Qualla: Izki

Izki: Introduction

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Griebi 01, CC BY-SA 4.0. In 640 BC, according to Neoassyrian cuneiform texts found at Nineveh, a king named Pade who lived in a place called 'Izke' sent envoys on a six-month journey to the court of Ashurbanipal. They arrived burdened with gifts and asked to cultivate good relations. If Izke is indeed Izki -- and some scholars believe it is -- then this modest Omani town was conducting international diplomacy 2,600 years ago, corresponding with one of the most powerful empires the ancient world ever produced.

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Image: Griebi 01 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Izki: Twin Towns, Twin Histories

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Pyule, CC BY-SA 4.0. Old Izki is not one settlement but two. Al-Nizar and al-Yemen sit side by side, each once enclosed by its own walls, each with its own character. In 1908, al-Nizar contained an estimated 450 houses; al-Yemen, about 350. Today al-Nizar is still inhabited. Al-Yemen has been deserte...

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Image: Pyule | CC BY-SA 4.0

Izki: 1,045 Sites in One Survey

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Pyule, CC BY-SA 4.0. When archaeologist Juergen Schreiber began systematic survey work at Izki in 2007, he tallied 1,045 individual archaeological sites in and immediately around the twin towns. The finds ranged from the Hafit period -- the third millennium BC -- through to the Islamic era. In 2011, ...

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Image: Pyule | CC BY-SA 4.0

Izki: The Golden Calf of Jarnan

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Griebi 01, CC BY-SA 4.0. Jarnan Cave overlooks the ancient neighborhood of Al-Nazar from an unstable rocky hillside. Named after the pre-Islamic name for the settlement, the cave extends 15 to 20 meters into the rock. Local legend holds that before Islam arrived, the people of Azki worshipped a golden ca...

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Image: Griebi 01 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Izki: Beehive Tombs and Living Crafts

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Griebi 01, CC BY-SA 4.0. Above the village, the Zakiet archaeological tombs sit on a cylindrical hill, their walls made of mountain rocks arranged in beehive-cell shapes that historians date to the 3rd millennium BC. Their hilltop location suggests they may have doubled as a defensive position. Below, in...

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Image: Griebi 01 | CC BY-SA 4.0