The Wilayat of Rustaq in the Governorate of Al Batinah is known for its historic and rich cultural heritage. From ancient forts to healing warm springs and flowing wadis, it has perfectly epitomised the Omani culture and its diverse landscape.
One of Rustaq’s few secrets is the ancient Al Kamel Falaj, which is approximately 350 years old and is located in the Al Misfah village.
Harith al Kharusi, a local historian and tour guide, explained that the Al Kamel Falaj was an ancient irrigation project which dated back to the early 17th century. The project was undertaken by Imam Saif bin Sultan al Yarubi during his reign between 1103 AH until 1123 AH. This ambitious project was intended to redirect water from the Hajar Mountains and Wadi Sahtan, through the underground falaj to supply clean water nearly 70 kilometres away, towards the Batinah coast.
With no designated location on Google maps, scanty information from online sources and no official records to refer to, we were not sure what to expect from our expedition. Upon arriving at the entrance of the falaj, our group which consisted of seven individuals — Al Muathir al Kindi, a geologist from PDO, Harith al Kharusi, a local history researcher, Yunis al Numani, UNESCO and Ministry of Education representative, DJ Parth Das, Dr Anita, her son Rushil and myself — were greeted by the principal of the Al Misfah village, Salim al Shukhili, who was kind enough to grant us permission to explore the falaj.
Al Muathir explained that the construction of the falaj required resources and technical expertise which were brought in from Persia and the Mughal era India. The falaj was excavated through layers of Ophiolite, also known as snake stone. The Hajar Mountains are known for their large slabs of oceanic crust, predominately made up of volcanic and ultramafic rocks. The tunnels were held together with reinforced palm trees, the remnants of which can still be seen today.
Descending 20 metres below the surface via a staircase and up to the entrance of the falaj, the tunnel was quite dark. It was also sufficiently wide and there was a constant stream of water running beneath our feet. As we moved forward through the darkness with nothing but our headlamps to guide us, we were pleasantly surprised to find openings at every 300 metres in the ceiling. These openings were known as “Fordhah”, they were architectural ingenuities for their time which allowed light and air to circulate within the falaj.
The Kamel Falaj was home to two different species of bats and in this expedition could be seen swarming the tunnels. While there were plenty of them, they were of no threat to the group. The roofs of the tunnel were lined with stalactite, white icicles which were caused by the precipitation of minerals from water dripping through the ceiling.
The tunnel spanned out over four kilometres and eventually surfaced at an outlet known as a Sharia. On further inspection of the tunnel, it was noted that there were multiple shafts running parallel over the primary falaj.
Al Kharusi speculated that these shafts could have served multiple purposes. The shafts aided the workforce by enabling them to efficiently transport resources and debris in and out of the tunnel. It could have also served as means of refuge from hostile and raiding parties during the time.
Al Muathir went on to explain that there are three different kinds of irrigation systems in Oman. The Al Kamel Falaj was an example of a Dawoodi or Iddi which consists of tunnels and shafts. The Ghaili was a surface flowing stream and the Ayni was a water spring.
The falaj system relied on water extracted from underground water storages; it was key to the Omani irrigation system and is still used today.
Towards the end of our expedition, we were left to wonder when the Al Kamel Falaj has been successfully completed and what significance would this project have played towards the economic and agricultural development of the region. It was impressive to note that this marvel of ancient architecture in Rustaq still stands witness to an era long gone but not forgotten.
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