Al Minthar – Al Hamra

We had a look at some old bronze age burial tombs close to Oman’s “Jebel Misht”, one of Arabia’s most imposing peaks (2090m) where one side presents a 1000 meter vertical drop, famous for climbing. Impressive scenery! It made me think of the incredible film “Free Solo” where Alex Honnold climes El Capitan. Go and see it!

Jebel Misht
Bronze age burial tombs

Burial Tombs from 2000-3000BC.

After visiting the tombs we had a tasty lunch at the nearby village of Al Haye where we met two cyclists, Marijke from Germany and English Laura. They were on their way to the top of Jabal Shams, Oman’s highest peak of 3027m. Then we climbed the steep mountain pass (we had to push our bikes regularly)  between Jebel Misht to Al Hamra. Marijke and Laura went ahead with their light bikes.

Pushing the bicycle
Mountain Pass to Al Hamra
Camp Al Hamra
Oase in Old Al Hamra
Old Al Hamra
Old Al Hamra
Laura and Marijke

Left: Tho old city of Al Hamra. At the back you see Oman’s highest peak, Jabal Shams at 3028m.

At dusk that evening Marijke and Laura decided to climb another 20 km while we stopped and had a peaceful camp with the local goats. A few days later we drove up the same road (very hard and steep climb!) and heard they had only made another 7 or 8 kilometers so hopefully they found a place to sleep.

Old Al Hamra
Old Al Hamra
Previous Sultans
Old Al Hamra

We liked the doors in the old village. Here just a few examples