Oman “feels like Switzerland” as the early snow draws crowds into the mountains
Snow-capped peaks in the Hajar Mountains of Oman after temperatures dropped below zero this weekend.
Omanis and foreign residents of the capital, Muscat, flocked to see the snow-covered landscape on Jebel Akhdar despite temperatures as low as -3 ° C.
“It’s freezing here. It feels like Switzerland, not Oman, ”said UK resident Ian Phillips, 63, The national.
“Snow is everywhere, every square centimeter of the place is covered with it. It’s completely different from the rest of the country. “
The average temperature across Oman was around 18 ° C.
“It’s a bit unusual that the temperature there dropped so much in January because of the recent rains and floods. It usually goes below zero in February, ”said Bader Al Rumhi, a retired director of the Civil Aviation Authority’s Meteorological Bureau The national.
At an altitude of 3,000 meters, Jebel Akhdar is one of the highest peaks in the Hajar Mountains alongside Jebel Shams.
The snowfall there has followed heavy rains across the country since New Year’s Eve.
The rain caused the worst flooding since Cyclone Shaheen hit the sultanate in October, but it also revitalized picturesque waterfalls.
Some visitors to Jebel Akhdar camped on a plateau to take in the scenery.
“The snow here is fluffy and pure white, just like in Europe. It snowed all night last night. All the trees below are covered in white and the mountain tops are covered in snow, ”said Abdullah Al Hilali, a terminal services officer at Muscat International Airport.
“The only disadvantage is that we can’t make a fire because it’s freezing here.”
The restaurateurs in the area were happy about the steady stream of visitors.
“Business is going well this time just because the snow fell a month earlier than usual,” says Adil Al Subhi, who runs a restaurant in the village of Hail Yaman.
“They come all the time and that’s good for us.”
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Updated: January 9, 2022, 5:49 pm