ARE THESE THE MOST REMOTE BEEHIVE TOMBS IN OMAN?
16 May 2023 || MIDDLE EAST
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Rumbling along the gravelly washboard track through deep, sand-coloured valleys, I am distracted by the hazy scenery surrounding me. I don’t immediately notice the formations looming along the cliffs beyond us; semi-regularly spaced, unnaturally so, and too large to be rubble. As we drive closer, these stony mounds come into sharp relief; they are perfectly constructed, conical towers. Right here, in the middle of nowhere; a place so remote I hadn’t seen another person in hours. This was my first encounter with the incredible, millennia-old, Tower Tombs of Shir.
Also known as the Jaylah Beehive Tombs, these archaeological remnants are hidden away, high in the peaks of one of the least-frequented corners of the eastern Hajar Mountains. If I’m being honest, I had minimal historical knowledge about these remarkable, 4000-year-old tower tombs during my first visit. I learnt more about them after; a place I have since returned to, several times, despite the significant effort in reaching it. They’ve possessed a little part of my mind.
This magical mountainous region, complete with Beehive tombs, is ideal if you are looking for a remote, off-beat, exquisitely beautiful adventure in Oman. The backdrop is epic and you can even wild camp, completely alone, within a few metres of these 4000-year-old remnants. It’s a little spooky! Where else in the world can you do that?
Here is all the information I have, including their location, how to access the tombs and a million photos that I hope inspire you to visit!
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WHERE ARE THE JAYLAH BEEHIVE TOMBS?
These ancient tombs (also labelled as The Graves of Kubaikib on Google Maps) reside in northern Oman. Situated in the Wiliyat of Sur, Ash Sharqiyah North governorate, in the stark, unforgiving eastern Hajar Mountains that fringe the Gulf of Oman. The terrain is challenging and rugged; on one side is a dizzying route to the ocean and the tiny town of Tiwi, the other a steep mountainous track leading to the town of Ibra.
⋅ Accessing the Beehive Tombs ⋅
Access to the tombs from both the east and west side of the Hajar Mountains is four-wheel drive only.
Although the route to the beehive tombs is rugged, these roads are some of my favourites I’ve ever driven in Oman (maybe I should write about that?). If the scenery around the tombs is magnificent; the scenery getting to-and-from them is even more so.
The roads may be challenging if you’ve not driven in mountainous terrain before, especially if you are heading to or from the coast along the Muscat-Sur Coastal Highway. There are two routes up onto the Salma Plateau from the coast. Both roads (situated either side of Fins Beach, at 22.892672, 59.221328) are extremely steep, narrow and nerve-wracking if you are afraid of heights. It’s not for the faint-of-heart (especially the southern route starting at 22.869415, 59.221433 along the Muscat-Sur Coastal Highway). Don’t drive the coastal descent at night.
Another, longer option is the route from Qalhat – I’ve mentioned this below in our section about Ibra to Sur.
It is also actually kind of easy to get lost on the western side of the Salma Plateau – use Google Satellite or your favourite mapping app to follow your position on the tracks. We ended up in a goat-garden in some unknown Salma Plateau village the first time we went there!
We’ve always used Discover Cars to find our four-wheel drive rentals in Oman, which we recommend for this trip.
JOURNEYING BETWEEN IBRA AND SUR
The journey in either direction between Sur and Ibra, without stopping, takes around four hours (depending on how fast you are willing to drive the rougher tracks).
Be aware that if you are heading towards Sur, you do not want to be descending the mountain at night. This means leaving the Jaylah beehive tombs around two hours before sunset, to be safe. The route towards Ibra is absolutely fine in the dark, so leaving the tombs around sunset is fine (we’ve driven it a couple of times – it’s a pity to miss the scenery in the dark though!).
Google Maps gives the correct directions If you put Ibra –> Jaylah beehive tombs –> Sur. We recommend downloading the offline maps as there is intermittent cell reception in the mountains. We also suggest using Google Satellite view to check the tracks.
IBRA, OMAN
Visitors to Oman rarely stay in Ibra. However, it is a useful place to stop between Sur and Nizwa, with modest hotels and a massive Lulu supermarket. It is about an hour drive from Wadi Bani Khalid (30 minutes closer than Sur), which is great if you intend to arrive early in the morning to avoid the crowds. It’s also only half an hour away from Bidiyah; useful if you want to get to Wahiba Sands early to cross the desert.
If you are there on a Wednesday, check out the souq which is entirely run by women!
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⋅ Alternative Route to the Beehive Tombs ⋅
There is an alternate option, taking a marginally slower track from Ibra to Sur, via the road to Qalhat. This has incredible scenery (some of the best in the mountain range) and I prefer it to the Salma Plateau. The drive up (or down) the mountain by the coast at Qalhat is also a little less steep! Check out the clickable and saveable Google Map below for the possible routes between Ibra to Sur.
This choice also provides the opportunity to drive one of the sketchiest roads we’ve taken in Oman! Etched into a sheer cliff and slowly crumbling away, it leads to the back end of Wadi Tiwi. If this is your jam, take the turning off at 22.748896, 59.102876 towards ‘Umq Beer’. You can hike down to the wadi pools from here, most likely in complete isolation.
