Oman - Asilah, Asila, Aseelah, Aseela, Asilyah

Asila is a small town about 20 minutes from to Al Ashkharah, and about 3-4 hours drive south of Muscat in Oman. The best break there is Joe's Point - a long right hander peeling off a stony point. Rides of 30 seconds to almost a minute long are possible. Swell is a little smaller usually than other spots due to the wrap around effect and direction. Most common way to spell it seems to be Asilah or Aseelah. It's also possible to surf a point in Asilah town but it's usually smaller than Joe's Point.

Good days for surfing are rare. Summer months (June/July/August) tends to be humid, hot, very windy with strong currents and waves big enough for surfing (usually 2-6 ft faces). The rest of the year it'll be more pleasant with comfortable temperatures, less or no current, little humidity, not much wind and ... unfortunately ... few waves big enough to make the long trip from Dubai worthwhile. Check the forecasts.

If you haven't been to Oman before, Muscat is worth a stop on the way. Some people stay a night in a Muscat Hotel either on the way there or on the return trip. Alternatively, there are a couple of hotels on the way to Asila - see the Al Ashkarah page for more information.

Most of the information from the Oman Al Ashkharah page applies to Aseelah also.

• See the Al Ashkara page for details of previous trips, travel guide, surf conditions and visas.
• Visit the photo archive and photo gallery for pictures.

The place is popular with kitesurfers and often on windy weekends you'll see a good crowd of them from Muscat and Dubai, especially during the Harif season (June-August), kitesurfing around the bay.

Directions to Joe's Point

• Use the Muscat to Aseela map for directions to the coast. Note that you should take the second of the signposted turnoffs to Ras Al Hadd.
• Follow the road to Asilah a few km. As you drive in to the township, there's a gas station on your left then a roundabout. Turn left at the roundabout. Shortly after the turn, you may see a sign warning you about the tarsealed road. Stop and take a photo like everyone else who sees it.
• Follow the road about 11 km. There's a collection of villas on the left hand side and not far after that, the road dips down and you can see a large flat area of sabkha (flat area of sand with a crusty top - don't drive on it unless you know what you're doing) on your right.
• Shortly after the sabkha (or sabka) area, you'll see a gravel path to the right. Sometimes the turn off is marked with a small pole or pile of stones. You'll know it's the right one because there's a small mosque at the end of it on the beach - half a km from the road.
• Park near the mosque and you can see the bay with Joe's Point to your right as you face the ocean.
• Don't try and find it for the first time at night unless you have GPS coordinates, or more exact directions than what's given here.
• A nifty satellite image can be found at maps.google.com which you can drag and zoom to see the boats, road and mosques. And on a good day, you might even see Joe surfing!

Asilah, Morocco

Asilah (or Arzilah / Arzila) is also an ancient city in Morocco which was under Portuguese authority during the 14th and 15th centuries. This is not the same place as Asilah / Asila / Aseela / Aseelah in Oman.

As is often the case with English spellings of Arabic words, Asila can be spelt a number of ways (some are very rare though) including A'Seela, Aseela, Aseelah, Aseelya, Aseelyah, Asela, Aselah, Aselah, Aselya, Aselyah, Asila, Asilah, Asilia, Asiliah, Asilya, Asilyah, Asla, Aslah, Aslia, Asliah, Aslyah, Asyla, Asylah, Asylia, Asyliah, Asylya, Asylyah.