Muscat – National Museum of Oman organised a lecture titled ‘Maritime Heritage between the Sultanate of Oman, Yemen and Morocco: Similarities and Differences’ on Tuesday.

The lecture was presented by Dr Yahya Latif Abdullah al Abali, academic researcher at National Institute of Archaeological Sciences and Heritage in Morocco and Assistant Professor of Cultural Heritage at Hajjah University in Yemen.

The lecture addressed the shared maritime heritage of the three countries in both tangible and intangible aspects, focusing on Omani aflaj, Yemeni katzaims and Moroccan khettaras, highlighting their technical, natural and cultural characteristics, and their roles in the development of human societies.

It also discussed the challenges these face, means of preserving these, and geographical similarities and differences reflected in the shared heritage of Arab countries.

Khettaras are one of the oldest traditional irrigation systems concentrated in the southeastern regions of Morocco, relying on underground water channels to bring water from highlands for irrigation using the law of gravity.

Katzaims rely on a network of underground channels dug in the valleys for irrigation in a straight horizontal line, connecting each other openly on their edges, and flowing downwards until reaching solid ground. Katzaims are usually concentrated in the Sana’a basin area.

The lecture was organised within the framework of bilateral cultural cooperation between Oman, represented by the National Museum, and Morocco, represented by its National Institute of Archaeological Sciences and Heritage.