A day spent back in time - Wadi Al Maawil

Are you in search of something easy and fun in the weekend, get some steps in but enjoyable in the heat? We have found what you need - Wadi Al Maawill! It is a great daytrip from Muscat and perfect for the hotter days - it is a bit less than 100km and takes around an hour to get there. It can also be a good stop on the way to Nizwa. 

It is one of those typical oases - lush palm gardens, irrigated fields, mud brick ruins. You can just walk around in the shade or picnic. Best place for this the falaj with a majestic tree in the village of Afy. It is worth to explore the mudbrick ruins as well. This place is called the Al Shaykh Room, where the governor of the town used to live and goes back to 300 years.

But there is more history to this place. Besides the mudbrick house ruins there is a nicely renovated fort, Alsafalah Castle with fantastic views from the towers. Inside the fort is an ancient mosque with massive pillars covered with century old hand writings.

Next stop is a 200 years old noble house, masterfully restored and showcasing how a wealthy family lived their life in the oases - the Al Ghasham House. The house belonged to someone in the current Sultan's family, so clearly not your typical setting, but maybe even more interesting. It is fully renovated and furnished - comes with a model horse and panic room - and the tour guide lady was excellent. She explained every room what they were used for, how people lived their life back then. The house have such a good vibe - it was so relaxing being there. We also so a ladies' bathroom or rather a spa - I would take it any time! This is the first time I have seen here, that clear distinction is made between the original house and the rebuilt part - it is integrated and tasteful, but no cheating. No wonder it took 4 years to get the work done!

And finally we stopped at the village of Muslimat - an other charming oasis with old houses, some are painted inside. There is a majestic building here, currently being restored, dating back to the 1850s, Bait Al Khandaq - an architectural gem and it is so fantastic to see that it is being preserved and it seems even being brought back to life as there are construction works going around. 

All in all it was a fantastic day - and a perfect destination for my mum who is not fully mobile. She thoroughly enjoyed this trip! We were also lucky to meet a local Omani man, Hamad Al Maawali, who was so helpful and instantly offered to be our impromptu tour guide - Omani hospitality at its best!

Practicalities: all locations are marked on google maps with opening times etc. Plus there are some other pins which might be worth to check out, so just keep pinching that map! We visited the oasis before, but only knew about the Afy oasis - read about that trip here.

Here are the links for the major attractions: Afy, Al Shaykh Room, Alsafalah castle, Bait Al Ghasham, Bail Al Khandaq

Afy, Al Shaykh - wonderful gardens, falaj and ruins

Alsafalah fort with the unique and ancient mosque inside

Bait Al Ghasham

Date storage and syrup production

The most interesting room - women's spa

Bait Al Khandaq