What we know about the Beehive Tombs
The mysterious relics were exposed to the wider world by a British aviator called John Nowell, who prompted an exploratory voyage by the German Archaeological Institute in 1991. Before that, access was via a track up to the plateau that was only constructed in 1985, allowing vehicular access for the first time.
There are around 60 Bronze Age tower tombs spread out around Jaylah, estimated to be around 4000 years old. They’re meticulously constructed from spiralling stacks of flat limestone rocks (the pictures explain this far better than I can). They have dimensions of up to eight metres high, are several metres across and most have a small entrance which faces east. These imposing constructions trace the cliff-edges, in intentionally commanding positions overlooking the valleys below. Inside, skeletal remains and pottery were discovered by the German team.
Some of these prehistoric ruins are believed to go back to the Umm Al Nar culture, meaning Mother of Fire. They are a Bronze Age people that existed between 2600 and 2000 BCE, whose name comes from an island near Abu Dhabi, UAE, where their remains were first identified.
It is believed that some of the more irregular tombs were built as far back as 3000-2500 BCE during the older Hafit Period (named after Jebel Hafeet in the UAE where more tombs have been discovered).
Although the UNESCO beehive tombs at Al Ain and Bat in the western Hajar Mountains are more well-known, the beehive tombs at Jaylah are far better preserved and generally more of a spectacle. The location is more isolated, meaning they have been only minimally interfered with and myths surrounding the tombs kept local villagers at a distance.
TERMINOLOGY: TOWER TOMB OR BEEHIVE TOMB?
So, I thought these were all the same thing, but apparently not. It turns out the tombs at Shir/Jaylah are not all identical. In fact, there are five different types of structure, with different walls, entrances and dimensions. These are not all built by the same people around the same time!
The two main types of tombs are the Hafit beehive and Umm an-Nar tomb.
In order to accurately describe these ruins chronologically, we should use more appropriate descriptors. The author of the 1990s German academic paper suggested that as a generic description, we should just call them cairns, which are simply ‘heaps of stones’!
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THE STORY OF A DEMON
In the surrounding region, the local legend is that the stone tower tombs were constructed by a demonic spirit or ‘jāhil’ (an unbeliever) named Kebir Keb (or Kubaikib). Each of the small villages in the vicinity tell a slightly different tale, but they all involved the demon who lived in the towers.
The story of Kebir Keb starts with a local goat herder who stumbles upon a beautiful jinn (anglicised: a genie) at a waterfall. She was angry at being observed but didn’t kill the goat herder as he reminded the jinn of her son and she believed in Allah. Instead, she shared a secret with him:
At the place of the towers, there is a jāhil called Kebir Keb, who guards his realm with a sword. His eyes are open as he sleeps; his eyes are shut when he is awake.
Knowing this, the goat herder snuck into the towers, checking that the eyes of the demon were open. He stole the sword but awoke the demonic Kebir Keb. The goat herder ran away and was pursued. Hiding in a cave until it was safe, he returned and beheaded the demon, only to find that the jāhil did not die.
It is said that cutting the demon would make him become double, so the goat herder did not attack again. The jāhil’s legs fell, but the torso chased the goat herder. The goat herder ran away to a nearby town, and the torso died nearby and was buried.
This is where the tale stops. The men recanting it could not recall any more detail; it resides with their grandfathers.
According to some stories, the jāhil was a highwayman, living only around 200 years ago. He was ‘gigantic in stature’ whose arms could reach to Ibra and legs to Wadi Bani Khalid. In the present day, there are two documented graves for Kebir Keb, in separate neighbouring settlements. One burial site contains his legs, the other his torso. The graves are isolated and also set on red ground, both of which are uncommon for Islamic burials (green is commonly considered the colour of paradise). Contrastingly though, both graves are oriented towards the Qibla (the direction of Makkah).
The stone towers have long been attributed to the jāhil in the local region, with varying versions of this tale being told.
WHERE TO STAY FOR THE JAYLAH BEEHIVE TOMBS
A journey from Ibra to Sur (or vice-versa) makes for a tremendously memorable day trip. Both towns have decent hotels, supermarkets and facilities, so no problem if you are not a camper! We recommend (and have stayed in multiple times):
In Sur – Sur Plaza
In Ibra – Al Mustaqbal Hotel Apartments
There are also camping options in many places between the two cities. If you are ending at the coast, anywhere along the Fins shoreline or down towards Qalhat is a popular place to camp (a superb option for the milder winter months). Throughout the warmer summer months, camping up in the mountains is pleasant because it is far more temperate at several thousand metres up. In the winter months, this option can get chilly, so take appropriate gear (we use three-season lightweight gear for all our camping in Oman).
There are various options to camp within the actual tombs area too. As you drive by and check them out, you’ll spot flat, cleared regions to pitch a tent and park your car. Please don’t mess with the ruins if you camp here or burn a fire too close to them! (An example camping location is here: 22.807037, 59.069229).
