Magical Oman | Part 2: Along the Incense Route | Free Documentary Nature

a land from the arabian nights home of sinbad the sailor filled with secrets and magic [Music] the kingdom of scents and colors [Applause] a land with many faces [Music] diverse and surprising [Music] [Applause] [Music] as wild as it is peace loving a country that lives out its traditions and welcomes the modern age oman [Music] in the heart of oman in the middle of the desert only highly adapted animals survive such as the arabian oryx antelope they can go for several days without water their white fur reflects the sun's rays and protects them from the heat thousands of them once roamed the deserts of the arabian peninsula today these are the last of their kind even these oryx antelope are no longer free and wild quite the opposite they are fenced in in a large high security area for their own protection for the antelope the fenced off area is far too small they cannot even find enough food here so a team of experts looks after them like the biologist zarya sulim al-alawi and the vet vishnu babu tiwari [Music] the proud arabian onyxis are fed twice a day with hay that has to be brought here from many kilometers away oryx antelopes usually follow long migration paths through the vast desert looking for food their captivity creates a lot of issues such as behavioral problems and stress the biologist and the vet have to keep the animals under close observation so they can intervene in time the important thing is hunting hunting here so the number will be will reduce the last year so only the our solution for uh make it enclose enclosure now we are now we're keeping them here like a domestic animal you can see here you can see this is the herd here this is what we're using it's especially for domestic animals we are giving in our work i have one expectation they have to decide one release program in the wild with the secure environment we have to maintain security from the our local people they must know about the value of urban works and punishment should we must be strong not like as uh you know sometimes keep the real or sometimes okay hi hello and this is the first time for me not like this should be strong and even lifetime they must be inside the prison oil deposits in the reservation has meant the area has been made even smaller new roads are now making this unspoiled and enormous desert accessible for the workers on the new development there is no longer a space for the oryx antelope in their native land from the reserve in haima it is almost a whole day's drive through the desert to the so-called incense route in the dhofar government there are only a few places in the world where frankincense trees grow and or fart is one of them this already brought wealth and status to oman a long time ago as they are here the trees are partly grown in plantations but most of the frankincense trees in do far are still wild their ownership is not fixed but handed down through century-old family traditions and respected accordingly fatima ardil and tofu saeed do not share the trees but they do share the labor they both walk for kilometers into the mountains to harvest the sticky milky tree sap the tree is reluctant to give up its frankincense this job is very tough i am using techniques for my great grandfather the first thing we do when we collect the frankincense we work all day here and harvest nothing and then after 15 days we come back and we will cut again and we will collect nothing the third time we will start collecting but the quantity will be very fatima is already a grandmother but still makes the journey several days a week the best time to start is in the hot season the dry season and then we continue until the beginning of the monsoon then the weather changes it becomes cold so the income becomes less but now most of the time we continue with this job frankincense is not just frankincense there are three or four types and there is one that is white and then gray and and the white one is the best one after cutting the tree will get spoiled but if you do it properly you can cut for a long time today the women are cutting the tree for the third time they will be able to take some frankincense home to the south west of d'ofar the mist from the sea is sometimes trapped in the highlands and conjures up blossoms in the barren landscape desert roses aloe vera and water hyssop trees have found their niche in the southwest of these mountains the local people use many of these plants medicinally [Music] the incense route from the desert crosses the highlands as a busy highway [Music] from there it only goes down a straight descent into the center of d'ofar to salala [Applause] like the capital muscat in the north of oman salala is also a city that's being rebuilt everywhere new road networks and buildings are going up simultaneously changing the country considerably in just a few years salalah is the metropolis of the south palm tree-lined beaches and a holidaymaker's paradise for frozen europeans or the arabian neighbours of the sultanate even the underwater world leaves nothing to be desired along the coast towards the east a fish fauna rich in species inhabits the coral reefs and where there are lots of fish there are a lot of fish hunters [Music] in winter dolphins swim up to the stone coasts and southern beaches almost close enough to be touched