Iram Zat Al-Imad (Iram) or Ubar – the Arab Atlantis, except that according to legend, instead of sinking to the bottom of the sea, it disappeared into the desert sands. It was even nicknamed the “Atlantis of the Sands.” Ubar and Atlantis have one more thing in common – there is no consensus on whether either ever existed.
The rainbow towers of the mythical ancient city, built from metal and precious stones, were erected during the reign of Shaddad — an Adite ruler. Older names for the towers of Iram can be found in Egyptian myths. The legend says that the ancient city was destroyed by a “whistling wind” that raged for seven nights and eight days, after which the sands swallowed the lands of its people…
The Quran states that Iram was adorned with lofty buildings and inhabited by the Adites. Since they turned away from Allah and became immoral, they were punished: a sandstorm was sent upon the city, lasting seven nights and eight days. After that, Iram disappeared into the sands as if it had never existed.
What is said in the Quran about Iram: “Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with the people of ’Ad – the people of Hud – and the inhabitants of Iram, who had lofty pillars, the likes of which had never been created in any land?”
In the early 1990s, a team of archaeologists led by Nikolai Klapp, an amateur archaeologist and director, announced that they had found the lost city of Ubar, identified as Iram. This was achieved using NASA satellite remote sensing, Landsat program data, and images taken by the space shuttle Challenger. These resources allowed archaeologists to identify old trade routes and the points where they converged. One of these points was the well-known well at Shisr, Dhofar province in Oman. Excavations there uncovered a large octagonal fortress with high walls and tall towers. Unfortunately, much of the fortress was destroyed when it collapsed into a karst sinkhole.
The city of Iram perished long before the writing of the Holy Quran. Mentions of it appear in pre-Quranic Arabic poetry. In subsequent centuries, the fate of the proud Adites became one of the most popular mythological themes in the Muslim world: the tales of “One Thousand and One Nights,” the “Rubaiyat” of Omar Khayyam, writings of Arab and Persian geographers – these are just a few of the many texts containing information about Iram.
According to ancient chronicles, Ubar was located in Oman. It was built by people around 3000 BCE and disappeared in the 4th century CE. The land of Ubar was an oasis. This city was also called the “City of Pillars” because it had many tall buildings supported by columns. Eyewitnesses called Ubar a “fragment of Paradise on Earth.”
Archaeological excavations suggest that this city was involved in the incense trade, indicating it was a significant settlement. The ruins show that there was once a fortress surrounded by eight walls with towers at each corner, a description matching that of the legendary Ubar in ancient documents. Moreover, part of this fort collapsed when a sinkhole formed beneath it, and several feet of sand eventually covered all the ruins. Thus, the fort at Shisr literally sank into the desert sands.
The remains of the fortress still stand at the edge of the collapse, and visitors can approach them. Part of it has fallen in but is still visible. At the deepest end of the collapse, a tunnel was built leading further underground, where the remains of the collapsed walls can be seen.
Sources:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ubar
https://atlasislamica.com/ancinet-city-of-ubar-iram-of-pillars/
https://islam.ru/content/history/57580
