Oman’s water resources

In the upper reaches of Oman’s Jebel Akhdar mountains I came across this tiny cascade of water. The groove running left to right is a small man made channel a few centimeters wide in which the trickle is collected in . 

Then in a small fountain/waterfall (bottom right of the image) it drops into a collecting pool which feeds into a Falaj. For some 200 people in a small hamlet this, is their agricultural water supply (its drinking water is another similar sized source – topped up with occasional deliveries from the valley 1500ft below).

A small flow of water for agriculture in Oman

 

Oman’s Rose Water production

Rose Water is prized the world over. Not just because of its delightful fragrance – but of course because it’s so costly to acquire . In Oman it’s also a desirable product – however it’s not for only its floral aroma but also for the added taste imparted by Oman’s own distillation process.

Roses in Oman

 

 

 

 

I wrote about part of the life of Oman’s Rose Water for Oman2Day Magazine (as they now call themselves rather than Oman Today) . For Omanis the production must be just sufficient for its ever-expanding Halwa industry – so why change what works.

A weekend in the mountains of Oman

Making the steep climb by car up to Jebel Akhdar I arrived in the late afternoon to join the celebrations for a friend’s wedding . The formal betrothal had taken place last year and today would be the start of married life. Of course, it was a busy affair, as all Omani weddings are, with probably most households in the village joining in . Since this was a ‘town persons’ wedding we set off, in a queue of cars , to take the bride to the grooms home .

The car with Bride and Groom arrives

 

The next day I managed to have an early morning walk through the mountains before having a very enjoyable lunch at a simple reception to congratulate the groom

A Date Palm in the Mountains of Oman

.