Oman tourism: Blessed by nature, Al Bana happy with its quiet life

Ibri: Al Bana township is one of the beautiful villages in the Wilayat of Ibri in the Governorate of A’Dhahirah.
It is located about 47kms in the eastern side of the wilaya. It is a mountain village surrounded by mountains in all directions. A visitor or a tourist can reach the village via Wadi Al Ain, which is about 35 kilometres away from the main street of Muscat – Ibri.
Al Bana township has very old history which tells the visitors of its heritage and glory.
There are a number of old mosques in the village like Al Bana Mosque, and Ilzam Mosque, in addition to a number of towers like Al Jami Tower, Al Qrain Tower and Al Junat Tower.
Ali bin Said Al Meqrashi, one of the sheikhs of the village said, Al Bana’ Township has enjoyed a large share of government services, such as health, education and roads. It has a population of 4,200 people, 90 per cent of them live in the centre of the of the township. The rest live in the outskirts, in the agricultural areas.
“The villagers of the town with their good nature and their usual smile greet the visitor and tourist with friendliness and welcome as a feature of the generosity of the Omanis since ancient times.
“The villagers are very fond of agriculture, the profession of parents and grandparents, and they love the palm tree and instil the love of agriculture in general in their children.
“Thus children are seen with their parents helping them to water crops and other agricultural work. A number of villagers work in grazing and raising livestock such as sheep, cows and camels because of the nature of the agricultural town, as well as some of them engaged in commercial activity.”
In Al Bana Township, there are vast agricultural areas, with green orchards, palm groves, mangoes, lemons and bananas, as well as large areas that are allocated for animal feed, such as corn, alfalfa, wheat and others.
The villagers depend on the irrigation of their farms on the Aflaj water. There are a number of Aflaj in the village, like Falaj Al Hilo, with a continuous flow in winter and summer, as well as Falaj Al Murr, which is characterised by its water that does not decrease or increase with the rain. There are a number of water springs like Al Murra Spring.
Al Bana township is characterised by its beautiful valley; whose water is continuous throughout the year. The visitors from inside and outside the wilaya come to enjoy the water rippling between the rocks and the sounds of wild birds.