because the best stories are our own
Home: Middle East: Oman: Mountains: Hoota:
frozen music
I thought, lifting a hand until /
she nodded and started across the parquet; /
that’s when I saw she was dressed all in gray, /
from a kittenish cashmere skirt and cowl
T S Eliot, The Waste Land, 1922
This is the two million year story of how rock dissolves under water, and how water sculpts rock. Rock might be hard and boring to most people, but when married to water it can form the kind of concerto that Goethe described as ‘frozen music.’ And the best showcase of such absolute splendour is the Al Hoota cave system – comprising the original Al Hoota cave (named after its neighbouring village) and its exit cave Al Fallah. Ironically, although the latter is largely unknown, you are actually entering Al Fallah when you make your way in now.
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