here the ocean mammals find plenty of food [Music] after high tide they swim back out to sea with full bellies it's not only dolphins who profit from the diversity in the coastal waters fishing has always been one of the main food sources for the omanis with small boats and traditional dowels the fishermen go out to sea every day to provide for their families in the village of mirbat to the northeast of salala almost all of the locals live from fishing the village life plays out in the port everyone wants a bit of a big catch often it's enjoyed then and there raw or on the harbour restaurants grill typical for salalah car door delivery one could be forgiven for thinking the driving was invented here but it's not only salalah's ocean that's full of delicacies the town itself is referred to as the garden of oman all along the coast and far into the city there are row upon row of plantations their yields cover much of the country's fruit and vegetable needs dates do not grow in the south of oman only coconut trees most of the plants and vegetable types in the north of the country can be found here too the plantations cover a wider area here different to the small oases of the north yet the people in the south of oman have taken over some of the wisdom from the northern desert oases layering high growing perennial plants create an upper layer providing shade for the smaller more delicate flowers the garden of salala an oasis in very big style on the edge of the plantation the farmers sell their fresh produce directly from little stalls like most of the small farmers aspherodam does not come here from oman but from india its vegetables on the other hand are local these are all from salalah this banana and the other one called milk banana come from nearby farms nothing is imported from outside oman everything comes from salalah coconuts and papayas a kilo from this banana costs 300 pizza and the other one costs 600 pizza this is milk banana and this is salalah banana those who want to sell something in salala are well advised to set up shop near the road the city's inhabitants do not like to get out of their cars neither to eat nor to buy food without setting a foot on the ground they order the favorite local southern refreshment coconut water the juice of a coconut that has been harvested too early so it's not quite ripe cooled and expertly prepared it's simple tasty and even healthy making the vegetable ordering go very smoothly indeed like in many arabian countries the goods and services industry mainly employs cheap labor from the philippines pakistan or india it's not easy for a migrant worker to get a foothold in oman and like aspherodam has done to then bring the family over too before that time my father and my brother used to work here they asked me to come here and they arranged a working visa for me with their omani sponsor at the beginning it was very difficult for me because i couldn't speak arabic thank god things are rise along the eastern edge of salala just half an hour's drive away this is where the largest predator on the peninsula has retreated to high up to 1800 meters the few people that are allowed to set foot here can do so only for research purposes the road is a little bumpy even at this altitude it is hot and dry on the jebel samhain the highest mountain of too far this is like labor drainage here and these animals they are quite elusive animals they live in quite they try to be they are shy animals they live far away from people and um we have to walk quite a long distance sometimes to find their you know core habitats and set up camera traps and look for their sign in those areas had already come into contact with leopard researchers from england when he was a child for years they stayed in his family home at the foot of the d'ofar mountains [Music] later as a young man he would accompany the researchers into the almost impassable heights of his homeland and learned to respect and understand this large and rare feline predator the smallest traces tell him a lot about the animals and their behavior we've seen the liberties coming down now you used to stick up to this to the escarpment along the top of the mountain as well but in the last since the last five years we've seen it moving down towards the hotels and it's a good indication that the leopard can go back to its sega range but the problem is they will come in in conflict with people because people live along these foothills and then they might take their livestock and that's when the conflict starts and his team of native rangers and nature conservationists are learning everything they can about the population and distribution of the big cats they have even put up cameras in inaccessible spots that are triggered by motion sensors we have to find evidence that the liberty is still present in in oman and we started in the far mountains where we have with all these camera traps and they provide us a lot of data about the leopard numbers their breeding behavior their mating and also their presence so they are small cameras but they provide a very valuable and useful information before they reset the secret cameras hadi wants to know if the device has captured anything what we know that the libert have been declining for quite a long time and since we started the project we have seen um the leopards still roaming in duvar mountains we have seen