A'Dhahira Governorate

      It is a semi desert plain which slopes from the southern fool of Al Hajr AI Gharbi Mountains towards the Empty Quarter. It is separated from A’Dakhliyah Governorate by AI Kur Mountain to the East; it joins the Empty Quarter from the West and Al Wusta Governorate from the south. A’Dhahirah Governorate consists of three wilayats:  Ibri,Yanqul and Dhank. Ibri town is one of the regional centers located some 279 kilometers one of from the capital Muscat. Wilayat Ibri is distinguished for its unique location which joins the Sultanate with other areas in the Arabian Peninsula. Furthermore, it was a crossing for the commercial convoys since long. It has a lot of historical places such as forts, fortresses among which are Al Salayf Fort, Ayn Al Hadith and Ayn Al Janah.

    

Tourist Attractions

Wilayat Ibri

     Ibri's northern neighbours are the wilayats of Saham and Rustaq in the Batinah North Governorate, while the wilayats of Yanqul, Dhank and Buraimi lie to the north-west. To the south are the Wilayats of Adam, in the Dakhiliyah Governorate, and Haima, in the Wusta Governorate. Saudi Arabia, the Empty Quarter and the United Arab Emirates lie to the west.

       In the past trading caravans used to pass through it, as did several major land routes linking the Sultanate with the other Gulf States. It may have acquired its name - Ibri - from the Arabic root "a-b-r", which conveys the connotation of "crossing" or "traversing".

      Ibri today is known for its oil and gas fields - which provide one of the country's main sources of income. The Wilayat of Ibri is also well-known for its ancient sites, including forts and towers as well as the ruinsa Bat - the second Omani site to be listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site after Bahla Fort in the Dakhiliyah Governorate.

      Bat lies in the eastern part of the Wilayat of IV Bat's historical importance lies in its location at the crossroads of the old trade routes, along which caravan passed laden with merchandise destined for other regions. It was here that a Danish archaeological tear - in co-operation with he Ministry of National Heritage and Culture's Department of Antiquities – carried out a survey in 1976 and discovered a number of tomb about two kilometres to the north of the present-0 village. The southern area of the site contains tombso the "beehve" type, which is well-known in the region.

      Another area was found to contain a hundred stone tombs, which showed signs of being more advanced than the 'beehive tombs', but less so than the Umm Al Nar tombs. The 'beehive tombs' contain between two and five graves, while the later type - twenty of which were found - are communal graves. In both types of tombs pieces of red pottery were found similar to the "Jumdat Nasr" pottery in Iraq. Other discoveries included high-grade red pottery decorated with black lines and items that appear to be 'framed' and designed to be hung. Objects of this type were common in the settlements and tombs of the Umm Al Nar civilization in the region and neighboring areas.

      Another discovery in Bat was a round structure surrounded by a wall of square-cut rocks. A "mint" was found on the south-eastern side of its entrance. The archaeologists also discovered a well that divided the building into two halves. Each half contained a row of rectangular rooms without entrances or connecting passages or connections with the outer wall. This suggested that the rooms were not designed for living accommodation. After exhaustive archaeological study it was decided that these structures - the six rooms - performed the function of watch-towers for the area.

      Inside the fort there is a large Friday Mosque. The fort also has two wells, a stable and two towers. One of these overlooks the old souk, which lies to the north, while the other has a view to the south. Ibri Fort has a square keep and a massive outer wall.

      Jabal Al Shahshah Fort was the real town centre inancient times. The traces of a mud-brick well have been discovered beneath its ruins.

      Al Aswad Fort's history dates from the year 972 of the Hegirah. It is a tall, formidable building with four towers - Burj Al Rih, Burg Al Muraqabah, al Sabah and Burg Sulaiman.
One of the most important towers in the Wilayat is Burj al Shari'ah - a sentry tower.
The citadel of al Sulaif was built by Imam Sultan bin Saif Al Yarubi. It consists of a number of buildings, including houses and a mosque, and has an outer wall with several high towers. It also has a well and a falaj flows beneath it.

      Other tourist attractions in the Wilayat of Ibri include a number of springs and falajes. In the village of Muqniyat lies al Haidith spring and, surrounded by date and mango groves, al Jinah spring. Falajes include Falaj al Mafjoor in Ibri, as well as the falajes of al Mab'ooth, al Iraqi, al Ainayn, al Dareez and al Qurwan.

