Qalhat is a former port town founded somwhere before 1500 BC, destroyed 3000 years later. Once a prosperous centre now lies buried in the sands of time, quite literally, as the only structure that remains visible is the Bibi Maryam mausoleum. It's accessible via a dirt road off the Qalhat town that can be reached when you pass the canal and bridges. Unfortunately, as we arrived to the foot of the hill it stands on, we were barred from going further by three men guarding the site, who pointed us to the notice board saying it's being closed for re-development of the area. What kind I'm not sure as there was no work to be seen. So we opted for the second best thing, drove the motorway past Qalhat towards Sur and then made a turn back in the Muscat direction. There's a parking place on the highway with the viewpoint of the Mausoleum and we took a picture.