leopards actually breeding which is a good you know information and good news as well so what we've seen you know the bubble asian maybe it's range being collapsed into a small area but they are still roaming the far mountains that means you know we cannot just stop here we have to um you know do more work to protect this tiny small population i think the most important thing is to see yourself contributing to safe and in critically endangered species that almost gone to extinct from your region we have lost some other mammal species from the region and we cannot afford to lose the arabian labor so far heidi and his team have been able to prove the existence of thirty-five animals in the d'ofar mountains shockingly this is the largest population in the world the total of arabian leopards still in the wild is 200 animals even up here the frankincense harvesters and livestock herders are getting far too close for comfort [Music] [Music] further down at sea level a storm is brewing strong and unexpected it has devastating consequences for the vegetable traders the capricious weather is also causing a phenomenon on the beaches large amounts of crustaceans are being washed ashore a feast for the seagulls [Applause] the storm is the heartbringer of a new season the kharif karif is the name of the asian southwest monsoon that moves along the coast of tofar from mid-june to mid-september the storm changes the countryside strong rains like the ones brought by the monsoon from india are rare in oman the moisture rises up the rock face of the dohfar mountains and condenses during this time the mountains are shrouded in dense fog the condensation falls as a constant fine drizzle the karif regularly creates a blooming natural spectacle occasionally the oman sounds just like a meadow on the corner of a forest in europe it's the lark which is raising its young in the fresh grass the annual weather phenomenon is responsible for much more moderate temperatures than elsewhere on the arabian peninsula this attracts visitors from the heat-stricken neighboring states [Music] hordes of tourists depend upon and disturb the green idle but for the picnic in open nature anywhere will seem to do the omanis are more selective and opt for a quieter spot with a view the young men come from the north of the country we run away from the heat the temperature in neswa is almost 47 to 48 degrees centigrade meanwhile it's between 26 27 up to 30 here in salala [Music] [Music] which is three times the city's population less than 2 000 of them come from europe even though it's worthwhile sight watching drizzling rain caused so much pleasure [Music] even if the rest of the arabian peninsula is on holiday here the work in salala must go on like at the university of tufar a private institution in the north of the city the new campus can easily cater for ten thousand students female students are in the clear majority and lecturers like kaya alanzi are more sought after than ever when i was six years old when i was in school usually the teacher asks us what you want to be in future we said usually doctor or policeman or officer yesterday i was with the scot and the guidance cabin and there are some small students like 10 years and nine years when i asked want to want to be in the future somebody says i want to be engineering i want to be a doctor i want to go to the space and they have courage to see something more than just to be a teacher so the thing is changing because of education only 30 years ago the majority of omanis were illiterate there were only three quran schools in the whole country now over 90 percent of children are going to a regular school do you remember what we were talking about the management and we give example of the private sector in oman and how it's important to play its role as social responsibilities in oman we should not depends only on oil we should also depends in private sectors and to enhance this area forget about oil if you notice these years by educating its young with an international outlook oman is preparing for a time when the oil has run out english is considered a trading language and already taught in primary school the default university has been developed according to the american model bachelor and master's degrees are offered and the lectures are of course in english why plan is the first connection and one when it comes to the woman rise in middle east actually the first female minister in middle issues or money women and the first ambassador in the middle east is the omani woman and the first woman who get a phd in gcc and second in the middle issue was monument in 2008 the sultan issued a decree that women had the right to own land until then it was a privilege reserved only for men a right many women in other countries on the arabian peninsula can only dream of i'm so happy because i live here with that with equal rights with my brothers and we live in harmony and in peace with dignity dignity and respect and this is the most important thing we've been recognized we can speak our minds and we are respected but in reality once married the life of most omani women continues to play out in the home kitchen but here everyone is allowed to dream [Music] during the kharif many of the bedouins bring their camels from the searing heat of the desert to the cooler south it's an old nomadic tradition [Music] migrating birds