      Another tourist landmark is the village of Dhamm in Wadi al Ain, which is a popular picnic site with Omanis and residents, particularly in rainy weather, when the rains cascade down in waterfalls from Jabal Al Kawr and al Jabal al Akhdar. Al Dareez Fort - a major defensive fort - has two towers and several gates.

     Other places of interest including Al Ghabbi Fob another ancient building with several towers - al Ainay Fort, al Sulaimi Fort and Bait al Sarooj. Bait al Sarooj is an old house, not a fort. The Wilayat of Ibri has numerous traditional arts, crafts and occupations. The main occupations are pasturing, stock-rearing, weaving and agriculture. The area's major crops include fruit (particularly dates and citrus fruits), wheat, vegetables and animal fodders.

 

Wilayat Yanqul

     When you enter the Wilayat of Yanqul the first thing you will see is the mountain of Jabal al Hawra - which the wilayat has adopted as its emblem - standing guard over Yanqul like a sentry.

It is so named because its color is like the color of the houris, who are famed for their beautiful pink complexions.

It borders on the Wilayat of Ibri to the south and east, the Wilayat of Dank to the west and the Wilayat of Sohar to the north. It has around 70 villages.

    Tourist attractions in the Wilayat of Yanqul include the enchanting Wadi al Rakiy with its trees and fine views. The village of Sudairain is renowned for its abundant water and beautiful scenery, while al Waqbah village is known for its many wadis and cool temperatures. The village of Baiha is also famous for its fantastic scenery. Its wadi, which flows from the mountains, is its bestknown feature. Of the wilayat's numerous of aflaj, the best known are Falaj al 'Ulu, Falaj al Muhaidith and Falaj al Khabourah.

Wilayat Dhank

      Dhank lies at the centre of the Dhahirah Governorate. Its neighbours are the Wilayats of Buraimi to the north and west, Ibri to the south and west, and Yanqul to the east.

      The wilayat has a distinguished history. It has 16.622 inhabitants and 48 villages. The imams of earlier times took an interest in Dhank, as can be seen today in Falaj al Bazili in the west of the Wilayat and the "Imam's Fort" in its central area. Falaj al Bazili was constructed by Imam Saif bin Sultan AI Yarubi, who cultivated extensive areas around it, while the "Imam's Fort" was renovated by Imam Azzan bin Qais. Ibn al Rumtha built Al Oud Fort in Safalat al Wahshi. Other forts in the Wilayat include al Shiraya', al Subaikha, al Marqu', al 'Aqr, Doot, al Jafrah, Balat, al Khilli and al Fath. There are also six towers: al Saghar, al Taff, al Ghafah, al Khilli, Abu Kariyah and al Qala'ah.
Wadi Dhank is one of the Wilayat's main tourist sites. Other popular spots are Wadi al Fath and Wadi Qumaira.

      The Wilayat is well endowed with falajes underground water resources and springs. Its falajes include al Sadd, al Sima, al Muhaidith, al Taff, Salalah, Qumaira, al Rahbah, Balat, al Fath, al Janbi, al Khilli and Khamat. Its two springs are al Musaifiya and Bani Saa'idah.

Traditional Occupations

Wilayat Ibri

      Traditional handicrafts include cloaks, decorated saddle-bags, palm-weave items, leather work, pottery, wicker-work, traditional building materials and Omani halwa.

Willayat Yanqul

         Agriculture provides one of the main traditional means of livelihood and a wide range of crops are produced including dates, wheat, sugar cane, citrus fruit and other varieties of fruit. Traditional handicrafts include weaving, palm wickerwork and gold and silver ornaments. There are many sugar cane juice stalls in the wilayat.
 

Willayat Dhank

      The Wilayat's traditional occupations include carpentry, blacksmithing, farming and stock-rearing. The main crops are fruit, mainly dates, as well as indigo, vegetables, and animal fodders.
Local crafts include wickerwork, palm-weave productions, traditional Omani building materials and indigo.

Regions:- Overview Muscat Gov Dhofar Gov Musandam Gov Al Buraimi Gov Al Dakhiliyah Gov Al Batinah N & S Al Sharqiyah N & S Al Dhahirah Gov Al Wusta Gov