Ironically this is where everyone flocks for the monsoon season as it’s cool, wet and they love the fog that hangs over the mountains between June and September.įrom here you can make a day trip to the lost city of Ubar, which disappeared from maps and was thought to only exist in legend from 3000BC. In the 45C+ summer heat, Oman’s southern city of Salalah is a welcome respite.
( Check the best rates at Jebel Shams Resort on >) Stay in Salalah The dining hall offers a simple dinner of curries, dips, salads and breads followed by juice, instant coffee or tea (unless you brought your own wine, which manners would dictate should be consumed in your room). Visit the Al Hoota caves to view the stalactites and ‘mites then stay at Jebel Shams, near Nahkal, in motel accommodation or permanent tents with mattresses, or even bring your own. Besides, taking a local guide means you get much more out of the trip than the scenery. But hold on to your lunch, this is two hours off serious off-roading and while it is open to tourists in their own hired vehicles, I’d not recommend it. Wadi Bani Awf is one of the most popular four-wheel drive routes.
#Lost city of ubar pictures free#
Several have dirt roads through them which are kept well graded and mostly free of pot holes. I got up before dawn to photograph Jebel ShamsĪ wadi is a dry gorge which can fill very rapidly during the rains – and you don’t want to be in one when that happens. ( Check out the rates for Desert Nights Camp at >) I look this pic of a perfect golden sand dune from Desert Nights Camp. They also offer camel rides and quad bikes for some noisy dune bashing. Try to arrive an hour beforehand as the colours are incredible across the golden rippling sand. A sunset drink at the top of the surrounding sand dunes is magic. There are 24 permanent five-star tents, each with bathrooms and handmade furnishings and a restaurant with live music under the stars and a visit from local Bedouin to paint henna on the ladies. If you’re planning an exotic honeymoon, this is the spot. You can read my post on the desert crossing we did here – pup tents and all! From rolling sand dunes to the vast flatness of the Empty Quarter, this is harsh but picturesque country. Like the famous English explorer Wilfred Thesiger, the first European to cross the desert in 1948, I followed in his camel prints for two days across the Wahiba Sands. The reason why only the ruins of the fort have remained can be explained by the fact that people probably lived in tents at the time, and it was not uncommon for a fort to be the only permanent structure of a city.Flop on this bean bag and watch the sun set on the surrounding sand dunes At the deepest end of the sinkhole, a tunnel has been built that leads farther down underground, where the remains of sunken walls can be found. Other parts have sunk lower, but some are still clearly visible. Sections of the fort still stand at the edge of the sinkhole and can be accessed by visitors.
The fort in Shisr, therefore, literally sank into the desert sands. Furthermore, part of this fort collapsed when a sinkhole formed underneath, and several feet of sand eventually covered all the ruins.
The ruins suggest there used to be a fort surrounded by eight walls with a tower at each corner, a description that matches the description of the legendary Ubar in ancient documents. Whether or not the ruins called Ubar in Shisr are actually the remains of the legendary Ubar is contested.Īrchaeological excavations suggest this outpost was involved in the incense trade, meaning it may have been a sizable settlement. The ruins found in Shisr are officially named Ubar. This is fertile ground, where legends and archaeological studies plant their seeds for wild speculations to grow.Īccording to one of these speculations, the ruins of Ubar have been found in the village today known as Shisr in Dhofar Region, Oman.
It’s even been dubbed the “Atlantis of the Sands.” Ubar and Atlantis have something else in common, too-there’s no unanimous consensus that either ever even existed.įinding the skeleton of a city that perhaps never existed can be a daunting proposition, but explorers and scholars are well aware of the prestige they could gain should they discover the ruins. Ubar is the Arabian equivalent of Atlantis, except that instead of sinking to the bottom of the sea, legend says it disappeared into the desert sands.
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