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

Using Google Earth and aircraft reconnaissance, archaeologists identify unknown sites and Serbia’s hidden Bronze Age megastructures

17 November 2023

17 November 2023

Using Google Earth and aircraft reconnaissance, archaeologists at University College Dublin identified more than 100 previously unknown sites. Satellite remote...

A beautiful Medieval key discovered in Claverham village, UK

11 October 2023

11 October 2023

Earlier this year the Kemble fieldwork team from Cotswold Archaeology undertook a small excavation for Newland Homes on the edge...

The 890-million-year-old sponge fossil may be the oldest animal yet discovered

1 August 2021

1 August 2021

890-million-year-old fossil sponges found in the “Little Dal” limestones of northwest Canada may be the oldest animal ever found. According...

“Scythian golds” will be returned to Ukraine

15 November 2021

15 November 2021

The fate of the Scythian Golds, which were sent to be exhibited in the Allard Pierson Museum before the Russian...

A new finding in Persepolis reveals a Royal wall

23 October 2023

23 October 2023

A new find at Persepolis, whose magnificent ruins rest at the foot of Kuh-e Rahmat (Mount of Mercy) in southwestern...

Roman road network spanning the South West of England identified in new research

7 August 2023

7 August 2023

A Roman road network spanning across Devon and Cornwall has been discovered by the University of Exeter archaeologists. A Roman...

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...

A Treasure-Laden Burial Chamber Found Hidden Among Terracotta Army

7 June 2024

7 June 2024

Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of China, and his tomb is renowned for being guarded by an army...

A fragment with the oldest Syriac translation of the New Testament discovered

7 April 2023

7 April 2023

A researcher from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, with the help of ultraviolet photography, was able to discover a small...

Maya city Tikal put today’s urban gardens to shame

26 June 2021

26 June 2021

The Maya civilization was known for its achievements in art, architecture, mathematics, astronomy, and calendar systems. Tikal, the ancient Maya...

Rare 3,500-Year-Old Chariot Wheel Discovered at Inverness Golf Course

24 April 2025

24 April 2025

Archaeologists have discovered a rare prehistoric chariot wheel at the site of a future golf course near Inverness. The discovery...

2,000-year-old altar found in Alexandria Troas

9 October 2021

9 October 2021

A 2,000-year-old altar was unearthed during the ongoing excavations in the ancient city of Alexandria Troas, in a region close...

Archaeologists Uncover Roman London’s First Basilica Beneath an Office Basement

13 February 2025

13 February 2025

Archaeologists have made a groundbreaking discovery beneath an office building in London, unearthing a substantial section of the ancient city’s...

In Lowbury Hill Mystery of Anglo-Saxons buried 1,400 years ago may soon be solved

8 March 2023

8 March 2023

The mystery surrounding the remains of two Anglo-Saxons buried 1,400 years ago in south Oxfordshire, identified as a man and...

Archaeologists have discovered 85 ancient tombs, a watchtower, and a temple site in Egypt’s Gabal al-Haridi region

5 May 2022

5 May 2022

The Egyptian archaeological mission discovered 85 tombs, a watchtower, and a temple site in the Gabal al-Haridi area of Sohag,...