8 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Falaj al Misfah: Working for a thousand years

The village of Al Misfah Abriyeen is known for its lush oasis, magnificent orchards, and year-round water source, the ‘aflaj.’ Falaj al Misfah, also known as “Fraifer,” is one of the oldest water channels in the area, dating back over 1,000 years.

Misfat Al Abriyeen is a mountainous town in Al Dhakhiyla Governorate, approximately 1,000 meters above sea level on the mountain foothills bordering Wilayat Al Hamra. The village derives its name from the Al Abri tribe, which originally comes from Misfat Al Abriyeen and Al Hamra.

Many traditional villages in Oman got abandoned to build modern houses close by. Thanks to tourism, some of these old villages are rehabilitated such as the charming Misfat al-Abriyeen famous for its ancient irrigation system or falaj.

falaj
Archaeological evidence shows that these irrigation systems were designed to irrigate farmlands as early as 2,500 BC.

Its falaj runs over more than five kilometers across lush fields. This falaj is distinguished by its constant flow of water, which emanates from a mountain spring in the valley’s center. This falaj’s canal is the sole supply of water for irrigating agricultural lands.

Archaeological evidence shows that these irrigation systems were designed to irrigate farmlands as early as 2,500 BC.

Falaj cannal

The water comes from subterranean springs in the mountains and travels for kilometers by gravity in man-made channels cut in the rocks before reaching the irrigated areas and being utilized for drinking and residential uses. The canals are mostly underground, but when they come closer to the farmlands, they open up. There, old rugs held down by stones called sarjra are used to open and close the irrigation channels and distribute water in a fair way to farmers growing dates, bananas, pomegranates, lemons, and more.

Misfat Al Abriyeen
Misfat Al Abriyeen

Falaj’s water is warm in the winter and cool in the summer. There is also a water spring in this town, with a daily water flow of around 190 thousand gallons, according to sources. The town has a sulfur spring named “Al-Faj,” which locals and visitors come to heal from skin ailments.

Misfat Al Abriyeen village boasts amazing agricultural terraces, beautiful alleys, and old houses built on top of solid rocks. The old houses in Misfat al Abriyeen are traditional mud houses with palm-frond roofs and are unique in that they are built on solid rock foundations, surely as means of providing security during the olden times.

Related Articles

Bergama Ancient City Takes Its Place in Digital Environment

1 February 2021

1 February 2021

As a result of the studies carried out by the German Institute, Bergama Ancient City was It was transferred to...

Roman soldier’s 1,900-year-old payslip uncovered in Masada

16 February 2023

16 February 2023

During excavations at Masada, archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities (IAA) uncovered a papyrus payslip dated to 72 BC belonging to...

Mystery of the 1,700-year-old Mosaic Solved: The Medallion in the Mosaic uncovered to be the Symbol of a Roman Military Unit

10 August 2024

10 August 2024

The mystery of the 1,700-year-old mosaic, which was found during excavations in Amasya province in northern Turkey 11 years ago...

19 funerary tombs from Roman times were discovered in Tartus, Syria

27 May 2022

27 May 2022

During search and excavation operations in the archaeological area of Amrit in Tartus, Syria, a joint excavation team from the...

Archaeologists unearthed the exact place of the tomb of Saint Nicholas, also known as “Santa Claus,” and the floor on which he walked

17 October 2022

17 October 2022

An excavation team has discovered the exact location of Saint Nicholas’ tomb, also known as “Santa Claus,” as well as...

2nd-Century Statue Head Discovered at Fethiye Castle

22 August 2024

22 August 2024

Türkiye’s coastal town of Fethiye, which is famous for its natural beauties and historical sites, found an 1800-year-old statue head...

Ancient Jordanian town referred to as Heshbon in the Old Testament provides insight into regional agricultural history

20 January 2022

20 January 2022

The American archaeologist stated that Tell Hisban, located on the Madaba plains of Jordan, represents the “granary of the empires”....

Experts say that the Stone of Destiny was a doorstep

2 May 2024

2 May 2024

The Stone of Destiny’s recorded links to Scottish royalty date back almost 1000 years, and its origins are shrouded in...

The first mother-daughter burial from the Roman period found in Austria

3 May 2024

3 May 2024

Modern scientific methods are increasingly uncovering spectacular results from archaeological finds dating back a long time. A grave discovered 20...

World treasure that cannot be displayed in the Local Museum in Pljevlja, Montenegro

30 July 2023

30 July 2023

Despite representing one of the most valuable portable cultural assets of Montenegro, the Pljevlja Diatreta is not accessible to visitors. The...

The Americas’ oldest known bead discovered near Douglas, Wyoming

9 March 2024

9 March 2024

Archaeologists have discovered the oldest known bead in the Americas at the La Prele Mammoth site in Converse County, United...

An Anthropologist’s life work uncovers the first ancient DNA from the Swahili Civilization

2 April 2023

2 April 2023

Chapurukha Kusimba, an anthropologist at the University of South Florida, has uncovered the first ancient DNA from the Swahili Civilization,...

A 2,200-Year-Old Monumental Pyramidal Structure Discovered in the Judean Desert

26 March 2025

26 March 2025

In a remarkable archaeological breakthrough, Israeli archaeologists have uncovered a monumental pyramidal structure in the Judean Desert, dating back 2,200...

4000-year-old sword found in Finland

12 October 2021

12 October 2021

A Bronze Age sword dating back as far as 1700 B.C.was discovered broken in items in Finland this previous summer...

İnteresting Relief on the Roman Millstone

20 February 2021

20 February 2021

During the Cambridgeshire A14 road improvement work, workers found an interesting millstone. A large penis was engraved in the Roman-era...