Mafic rocks of Bae'r-Bassit complex (NW Syria) occur as a part of a well-defined ophiolitic sequence in the region. The mafic rocks are present mainly as massive poorly layered isotropic gabbros, sheeted dykes, and minor pillow lavas. The gabbroic rocks vary in textures from fine-grained vesicular, to medium and coarse?grained massive rocks. Pillow lavas which are made up of basaltic composition are embedded within agglomerated volcano-sedimentary material. The gabbroic rocks include four petrographic varieties; gabbro-norite, olivine gabbro-norite, micorgabbro-norite, and amphibole gabbro. These rocks are made up generally of plagioclase (An60 - An70). clinopyroxene, ort ho pyroxene, olivine, amphibole, and opaque iron oxides. Pyroxene is variably altered to bastite and some olivine crystals are weakly altered to iddingsite. The basaltic rocks consist of pyroxene phenocrysts occurring within a glassy groundmass. and a plagioclase-pyroxene-phyric basalt.

The Oman Mountains contain one of the world’s best- exposed and best-understood fold–thrust belts and the largest, best-exposed and most intensively studied ophiolite complex on Earth. This volume presents new international research from authors currently active in the field focusing on the geology of the Oman Mountains, the foreland region, the carbonate platforms of Northern and Central Oman and the underlying basement complex. In addition there is a particular focus on geoconservation in the region. The volume is divided into three main sections that discuss the tectonics of the Arabian plate using insights from geophysics, petrology, structural geology, geochronology and palaeontology; the petrology and geochemistry of the Oman Ophiolite and the sedimentary and hydrocarbon systems of Oman, drawing on the geophysics, structure and sedimentology of these systems. The volume is enhanced by numerous colour images provided courtesy of Petroleum Development Oman.