Saturday, September 29, 2018

TRAVEL SPECIAL.... CITY OF DJINNS


CITY OF DJINNS

Chasing ghosts and genies and exploring caves and forts in the stark landscape of Bahla

This fort was built by a ghost in just one night,” says my guide Saleh as I stand in front of an imposing citadel. The 13th century Bahla Fort, located about 200 km from Muscat is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Oman and it is surrounded by an aura of occult and magic. It is a hot afternoon and in the sweltering heat, I huff and puff my way up the fortress which is surrounded by a wall that is 12 km long. According to the story, Bahla was threatened by an attack from a neighbouring kingdom and the ruler reached out to a djinn or a spirit to help them. A formidable fort was built apparently overnight and the opponents beat a hasty retreat after just looking at it.
URBAN LEGENDS
Bahla, however, has several legends of genies and ghosts haunting it. There is a legend of a man who was stoned to death for practising witchcraft over thousands of years ago. However, locals say that his spirit wanders around town haunting desolate alleys and crumbling ruins. Trees are believed to be bewitched and people tell you not to touch them as you may just vanish in thin air. But it is the occult that fascinates me. Saleh tells us the story of a flying mosque that came up around the town. Three Sufi saints lived in a hillock near the fort. It is believed that they could communicate with djinns who flew in a mosque from a neighbouring town and parked it here. However, everything lies in crumbles today and the town, which was once Oman’s capital is now getting a makeover apparently under UNESCO guidance.

ARABIAN TALES RETOLD
We are on a roadtrip in Oman driving past souks, castles, wadis, mountains. The mirage here is real. The deserts suddenly morph into valleys where emerald- tinged waters bordered with date palms greet the eyes. Every landscape here is a scene from the Arabian Nights with stories of genies. Besides Bahla Fort, we stop at the medieval Nizwa Fort in the erstwhile capital of Oman. The souk here comes alive every Friday but we head out to buy some dates. Oman apparently produces a staggering 250 varieties of dates and we are recommended the Khalas, the most delicious of them all. Walking around the souk, I lose myself in the pottery and ceramics and taste some delicious Omani halwa until it is time to continue our journey.
If Bahla has an aura of the supernatural, then the ruins of Al Hamra leave us spellbound. Stark and naked, the ghostly mud houses of the 400-year-old abandoned village stand out against the blue sky and the smattering of date palm trees. The narrow alleys clone each other and it is very easy to lose your way. Suddenly I find myself surrounded by a sea of ruins. I look up to see multistoreyed crumbling edifices with holes in them, that would have been windows at one time and for a moment, I feel an eerie presence around me. I walk away hurriedly and turn a little corner to find my guide looking out for me.
DEEP DARK CAVES
Our next stop is a dark and wet cave nestled deeply inside the Hajar Mountain Range – Al Hoota Caves. Everything about the cave exploration seems like a fairytale as a toy train takes you to the foot of the caves. This two million-yearold cave was discovered just 50 years ago by a local whose goat wandered away and fell in one of the crevices near the entrance of the cave. Our 45-minute trail takes us through the stalactite and stalagmite formations while one can imagine various formations and designs. We stop at the black lake inside the cave, home to some blind fish while the bats find several silent dark corners.
Lakshmi Sharath
TL16SEP18

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