AL-KALHA RESTAURANT

The mysterious alignment of Wadi Asimah

About fifty kilometers south of the capital, a remote wadi shelters one of the most striking archaeological enigmas of the Gulf, the alignment of Asimah (2100-2000 B.C.). Excavated in the early 1970s by Beatrice de Cardi, an officer of the Order of the British Empire described by the BBC as a "real Indiana Jones", the site is now being studied by the French Archaeological Mission. As we will learn when visiting the national museum in town, the alignment of stones, sometimes dark, sometimes light, is extended by a curious apsidal shape (GPS coordinates N 25°24 13 10", E 56°08 55 40"). In the vicinity, an Iron Age site was also identified as well as numerous tombs. The journey through this valley in the vicinity of Masafi, which is possible without an all-terrain vehicle, gives the opportunity to discover a succession of charming wadis. Count 26 km on E18 from the airport roundabout, go east towards Al Ghail at 7.5 km, left at Y, count about 5 km of track, right at Y, go up Wadi Al-Fara and Wadi Mawrid to reach Asimah.