The Jebel Akhdar or Al Jabal Al Akhdar ( ar, ٱلْجَبَل ٱلْأَخْضَر, Al-Jabal Al-Akhḍar, lit=The Green Mountain), is part of

Al Hajar Mountains The Hajar Mountains ( ar, جِبَال ٱلْحَجَر, Jibāl al-Ḥajar, ''The Rocky Mountains'' or ''The Stone Mountains'') in northeastern Oman and also the eastern United Arab Emirates are the highest mountain range in the eastern Arabi ...

range in Ad Dakhiliyah Governorate of

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

. It rises to a height of and encompasses the Saiq Plateau at 2,000 m above sea level. Jebel Akhdar is famous for its labyrinth of

wadi Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water ...

s and terraced orchards, where pomegranates, apricots and roses grow in abundance due to its mild Mediterranean climate.

Description

This mostly

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

mountain is one of the highest points in Oman and eastern Arabia. Jebel Akhdar lies at the central section of Al Hajar range, located around from

Muscat Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was ...

and accessible only by four-wheel drive. The range is mostly

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

, but at higher altitudes receives around of

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

annually — moist enough to allow the growth of

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from tree ...

s and

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s and support

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

. It is this that gives the mountains their "green" name. An old stronghold on the inland side of the mountain is Birkat al-Mawz, or Pool of the Plantains, with a layout similar to the nearby

Jabrin Jabrin, also known as Jabreen, ( ar, جبرين) is a small town in Ad Dakhiliyah Governorate in northeastern Oman near Nizwa and the Jabal Akhdar Mountains. The town is known for its impressive castle, which was built by the Yaruba dynasty Im ...

palace The area is about a 45-minute drive from Nizwa and is known for its traditional

rose water Rose water ( fa, گلاب) is a flavoured water made by steeping rose petals in water. It is the hydrosol portion of the distillate of rose petals, a by-product of the production of rose oil for use in perfume. Rose water is also used to fla ...

extraction and agricultural products including

pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall. The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean re ...

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus '' Prunus''. Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are al ...

s, black

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...

s and

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, n ...

es. It is also the site of

honey bee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosm ...

breeding for much of Oman. Agricultural production is improved by the use of

Falaj A qanat or kārīz is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well to the surface, through an underground aqueduct; the system originated approximately 3,000 BC in what is now Iran. The function is essentially the same acros ...

irrigation channels and their associated terraces system devised by the local farmers, who have lived on this mountain for hundreds of years.

Al Sogara Al Sogara is a village in Ad Dakhiliyah Governorate, Oman. It is located about 200 kilometers (~125 miles) southwest of Muscat and some 40 kilometers (~20 miles) from the main mountain city of Seih Qatana. The village is carved into t ...

is a historic village carved into the mountainside. The Jebel is mostly inhabited by the ancient

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

tribe Bani Riyam (al Riyamy). Most descendants of the tribe are now in the four nearby villages, including Nizwa,

Izki Izki ( ar, إِزْكِي) is a town in the region Ad Dakhiliyah, northeastern Oman. It is located at c. altitude, and has a population of 35,173 (2003 census). Geography Izki lies at the end of a route from Muscat to Nizwa. The rou ...

and

Ibra The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) is a biogeographic regionalisation of Australia developed by the Australian government's Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population, and Communities. It was deve ...

Ecology

Jebel Ahkdar is in the Al Hajar montane woodlands ecoregion. The plant communities on the mountain vary with elevation. Shrublands and dry grasslands are found from 450 to 1,300 meters elevation. The grasses and shrubs are adapted to arid conditions, and include many drought-deciduous and succulent plants. Typical shrubs include '' Convolvulus acanthocladus, Euphorbia larica, Grewia tenax'' subsp. ''makranica, Jaubertia aucheri,

Maerua crassifolia ''Maerua crassifolia'' is a species of plant in the Capparaceae family. It is native to Africa, tropical Arabia, and Israel, but is disappearing from Egypt. Foliage from this plant is used as fodder for animals, especially camels, during the dry ...

, Moringa peregrina'', and ''Pseudogaillonia hymenostephana''.Kürschner H. (1998) Biogeography and Introduction to Vegetation. In: Ghazanfar S.A., Fisher M. (eds) Vegetation of the Arabian Peninsula. Geobotany, vol 25. Springer, Dordrecht. Semi-evergreen woodlands of

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...

ous trees are found between 1,350 and 2,350 meters elevation. Common trees and shrubs include '' Sideroxylon mascatense,

Dodonaea viscosa ''Dodonaea viscosa'', also known as the broadleaf hopbush, is a species of flowering plant in the '' Dodonaea'' (hopbush) genus that has a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of Africa, the Americas, sout ...

'',

Olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ' ...

(''Olea europaea''), '' Ebenus stellatus,

Grewia villosa ''Grewia villosa'' is a shrub, often scrambling and hardly exceeding 4 m in height. Leaves are fairly large, serrated and heart-shaped. It grows naturally, mainly in dry habitats. It is common in most of the semi-arid parts of Eastern Africa but ...

, Juniperus seravschanica,

Myrtus communis ''Myrtus communis'', the common myrtle or true myrtle, is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It is an evergreen shrub native to southern Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, Macaronesia, and the Indian Subcontinent, and ...

'', and '' Sageretia spiciflora''. Above 2300 meters elevation, open woodlands of juniper ('' Juniperus seravschanica'') predominate, with the shrubs ''

Cotoneaster nummularius ''Cotoneaster nummularius,'' the nummular or coinwort cotoneaster is a species of cotoneaster. This woody shrub is native to much of Asia and south eastern Europe. Description ''Cotoneaster nummularius'' is a mountainous winter deciduous woody ...

, Daphne mucronata, Ephedra pachyclada, Euryops arabicus, Lonicera aucheri, Periploca aphylla'', and ''Sageretia spiciflora''.

History

Between 1954 and 1959, the area became a site of the Jebel Akhdar War, a conflict between Omani forces loyal to the sultan of Oman (aided by British soldiers, including the

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-te ...

) and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

n-backed rebel forces of the inland

Imamate of Oman The Imamate of Oman ( ar, إِمَامَة عُمَان, Imāmat ʿUmān, links=no) refers to a historical state within the ''Oman proper'' ( ar, عُمَان ٱلْوُسْطَى, ʿUmān al-Wusṭā) in the present-day Al Hajar Mountains in S ...

. In August 2011,

Sultan Qaboos Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

designated Jebel Akhdar a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological o ...

in a bid to conserve its unique yet fragile biodiversity. A decree issued by Sultan Qaboos established the 'Jebel Akhdar Sanctuary for Natural Sceneries.' The Minister of Environment and Climate Affairs has authority to draft guidelines regulating access and developmental activity within the reserve. Since 2011, the mountain has featured as the principal climb in the Tour of Oman

road bicycle race Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

. In the area, several important rock art sites, with figures dating back to 6000 years ago, have been discovered and studied.

References

External links

Article by Nizwa.NETOman’s Rose Water in Jebel Akhdar Oman’s 'Green Mountain' declared nature reserve
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akhdar Mountains of Oman Mountain ranges of Asia Al Hajar Mountains

Description

Ecology

History

See also

References

External links