Deep in Oman’s parched interior, the ancient oasis town of Bahla abounds with myths of camel-eating, fire-mouthed hyenas and men turning into donkeys — a reputation for magic and mystery that persists to this day. Some superstitious Omanis shun the isolated desert settlement because of its stories of jinn, the spirits that have been part of Arab folklore since before the dawn of Islam.
Bahla, a quiet town of palm groves and eerie, abandoned mud-brick homes, lies about 200km southwest of the capital, Muscat, in Ad Dakhiliyah Governorate, with an imposing double-archway at its entrance.
Here, in one of Oman’s oldest inhabited settlements, belief is firm in jinn, which are described as supernatural beings distinct from humans and angels that live alongside mankind.
Photo: AFP
“We believe that jinn are among the creations of God ... so it is not strange,” said tour guide Hamad al-Rabaani at Bahla’s medieval fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Magical stories permeate Bahla, including the popular myth that supernatural forces built the 13km wall around the town in a single night, to protect it from invaders.
“The legend is of two sisters, both jinn, one of whom built the wall for protection ... and the other who created an ancient irrigation system for agriculture,” Rabaani, 55, said.
Photo: AFP
The concept of jinn predates Islam, but descriptions of the spirits feature in Islamic texts, which declare them subjects of God.
Few places are as strongly linked with jinn as Bahla, where “you hear stories of men who suddenly transform into donkeys and other animals,” Rabaani said.
One old woman often used to hear someone milking her cow after midnight, but whenever she went to check, she found no one there, he said.
“You hear, but you never see, because your mind couldn’t take it,” he added.
In Bahla’s old market, as silence descends after midday prayers, some residents are uneasy discussing the town’s reputation for spirits, fearing it might tarnish its image.
Mohammed al-Hashemi, a Bahla native in his 70s, said most of his life has been shaped by supernatural beliefs.
As a child he was told stories of hyenas hungry for camels and with mouths of flames that roamed the desert at night.
“They used to warn us not to go out after sunset because of magic,” he said in an air-conditioned supermarket.
Oral folklore and certain ancient texts say jinn are common in the Arabian Peninsula’s far reaches, said Ali Olomi, a professor of Islamic history at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
Oman and neighboring Yemen, the peninsula’s southernmost countries, “both earn a reputation as not only ancient places with great historical significance, but as lands of the jinn,” he said.
“In Bahla, there are stories of phantom blazes and fires, animated desert storms and even edifices built by supernatural forces,” said Olomi, who specializes in Islamic esotericism and astrology.
Part of the reason Bahla is rife with such stories is that it was a remote outpost in ancient times, surrounded by desert and the dramatic Hajar mountains.
“The presence of jinn in places like Bahla can tell us a great deal about the history and culture of the Arabian Peninsula,” Olomi said. “This is a history of a people living in far-off settlements, linked precariously to other human settlements, and who keenly feel the presence of nature all around them.”
Among younger Omanis, not everyone is convinced about jinn, including Mazen al-Khaterri, a 24-year-old math teacher in Bahla.
“These are just stories told by our grandparents,” he said at a cafe in the old market. “We don’t know if they are right or wrong.”
However, Hasan, a 30-year-old who lives in Muscat, said suspicions of Bahla remain commonplace all the same.
“My family would never let me go,” he said, asking to use only his first name to protect his privacy. “The rumors say it is a city of jinn, where they live and have more freedom.”
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
TESTING BAN: Satellite photos show a facility in the Chinese city of Mianyang that could aid nuclear weapons design and power generation, a US researcher said China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations said, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying “arms” that would house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that would hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers would fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the US$3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California, which in 2022 generated
RSS