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In this part of the city, modern Muscat meets old traditional buildings and directly faces the Hajar Mountains.
The light coloured rock here is considered to be the best marble deposit in Oman due to its attractive banding.
Originally the rock was limestone laid down as part of a coral reef.
The marble developed during the late cretaceous around 90 to 70 million years ago. At this time the limestone was changed or metamorphosed under huge pressure from overlying hot and heavy Ophiolite rocks.
The old building to the right is part of an old village. At one time most buildings in Oman were hand made from mud bricks and often covered by sarooj; a hard cement like plaster. The art of building using this method was passed on orally from father to son. These days with the availability of modern stronger building materials the incentive to use these old high maintenance and time consuming methods is declining.
