Wilayat khasab : The Wilayat of Khasab is located in the furthest north
of the Governorate of Musandam. It lies between the two Wilayats of Dibba and Bukha,
overlooking the Gulf of Oman in the east and the Arabian Sea in the north west.
It also overlooks the Straits of Hormuz, the strategic waterway through which 90%
of the oil production of the Gulf region passes to the international consumers.
This area of the Gulf has a tortuous fjord-like coastline.
It contains about 136 villages on the coasts and in the mountains. Its name is attributed
to the fertility (khasab) of its rich land with its fresh subterranean water, which
flows down through the great wadis when rain falls.
Wilayat Bukha : Located on the coast of the Arabian Gulf, on the
west side of the Wilayat of Khasab it neighbours the Emirate of Ras Al Khaima in
the west. It contains approximately 86 villages.
There are a number of touristic attractions. The fort of Al Bilad, in the centre
of the Wilayat was built in 1250 AH. There is also the fort of Al Qala'a, located
on a mountain top which can be clearly seen from all over the Wilayat; also a .ruined
mosque in the west of the Wilayat, together with two castles and a spring in the
village of Al Jadi. There are also many caves in the mountains.
Wilayat Dibba : It is located in the south east of the governorate,
to the north and west are mountain ranges linking it to the other parts of the region,
in the east is the Gulf of Oman, and in the south the U.A.E. It contains about 114
villages.
Al Asma'i says that it was one of the Arab markets in Oman. The Muslims conquered
it in the era of the Caliph Abu Bakr Al Sadiq in the 11th year of the Hijra. Ka'ab
Bin Suar Bin Bakr is one of the region's famous men, a leader and a scholar, he
became Judge of Basra during the era of the Caliph Omar Bin Al Khatab, and Al Muhallab
Bin Abi Sufra, was a leader of the Muslim armies at the time of the Umayya State.
Wilayat Mudha : Located in the north of the Sultanate it neighbours
the Emirate of Ras Al Khaima in the west, the Emirate of Sharjah in the north and
the Emirate of Fujairah in the South. IIt contains about 10 villages. Human settlement
there goes back more than 3,500 years. There are many ancient rock paintings, making
it into a natural museum, with drawings which go back to before Islam. There are
also paintings and writings which go back to the first centuries of the Hijra. In
addition there are a number of ruins which date back to the Iron Age and the years
between 1000 and 1500 years B.C.
The Wilayat is famous for a number of secret storage places, beneath the earth,
which the people there call "Makhazan Al Jahal". In addition there is an abundance
of graves, the most outstanding being the one of Hajar Bani Humaid which has paintings
on its white marble tombstone together with the names of the dead. There are also
a number of forts, castles and towers in Mudha, Al Ghuana and Hajar Bani Humaid
scattered on the mountain tops.
The Wilayat is distinguished geographically by its mountainous nature. It is one
of the Omani Wilayats that is irrigated with afalaj and springs; the most outstanding
of its falaj is called Al Sheikh Mohammed Bin Salim Al Madhani, its water is cold
in the summer and warm in the winter. The afalaj of Al Dair, Al 'Aadad, Al Shariki,
Al Muatarad, Al Qaba, Al Ruman, Al Suduq and Al Saruj are other important afalaj.
The springs are Al Shariki, Lishmah, Hajar Bani Humaid and Al Samaai, which has
sulfurous water - hot in winter and cold in summer. The people of the area use this
spring to treat skin diseases.