A young mountain climber came across an inscription on a rock in South Al Batinah and shared it on social media encouraging others to transcribe it.
Ali bin Salem al Khizeri, the trekker who shared the image, also came across rock art as well, which would go back centuries. The discussions eventually led to the family of the historical author who chose to leave his story on the rock.
So what was the writing about?
Speaking to the Observer, Abdulaziz al Kharousi said, “This rock is located in the village of (Tawi Al Seih) in the Wilayat of Al Awabi, and the inscription is by Shaikh Mohammed bin Khamis bin Mubarak bin Yahya bin Abdullah bin Nasser bin Muhammad bin Hayya bin Zaid bin Mansour bin Ward bin Imam al Khalil bin Shathan bin Imam al Salt bin Malik bin Balarab al Kharusi. The inscription mentions his construction of the falaj and agricultural areas and his planning for the city.”
The reason behind the plan was an inspiration from a dream that he had.
“So he resolved to do the project,” said Abdulaziz, who is part of the new generation.
Did he successfully achieve his dream?
“Yes, he built a falaj and planned the city as he had seen in the dream,” Abdulaziz noted.
They were agriculturalists and they continued the tradition until modernisation brought most of the family members to Muscat.
“We still have relatives there,” said Abdulaziz.
Proud of his forefather he explained further, “This was before 1197 AH, meaning that it was in 1782 and 1783 AD.”
The family has maintained the family tree in print and digital format.
What is interesting is that generations later another family member has proven his talent in writing. Author of two books in Arabic, Abdulaziz al Kharousi is now going to launch his third book on Authentication of Omani currency since 1970 to 2021. The book is to be launched on Thursday, March 17.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
