Water decides everything in Oman's interior, and the falaj is how people have managed it for well over a thousand years, by some accounts much longer. A falaj is a channel that brings water from a mountain spring, a wadi or an underground source, sometimes through tunnels dug by hand, and divides it among the farms of a village according to a strict timetable of shares. Falaj al-Muyassar in Rustaq is one of five aflaj inscribed by UNESCO in 2006 as examples of this system, which still keeps date palm gardens green at the edge of the desert.
Stand by the channel and watch the water run, clear and fast, under the palms. Traditionally, an official, the arif, oversaw the distribution, with time measured by the sun by day and the stars by night, and shares of water could be bought, sold and inherited like land. Mosques, washing places and the gardens all had their place in the order of the flow. In the heat of the afternoon, the shaded gardens along the falaj feel like an oasis in the literal sense.
Rustaq is one of the historic towns of Oman, once a capital, and its fort, restored and open to visitors, is a vast mud-brick and stone structure with towers looking out over the plain to the mountains. Nearby, the hot spring of Ain al-Kasfa flows out at a high temperature and is channelled into bathing pools and the gardens. Behind the town rise the Western Hajar mountains, the highest in eastern Arabia, rugged, bare and cut by deep wadis.
The riding is excellent and needs respect. The main roads from the Batinah coast to Rustaq are wide and well surfaced, with long fast curves across the gravel plains, and traffic is light outside the towns. Beyond, gravel tracks lead into the mountains, most famously the route through Wadi Bani Awf over to the other side of the Jebel Akhdar massif, steep, rough and spectacular, normally driven in four-wheel drive and serious terrain for a heavy bike. Heat is the main enemy: from May to September, temperatures are extreme, and riding should be limited to early mornings. The winter months are glorious.
Rustaq, a town of tens of thousands, has fuel, shops and restaurants, and is only five kilometres away. Carry plenty of water when you leave it. Omani hospitality means you may be offered coffee spiced with cardamom and a plate of dates, and accepting is part of the pleasure.