also find their way to the mystic coast in southwest oman despite the numerous building sites there are still many unspoiled parts of the coast waiting to be discovered habitats for mangroves the trees which are up to 15 meters high are salt tolerant and grow in the intertidal zone their so-called stilt roots lend them support at any water level just like the mangroves many of the bird species survive in this border area between salt and fresh water flamingos little bittons little egrets and grey herons [Music] when visitors from the desert come in the summer some places can even get a little crowded many of the birds are only guests themselves [Applause] greater flamingos can be found in oman all year round these youngsters still need to work a little on their colour the camels are living up to their nickname ship of the desert that the water preservation experts are eating salty seagrass may seem counter-intuitive at first being able to drink salt water is a rare ability in the animal kingdom the camels can do so thanks to their high performing kidneys there are only a few places in the world where camels can take a bath [Music] one of these places is the lagoon quarry at the foot of the samharam fortress in eastern salad was built in the 4th century bc the doubled city wall protected the frankincense storage areas from here it was loaded onto ships and exported the hidden natural bay in the lagoon was the ideal reloading site for valuable goods another fortress dating back to the 2nd century bc is currently being excavated in the center of salah alongside another outpost in the desert and the frankincense plantations in the north the two fortresses make up a unesco world heritage site the so-called land of frankincense saeed al-amri is one of the many archaeologists from all over the world trying to unearth the secrets of this antique settlement city is a historical city that has flourished in this region for many centuries because of frankincense trading activities the city flourished during the period between the 10th to 12th centuries meanwhile the city was divided internally into three main areas the king's area including the castle and the large mosque the area of settlements and houses and the area for trading and storing frankincense and other commodities currently we believe that these structures are small rooms but this is only a hypothesis and it needs more evidence to be proven however is to tell the history of the country as an archaeological park reconstructions and restorations will serve as attractions the use of wood as a building material is particularly interesting as i've told you they also used wood in their buildings because wood gives a structure more stability and strength during disasters such as earthquakes this wood probably comes from the local tree called mitan in arabic and mutin in shari language and they bring it from the nearby hills the excavation and restoration work are currently centered on the old palace we believe that it's from the 10th century according to the discoveries and archaeological excavations the city flourished and was divided this way during this period also the castle reached its ultimate fortified structure therefore we're currently testing this hypothesis [Music] there are only a few places in the world where the past and the present are so close to each other where tradition and modernity go hand in hand like they do in oman this is particularly evident in the souk the bazaar an integral part of this country's everyday life many of the goods on offer are probably the same as hundreds of years ago all the different types of frankincense are of course here too does not sell the pressure sap at her stool but her speciality incense mixtures [Music] it consists of sandalwood agarwood musk and two or three nice perfumes [Music] smoking in an incense burner mariam allows her customers to try the different types once they have made their choice they will fill their own burner at home to perfume all the rooms and even their clothes and hair some people prefer to buy normal plain argon wood others like waxed agar wood others like perfumed agarwood or rice at argo wood according to customers preferences if god wills we will continue but we don't know who will come after us we have worked in this profession for more than 20 or 30 years we may die tomorrow or the day after tomorrow who knows however there are definitely other people working in this profession and they will continue preserving it [Music] a comparatively modern development is the so-called one of the two headdresses without which an omani does not leave the house an entire section of the souk sells the colourful little embroidered hats they are no longer embroidered in oman but sewn together here and sometimes individually adapted omani boys grow up with them and it becomes second nature knowing whether the hat is enough or a turban is needed for the occasion we use the turbine in official and social events such as weddings and eid as well as during working hours while we use the embroidered cap at normal times such as going for a walk or shopping with the family it's possible to coordinate the color of the turban or the cap with the color of the dress however the color of the gentle white dress is consistent in nature with all colors [Applause] an occasion that clearly calls for a turban is the horse show