sometimes, you can hear the echo of voices. Children playing in the river, women chatting while doing their washing, and the orders of the muleteer riding back up to the villages nestled up in the mountains.
As the water gets deeper, the warmth of the sun in the gorge invites visitors to take a swim in its beautifully fresh waters. Those with enough courage to continue (in T-shirts and rubber sandals) will be surprised to discover, after a short swim through a narrow keyhole, a large cave with a waterfall. Wadi Shab is accessible to everyone and does not, at least at the beginning, present any major difficulties for walkers except for a few river crossings in a very clear fresh water. The falaj runs parallel to the river and brings water to the village and to the small gardens kept by those who live in the wadi. It is possible to see the clever watering system which, depending on the time, takes the water from one garden to the next. This wadi is so beautiful that it is attracting more and more campers.!!!!
Indeed as I read from one of the sources links
Wadi Shab......is Paradise on Earth!!!
Sources thankfuly:
http://www.omanlng.com/htm/community_affairs/sharqiya.asp
http://www.oryxoffroad.com/se003.htm
http://www.soukofoman.com/index.html