Friday, January 18, 2008

Rain in Al Ain


1 comment:

Al Ain City said...

Al Ain is a fertile oasis city located approximately 160 kilometers east of the Abu Dhabi capital. Its name ("the spring" in Arabic) derives from its originally plentiful supply of fresh water, which makes its way underground across most of the plain lying before the Omani mountains (go to map of Al Ain).

The city (Demographic Information) is now divided, but featured as a well-known stop on a major south-west route used by traders for centuries.

The district known as Buraimi, once part of Al Ain but now defined as part of neighboring Oman can be found on most ancient maps as a place where food and water could reliably be found in an otherwise barren region.


The area is still famous for its traditional irrigation system, the Falaj, some parts of which date back as far as 1, 000 BC. The water was directed through a network of skillfully designed, man-made tunnels and channels to provide "trickle irrigation" to the farms and date groves in the surrounding area. Aquifers and wadis also provide physical evidence of sudden downpours of rainwater flowing across the land during storms.