🚢 Coastal City📍 Ash Sharqiyah🚗 Standard car
Sur
The last city on earth where traditional Omani dhows are still built by hand — using the same joints that once sailed to Zanzibar and the Malabar Coast.
Al Sharqiyah
The last city on earth where traditional Omani dhows are still built by hand — using the same joints that once sailed to Zanzibar and the Malabar Coast.
Al Sharqiyah
In the dhow yard south of Sur, men work wood with adzes and planes shaped from memory rather than instruction manuals — the same tools, the same joints, the same proportions that carried Omani merchants to Zanzibar and the Malabar Coast for a thousand years. The sound of the yard in the morning, hammers and the smell of teak and sealant, is a working environment that happens to be one of Oman's most remarkable living heritage sites.
Sur is the eastern anchor of Oman's coast — the base for turtle watching at Ras Al Jinz, whale shark encounters in the Arabian Sea, and the start of the frankincense country to the south. The Al Ayjah village across the lagoon, with its lighthouse and crumbling coral houses, gives the evening corniche walk a different character than any other Omani town. The dhow yard is free and accessible every morning except Friday — visit before 10am when the work is at its most active.
A curated selection of moments from the Al Sharqiyah.
These operators offer guided tours and experiences at Wadi Hoqain — from half-day swims to full overnight treks. Book directly through them for the best experience.