Starting point for Jebel Sham
From the highest mountain of Oman, Jebel ash Sham, stretches the so-called Grand Canyon of the Middle East – Wadi Nakhr. It ends at the tactically located village of Ghul. From the original city, today it is a classic abandoned ghost town. People moved to the other side of the valley. A marked path leads through this deserted city to Jebel ash Sham, but few people go to it from below. The city itself is worth exploring, moreover, you will probably not meet anyone here and it will be just for you
View of the old and new Ghul
View from the main road to the old Ghul (left), almost merging with the surrounding mountain and the new Ghul (right). Beneath them lies a small oasis. Most visitors just pass through here and take a maximum photo from here, but it's worth exploring the local ghost town more.
View from New Ghul to the old
We park the car at the end of the asphalt road in New Ghul and we have the old town in the palm of our hand.
Old Ghul
From the new Ghul we descend to the bottom of the wadi and from there through the irrigation canals we ascend to the desolate, sun-exposed streets of the old city
The main street of old Ghul
A staircase that once served as the main street runs through the ghost town. Sometimes you will find a painted and Omani tourist sign here. Just a confirmation that the biggest roughnecks can get the highest mountain in the country from the bottom
Prospect for prospect
Through the tops of the palm trees you can see on the other side of the valley the road with a lookout point where we stood a while ago
Ascent to the ruins of the castle
In the end, despite the solar furnace, we decide to continue even higher to the ruins of the castle. The views are worth it
View from the edge of the rock
We turn off the main road to the castle and climb over the rock plates to the edge of the canyon. From here you can see a gravel road leading many kilometers through the canyon. Another great tip for a side trip.
Castle on top of a rock
The way up is clear, the castle sits as high as it can go
Ghul Castle
The castle itself is a real mess of stone walls
In the castle
As in any similar place, there will be thoughts in your head of what it looked like here at the time of its greatest glory and how people had to live here.
Valley view
The view of the main valley is not as dramatic as the canyon on the other side, but it is not bad either
Last view of old Ghul
We return the same way. Upon departure, there is another of the many nice views of the whole interesting place from the bottom of the wadi
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