I visited this WHS in December 2020. Shortly after entering Oman on what was supposed to be a free SHORT stay visa and receiving the green light to roam freely without the need of quarantine, I drove from Muscat towards the direction of Sur to secure my first WHS tick.

I chose to start off with Qalhat knowing that it would probably be the least interesting to see, especially because it was still closed. That said, knowing that I was probably one of the very first tourists to enter Oman after it closed down for tourism and most probably the only one interested in visiting Qalhat very early in the morning, I set out to try my luck with Zoe's option #3 (the concrete steps are visible in Els' second photo). Not only was I lucky that the security guard was still having coffee unaware that I was exploring the farthest area away from the Bibi Maryam mausoleum (practically the only guarded area) but as Martina wrote, he usually expects people to approach from the uphill road from modern Qalhat.

Moreover, once I went down the steps and headed right towards the coast I saw several rubble walls and foundations (some of which are made out of coral!). Even though there aren't any information boards yet (judging from the metal poles already standing there, these will be installed soon together with a visitor centre/facility), I could easily find my way around the remains of the ancient city which are quite similar to the residential area of the Khor Rori/Sumhuram Archaeological Site closest the the sea. No wonder that Marco Polo had praised Qalhat as having fine bazaars and one of the most beautiful mosques!

Obviously, 500-700 years of wind and sea erosion, monsoons and floodings, together with earthquake activity along what is known as the Qalhat fault, have all taken their toll on the ancient city of Qalhat. Still, the fact that ornate old tiles, tombs with arabic calligraphy, and artefacts from as far as Persia and China were found here (and much more is still being excavated) go to show how important Qalhat once was as an important stop in the wider Indian Ocean trade network and as Oman's first capital.

All of a sudden a huge shepherdless herd of hundreds of goats invaded the area I was quietly exploring and headed towards the direction of the mausoleum, closer to the highway. Tempted by the photo opportunity I followed the herd while observing an ancient cistern, more tombs, the remains of minor buildings and last but not least the almost domeless mausoleum of Bibi Maryam (one of its walls facing modern Qalhat is currently covered with scaffolding, even though the restoration works seem to have been finished quite a long time ago, and towards the end of my visit I noticed that the security guard parks his vehicle there in the shade while guarding the hill, which is probably why throughout my visit I was out of his sight!). I also managed to see the remains of the once ornate interior of the mausoleum up close and noticed the dark steps which lead to the tomb below.

Even though I was thrilled to have been able to explore this ancient city by myself and from up close, I don't think that enough tangible heritage is left (at least till now) to justify its place on the WH list. Even though Qalhat is one of the important heritage sites in Arab States, in Oman itself archaeological sites such as those of Ubar, Sumhuram and Al Baleed were rightly grouped up as one WHS even though some of them could have easily been inscribed on their own, and in other Arab States as well in Central Asia there are quite a few other heritage sites which seem to be as important as Qalhat so I felt that overall it lacked the OUV I could clearly see in other WHS in the country and in the region.

PS: When I was walking back to the water runoff, beneath the highway parking area, the security guard must have spotted me as he drove towards me to inform me that the site was closed. Seeing that I was heading towards the direction of Sur away from the mausoleum, he didn't ask any further questions and seemed eager to hurry back to the mausoleum. Instead of being angry, he looked quite astonished that there was a (crazy!) tourist, on foot under the scorching sun and with no water so far from Sur - little did he know that my car was parked a few metres above, literally just a few steps away! There are brown signs on both sides of the highway now showing that Qalhat is a UNESCO WHS and what seems like a concrete slab close to the mausoleum waiting for a UNESCO WHS plaque to be placed once the site reopens. Apart from Wadi Shab, the nearby Bimmah Sinkhole in the Hawiyat Najm Park (free entrance) is a worthwhile stopover, especially towards noon.