{"id":4347,"date":"2026-05-12T06:33:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T06:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.paulobizarro.com\/?p=4347"},"modified":"2026-05-12T06:33:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T06:33:17","slug":"birkat-al-mawz-the-gateway-to-jebel-akhdar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.paulobizarro.com\/?p=4347","title":{"rendered":"Birkat Al Mawz, the Gateway to Jebel Akhdar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Every April the \u201crose season\u201d attracts many visitors to the mountain terraces of Jebel Akhdar. Walking amongst the pink flowers that fill the air with their perfume is a unique experience, which can be complemented by visiting a traditional rose water distillery. The temperature at this higher altitude is pleasant and cool, inviting leisurely walks. This year I visited the area again, enjoying the mountain scenery and the picturesque villages. As always, Omanis are friendly and welcoming. However, I spent less time up in the\u00a0mountain, because I wanted to visit\u00a0Birkat\u00a0Al\u00a0Mawz\u00a0(which translates to “Banana Pool”), a famous\u00a0village\u00a0located\u00a0at the foothills of Jebel Akhdar.\u00a0It\u00a0is a historic village featuring UNESCO-listed falaj irrigation channels dating back 1,500 years, abandoned mud-brick ruins, lush date palm groves, and\u00a0nice\u00a0walking trails.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mountain roses in Jebel Akhdar (Fujifilm X-T5, Voigtlander 50mm f\/1.2).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Picking the flowers in Jebel Akhdar (Fujifilm X-T5, Voigtlander 50mm f\/1.2).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Flower basket, Jebel Akhdar (Fujifilm X-T5, Voigtlander 50mm f\/1.2).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The road that takes you up to Jebel Akhdar passes through Birkat Al Mawz; as a result, I have driven many times through it, but never really explored it. Strategically located, the village guards the entrance to Wadi Muadin, which is a gateway to the mountains. It is one of Oman\u2019s historically significant villages, providing the experience of a strong connection to a traditional agricultural past, which is preserved in the stone water channels and mud-brick houses frozen in time. These old houses were abandoned 50 \u2013 60 years ago, as families moved to coastal cities attracted by new employment opportunities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201dfalaj walk\u201d starts near the parking area and is easy going, as it follows the irrigation system. The village’s ancient falaj system continues to perform its 1,500-year-old function, channeling mountain spring water through gravity-fed canals to irrigate date palms, banana plantations, and vegetable gardens. I visited during the late afternoon and really enjoyed walking along the old buildings and lush plantations, with the sound of running water for company. I wanted to photograph the village and its plantations against the mountain background, but the light was poor, with a heavy cloud cover. As always, landscape photographers depend on the light quality, but I decided to come back the following day before sunrise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Historical walk (Fujifilm X-E5, Voigtlander 27mm f\/2).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Door (Fujifilm X-E5, Voigtlander 27mm f\/2).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Along the falaj (Fujifilm X-E5, Voigtlander 27mm f\/2).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It turned out that I was lucky and at sunrise the next day there was a brief period where sunlight broke through the clouds. I was ready at a nearby viewpoint overlooking the beautiful landscape in front of me. I had to work very quickly, as the light only lasted for a few minutes. The mountains, abandoned villages and the lush plantations acquired a new life, very different from the previous day. The following photos were taken with my usual Fujifilm X system cameras and lenses, which I carried in my backpack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Viewpoint sunrise (Fujifilm X-E5, Voigtlander 27mm f\/2). Panorama assembled from 2 photos.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Scenic sunrise (Fujifilm X-E5, Voigtlander 27mm f\/2). Panorama assembled from 13 photos.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Old village (Fujifilm X-T5, Voigtlander 50mm f\/1.2).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Old village (Fujifilm X-T5, Voigtlander 50mm f\/1.2).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Old villages and plantations (Fujifilm X-T5, Sigma 15mm f\/1.4).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After less than 30 minutes of this high quality of light, the sun was again obscured by clouds, effectively ending my photo session. However, I was fortunate to photograph this beautiful landscape with such excellent sunrise light.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every April the \u201crose season\u201d attracts many visitors to the mountain terraces of Jebel Akhdar. Walking amongst the pink flowers that fill the air with their perfume is a unique experience, which can be complemented by visiting a traditional rose water distillery. The temperature at this higher altitude is pleasant and cool, inviting leisurely walks. … Continue reading Birkat Al Mawz, the Gateway to Jebel Akhdar<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[24],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.paulobizarro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4347"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.paulobizarro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.paulobizarro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.paulobizarro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.paulobizarro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4347"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.paulobizarro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4360,"href":"https:\/\/blog.paulobizarro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4347\/revisions\/4360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.paulobizarro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.paulobizarro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.paulobizarro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}