Al Jabal Al Akhdar hotels collection

At the foot of Jebel Akhdar, a police post stops the cars: only four-wheel drives are allowed up. At the top, the Saiq Plateau stays cool while the plain burns, and villages of stone and dried earth hold the rim of the gorges. At Al Ayn and Ash Shuraijah, terraces of pomegranate and walnut step down in narrow tiers, watered by the aflaj, which give each family the water in turn. Wadi Bani Habib, abandoned, crumbles on the side of its ravine. In spring, the Damask roses are picked and distilled over a wood fire, in sealed pots.