Wilayat Bidbid

Bidbid's most striking feature is its flyovers, which provide the only means of access to the main arterial roads which transit the wilayat, and it has adopted them as its emblem. Travellers will also be struck by the palm groves which grow along the banks of the wadi in the village of Fanja and surround the more distant villages of al Amqat and Hamim like puffs of green cloud. The Wilayat of Bidbid has been described as the "smiling mouth" of the Dakhiliyah Region and the crossroads between the Governorate of Muscat and the Sharqiyah, Dakhilyah, Dhahirah and Wusta regions and the Governorate of Dhofar. Everyone travelling from any of these regions to Muscat has to pass over the Fanja flyover, which is a reliable, fast road even during the rainy season. Now that the main dual carriageway has been completed, a second flyover has been built over Wadi Fanja, so that it now has two flyovers.

Around 70 Kilometres from the city of Muscat, the Wilayat of Bidbid lies beneath the Hajar mountain range where it divides into the Western Hajar and the Eastern Hajar. It borders on the wilayats of Sumail to the south, Dima wa'l Ta'een to the east and the Governorate of Muscat to the north.

It has 53 villages, the best-known of which is Fanja; some of the other villages include Naf'a, al Khawbi, al Khatam, al Qadha'iyah. Seih al Mu'aidin, Ghillat Awlad Hamad, al Burj, Mazraa' Bint Sa'ad, Sa'al, al Amqat and Hamim. Most of them are farming villages which depend on the aflaj which include Falaj al Raha and Falaj al Hammamiyat - for their irrigation.

The wilayat's most famous spring - Ain al Awainah in the village of Naf'a - is a popular picnic spot. The wadi that divides the wilayat in two is a delightful place and many a pleasant hour can be spent relaxing on its banks, particularly during the rainy season when it becomes a fast-flowing river. The date gardens add a gentle touch to the landscape with its rugged hills, while Wadi Sa'al with its orange-flowering forfar trees is famous for its springs.

The wilayat is also famous for its old forts and the towers perched upon its hillsides. Bidbid Fort is thirty metres high and has two towers at its western corners. Hamim has another impressive fort. Bidbid has around forty towers including the towers of Fanja, Naf'a, al Manathirah and Amqat.