Water in the Desert

Oman has 1700km of coastline, which means that it is full of beaches! According to some of the books I've read, Oman offers some of the cleanest, most stunning beaches in the world. Few are private, and there are many coves that are perfect for snorkeling. Diving is also quite popular and many areas of the country advertise that you can swim or kayak with dolphins. In the Muscat capital area alone, there are 4 beaches!

Shell beach
Qurum beach
Bandar Jissah
Marjan

These beaches are ripe with coral reefs, sea life, and rock formations perfect for exploring. Add sunshine and you've got one happy wannabe surfer girl! ; )

Oman, despite being a very hot, arid country, also has a number of other bodies of water in the interior. Wadis, dried up riverbeds found in the mountain valleys, are filled up after heavy rains, when the rivers start running again and the vegetation is restored. However, some wadis have year-round running water, with deep, cool pools in which it is quite safe to swim if the currents are slow.

On the whole, wadis are only accessible with a four-wheel drive vehicle, as the terrain can be extremely bumpy. Wadis are green, lush oases of palm trees, grasses, and flowering shrubs. Although they are beautiful places, they are often remote and should be visited in large groups or with a guide, because car breakdowns can happen to anyone. Visitors must also be on the alert for rain clouds, as sudden downpours can lead to flash floods, which are highly dangerous when in the gorges.

Oman is also home to hot and cold springs and aflaaj (singular falaj) which are the systems built for the distribution of water; commonly used to describe the irrigation channel system downstream of the water's source.

Some aflaaj in Oman were built more than 1,500 years ago; others were built at the beginning of the 20th century. The Omani builders tunneled into the ground to a depth of dozens of meters, in some cases, to gain access to the groundwater. I'm hoping we get a chance to see how these were built and what they look like when we tour some of the old forts.

There are also hot and cold springs in several areas of the country. The best known hot springs are in Rustaq and Nahkl, whilst the most beautiful cold spring is Ain Razat in Salalah.

I posted a couple of pictures of beaches so you can see how gorgeous they look! I can't wait!

Only 11 more sleeps!
~ Lala