Jebel Mleiha Fossil Rock Sharjah

We have often driven the Sharjah-Kalba highway towards Fujairah, and each time we pass the impressive 'Fossil Rock'. It is a jagged rock, or better a big limestone ridge, that marks the beginning of the mountainous region, The Hajar Mountains, a mountain range that extend for about 700 kilometers from the Musandam Peninsula through to the east coast of Oman. These mountains were formed 70 millions years ago by volcanic activity and they were standing about 2,000 meters above sea level. Some parts of the mountains were partly covered by the sea, including Fossil Rock, and therefore many preserved marine invertebrate fossils can be fount on its limestone slopes. Today we were going to conquer this giant! We did this hike with the two of us, as the kids had other plans for the day ;-) It was a heavy hike (we were exhausted when we came back to the car), but we beat it and it was very satisfying. Fossil You Rock!!! (btw I forgot my cap, so I had to wear Lieke's one, that she left in the car, so I look a bit silly on the pics ;-( )

Mleiha Archaeological Site

Mleiha Archaeological visitor centre (opened in 2016) provides an exhibition about the history and archaeology of the areas surrounding the village of Mleiha in Sharjah from the discoveries that are made over the past 40 years. It shows that 'anatomically modern humans' were in the Mleiha area between 130,000 and 120,000 years ago. The Centre is constructed around a 4,500 year old Umm Al Nar era Tomb from the Bronze Age. The village Mleiha is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. We didn't visit the centre but had a good view on it during our hike. It is a very striking place, because the village is situated in a square settlement with predominantly white buildings.

Fossil Rock (Jebel Mleiha)

On the way

We saw many 4x4's dune-bashing. The slope of Jebel Mheila is a fun park for 4x4 enthusiasts who tear on and off ...

Desert flora

Supplementing sugars and minerals

After the trip we were quite exhausted. The climb and walking through the loose sand was very hard. So, we drove to the first gas station for sugars... ;-)