PauloBizarroPHOTOBLOG

Misfat Al Abriyeen is one of Oman’s most picturesque and historic villages, located on the mountainside in Al Hamra. After spending the night camping in Jebel Hat, I always stop in this traditional Omani village for a nice walk (and coffee) amongst its green terraced farms. Despite the recent increase in tourism and visitors, walking along the narrow streets beside ancient mud-brick houses, and intricate falaj (irrigation) system, is still a nice experience.  If you ignore the signs of modern times, Misfat seems like a place untouched by time, providing a window into the country’s past, with a rich heritage and traditional lifestyle. There is evidence of Persian occupation dating from 1,500 years; Misfat itself is at least 500 years old but the falaj system that maintains the terraces of palm and banana trees is said to be even older. 

The best (and really the only) way to visit Misfat is on foot; before exploring old Misfat, it is worth making a stop in the modern village across the valley, where most of the population lives. They still take care of the plantations, and slowly the old homes are being turned into guest houses. I still remember the first time I visited Misfat about 20 years ago; it was an abandoned village, with houses falling into disrepair and crumbling. There are several marked trails in the area that are worth exploring, as they will take you across the shaded green terraces. I walked around for a while, but the temperature and humidity were rising as the morning went on; thus, I stopped in a local coffee shop for a refreshing drink before driving back to Muscat. 

Now that the heat has come to stay, visiting the mountains is one way to escape it. That is what I did a couple of weeks ago, with a weekend camping trip to my favourite camping place in Oman. I had not been there since October 2024, so I was excited to go back. This time, instead of taking the adventurous gravel road coming up from the north side via Wadi Bani Awf, I took the leisurely tarmac road that starts in the southern side, near Hamra.

Arriving in time for a late picnic lunch, I setup camp and took a stroll to the edge of the mountain, admiring the fantastic view over Jebel Shams, Wadi Bani Awf and Wadi Sahtan. I never tire of this scenery. First time I was here was in February 2003, during my first time in Oman.

The hill in the previous photo is a privileged spot to admire the view; the small tree at its top provides an interesting photographic subject too. The village of Hat can be seen nested against the mountain, way down.

After this initial photo session, I rested for a while and had a nice dinner by a fire. My plan was to set up my camera and wide-angle lens to photograph a star trail; however, a strong wind forced me to cut the session short, and I only got about 30 minutes of total time. In the distance, roughly 30 km away, I could see the lights from the Jebel Shams antenna station.

Following a good night´s sleep in the tent, I woke up to photograph a beautiful sunrise. To the north, the light started to illuminate Jebel Shams, slowly creeping down towards the village of Bilad Sayt. I always enjoy this time of the day, when everything is still quiet with no wind and crisp atmosphere.

This type of light is brief, but while it lasts it is magical. After a well deserved breakfast, I packed my camping gear and left. I know I will return, of course. In the meantime, that day I drove down to Hamra to visit the picturesque village of Misfat Yabreen, but that will be another blog post.

Every April the “rose season” 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 mountain, because I wanted to visit Birkat Al Mawz (which translates to “Banana Pool”), a famous village located at the foothills of Jebel Akhdar. It is a historic village featuring UNESCO-listed falaj irrigation channels dating back 1,500 years, abandoned mud-brick ruins, lush date palm groves, and nice walking trails. 

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’s 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 – 60 years ago, as families moved to coastal cities attracted by new employment opportunities. 

The ”falaj walk” 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. 

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.

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.

These photos were taken during a recent astronomy trip to Wadi Sahtan, near Rustaq. This is a good dark site for sky observation, but besides that, it is also located at the foot of the northern face of Jebel Shams, the highest mountain in Oman. This face is a sheer vertical wall of around 2,000 m height, which is really impressive. In February the temperature is still on the cold side at night, with the crisp air providing excellent visibility.

After a 2 hour drive from Muscat, our group arrived at the site and set up camp. As the sunset was approaching, I walked around for a while, scouting potential locations for a sunrise shoot. At sunrise, that wall of rock would be illuminated by the early morning light. Sunset itself provided a good show, with the light being dispersed by the edge of the mountain.

With the approach of darkness I returned to camp to have dinner and prepare for some observation. Our group managed to had a good look at several planets (Saturn, Neptune, Uranus and Jupiter), plus a few star clusters and nebulae. Before I went to sleep, I set up my camera on the tripod to shoot a few hundred images for later assembly as star trail. The result was the image below, with a total time o 100 minutes (200 photos of 30 seconds each).

The following morning, as planned, I woke up before dawn, to be greeted by the crescent moon.

After that, I walked up a nearby hill and started to shoot as the early morning light slowly bathed the mountain in a wonderful light. It was an incredible experience just watching the progression of the light over the landscape.

Of course on my back the sun was rising, which presented further opportunities for interesting photos too. Like the nearby village of Wahjma, at the foot of the mountain, with its oasis of palm trees.

It is mid-February, and springtime is arriving fast in Oman. This means that in many mountain villages, the fruit trees are already in blossom, creating a very special natural tableau. Whenever possible, I like to visit such places; in my home country of Portugal, the almond trees in bloom cover large areas of the Algarve and Tras-os-Montes provinces, blanketing the hills in white and pinkish hues. In Oman, the small village of Wakan, in the Jebel Akhdar mountains, has become quite popular with tourists all year round, but particularly so in the spring. I went there in the spring of 2024 and wrote about it in the following article.

This time I arrived earlier, to avoid the predictable weekend crowds, and to benefit photographically from the higher quality early morning light. I carried with me my trusty Fujifilm X-T5 and a single lens, the Voigtlander X 27mm f/2. This small pancake lens is manual focus only but is perfect for these trips. In case I required something wider, I simply took more images to assemble later as panoramas. 

Leaving Muscat at 5 am, I had the first glimpse of Wakan, perched on a hill at 1,400 m altitude, at around 7 am. I parked the car and took a few photos as the first light of the day started to illuminate the surrounding mountain range. I am always impressed by the beauty of this scenery, with the tiny village dwarfed against the jagged mountain peaks that reach up to 2,300 m above sea-level. I drove the final stretch of the (gravel) road and had no problem in finding a parking space in the small local car park. I strolled in the cultivated terraces and fields for a while, in the middle of the peach trees in bloom; daylight first hit the peaks above, slowly moving down along the mountain face. I waited a few more minutes until the sunlight bathed the orchards, and then started walking along the trail that connects Wakan to the Sayq Plateau to the south, and to the village of Hadash to the east. 

I walked along this trail several times in the past, and it is one I always enjoy, due to the peacefulness and the amazing views over Wadi Mistal. This time my plan was to go all the way up to the Sayq Plateau via the Wakan Pass, a gap in the mountain at 2,300 m altitude. In total, I walked around 14 km, going first to the top, and then coming back. This is not an easy walk, because in places the trail crosses several steep rocky parts and patches of loose rock, but it is well signaled with conspicuous colored markers. One can only imagine how in the past people would travel along these narrow trails on foot or in donkeys. You can see that in some parts, the rocks are well polished from people walking on them. 

It took me about 3 hours to reach the top, including lots of stops for photo opportunities of the incredible landscape. The weather was sunny but cold, with fresh winds in the exposed plateau, so it is a good idea to bring extra layers of clothing. I leave you with a selection of images of this wonderful day spent visiting this magical mountain village. Even if you do not walk the entire trail, you can adjust the distance to your requirements; by walking only a few hundred metres, you will get a nice view of the village and the magnificent landscape that surrounds it.