Mind the gap: tourists drawn to giant sinkhole

TAQAH: Shrouded in fog in the lush mountains of Dhofar, a giant chasm plunges into the landscape, echoing with mysterious sounds that have spawned myths and legends among nearby tribes. This enormous sinkhole is one of four that dot the governorate, including one of the world’s biggest: the yawning Kahf Teiq, 211 metres deep and 150 metres wide. At the Tawi Atair sinkhole, tourists potter around on concrete paths and stairways. Not all of the holes are so welcoming, however. The sheer drop of the Sheeheet pit is ringed with slippery mud, prompting the authorities to put up a fence and warning signs. Tawi Atair means “Well of Birds” in Arabic, a reference to the avian twittering, distorted by echoes, that reverberates off the rock. — AFP