at the end of the summer season the president of the national riding federation is in attendance [Applause] [Applause] the genealogy of each arabian horse used to be passed on orally but at some point this knowledge was lost nevertheless the omani are proud of their elegant animals in comparison to european breeds they are small horses yet are said to carry heavier loads faster and further than other horses [Music] unity between man and horse is the event's motto [Music] it is actually meaning the strong bond between the riders and the horse as well so they can be always together and that they are having a strong tie with with each other and it is also part of the strong friendship between the riders of different parts of of a man so they are like holding hands and being like being so strong friendship between themselves and the anti-horse as well [Music] [Music] the finale is the lying down to sleep of the animals it's hard to train into the horses and considered as the ultimate sign of dedication the horse can show its rider [Applause] i'm a big fan of the many horses and the riders i'm having a very strong tie with them for us we are in the community of the horse and we love them so much we take care of them and we even take care of them as like our kids [Music] at the end of august the monsoon period slowly comes to an end [Music] to the west of salala on the way to yemen the water that will soon dry up for many months is still gushing [Music] whilst there may be larger and more impressive waterfalls elsewhere in the world than the iron core and the rivers and streams are not spectacular it does seem to be a life's ambition for the desert dwellers to drive their off-road sedans to these sources of yearning at least once social media in the arabian peninsula is flooded with water themed selfies this is home and no one is surprised if one goes for a swim fully dressed [Music] on the coast to the west of salala in muksai there is another water feature to discover and admire the notorious blowholes particularly high waves of surf push water fountains up through holes in the rock for those eager to see plenty of omanis enjoying themselves outdoors the kharif season is not to be missed the end of the monsoon season also means the end of the salala festival a folk festival as well as a cultural event for the city's visitors the visitors are mainly arabian tourists [Music] the locals entertain their guests with the al ayala dance it's only performed by male dancers as it was originally a dance symbolizing victory in battle [Music] is baking traditional omani rakik bread [Music] the fire has been burning for hours at the bottom of the meter deep hole [Music] thank god i don't feel tired even though i sit here from seven in the evening until midnight because we deal with many people and visitors coming from different places and nationalities every few minutes she has to bend down into the hole and rearrange the prints what i have on my face is to avoid the heat and the ash that comes out from the oven as you see i have to face the oven for the whole day this mask is really effective in protecting my face how nice to at least appear to have found a place to cool down and a place where the family can openly celebrate together without inhibition oman is trying to bridge the gap between old customs and the new digital age between national pride and opening up the country to international partnerships according to the un development programme oman is in first place when it comes to social and economic improvement in the last 40 years [Music] what do the omanis think about all the changes that have happened in such a short space of time oman changed from tradition to be moderate but still have its identity and this is uh we are very take care of that things that we will be modern but we have to keep our identity with us this can be said of the country's trading goods as well as the handicraft of a millennia old culture [Music] because we've learned it from [Music] oman's different habitats offer surprising diversity and shape its people [Music] here all my parents have been living all their life grand grand grand grandfather they've been living in the denver and we've been growing here in the desert it's home for us the country is home to impressive natural spectacles and a diverse animal kingdom [Music] [Applause] and when tamed oman can be transformed into a true garden of eden these crops have been growing here for a long time onion garlic fenugreek garden crest and other field crops we'll continue growing these in oman but above all oman is the land of sinbad the land of seafarers [Music] my father and his were all working in shipbuilding and we will continue we will bring our children here and teach this profession [Music] oman a land from the fairy tales of the arabian nights [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary - Nature

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Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), nature documentary, Free Documentary Nature, Nature, Magical Oman, Oman, Oman Documentary, Sultanate of Oman, Muscat, Arabia, Arabian Peninsula, History of Oman, Arabian Wildlife, Nature of Arabia, Travel Documentary, BBC Documentary, National Geographic, NatGeo, Persian Gulf

Id: Uqx1VlHv6zU

Length: 52min 10sec (3130 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 19 2022