Ever since the classic The Book Of One Thousand and One Nights, which include tales on Aladdin and the Lamp, Sinbad the Sailor and Alai Babba and the Forty Thieves, the Arabian Peninsula, and seacoasts have never been the same. While the characters may be fictional (or maybe not?), the actual location of these magical tales have fascinated people of all ages for centuries. And these places exist. One of the tales, the actual hometown of Sinbad, may be lost from over-development and rising seas in Oman.
The sea coasts of Oman and the Arabian Gulf are those where fishermen still practice their trade in wooden sailing dhows and rare species of whales play offshore from the rugged Oman seacoasts.
Wooden dhows still ply these waters as they did in ancient times.
Geoscientists say that these same coasts, said to be the home of Sinbad the Sailor, are now sinking and shrinking due to rising sea levels as well as erosion from real estate building projects.
Global warming and climate change are being blamed for a lot of problems in coastal areas.
This not only affects countries like Oman that face oceans, but also more enclosed bodies of water like the Mediterranean Sea.
Oman’s Bandar al Jissah is sinking and shrinking due to rising sea levels
Ancient archaeological sites like those on Libyan, Egyptian, and Israeli seacoasts are also in trouble, one of which, the ancient Roman city of Caesarea, is being eroded due to a serious lack of sand to hold back the ravages of the sea. The situation in Caesarea has become so dire that a storm in mid December, 2010 caused severe damage to an ancient sea port and other nearby structures.
Sinbad seeks a safe haven
Real estate development along Oman’s Arabian seacoast, on which an ancient site called Bandar Jissah is being promoted as a heritage site and “safe haven” for vacationers and property investors, is itself in danger of eroding away due to rising sea levels.
Whether or not a character named Sinbad actually hailed from Bandar Jissah, the uniqueness of this site may soon be lost forever unless measures are taken to protect it. If area sea levels keep rising, human protection measures may simply not be enough to save Saraya or the rest of the Oman coastline.
Top image via wikipedia. All others via Lonely Planet
More about Oman and other area ecological issues:
Geoscientists Say Oman is Sinking and Shrinking
New Arabian Humpbacked Whale Species Discovered in Oman
Baharain Fishermen Plea for Help With Their Catch
I’ve been an Omani resident for the best part of 25 years now. Believe me, no one batted an eye-lid regarding this topic / article.
What’s more disturbing is that construction of water-front properties like this one:
http://www.sarayaholdings.com/SubDefault.aspx?PageID=153||Node=260&LangID=2
are on the rise.
This project in particular, is going to take hog off an area with limestone mountains, nature’s purifiers. The diverse sea-life below sheer cliffs is special, and unique. But hey!! Who gives a toss 🙂
Sur. It’s a historically important port town, where till date, Dhows (boats) are built by hand. They are made of wood. Omanis have been known as pioneers in exploration, and history suggests that Sindabad was from the Sur, the traditional center for Dhow (wooden-ship building)
Much stress is given to environmental issues in Oman, and the city has so much greenery (planted and uses treated water) it’s unbelievable. Heck, where else in the Mid-East would you see wet-lands and marshes filled with herons, egrets and gulls in the middle of the city? Oman has them, and the efforts are laudable
But unless serious issues like the one which this article mentions, are looked at, all the good work is wasted.
Kapil,
What are the three major issues we should focus on here on Green Prophet? Problems that the global community of readers can help address in Oman?