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sur-bahla via jalan bani bu hassan, jami al-Hamoda mosque, wahiba sands, bahla, jebel shams

Our route today was going to head inland from the coast towards the town of Nizwa. We went back down to the Sur dhow yards this morning to have another quick look around before heading off to yet another fort at Jalan Bani bu Hassan. We were finally able to find the fort after some difficulty! This fort was in excellent restored condition, and we were the only tourists there. It wasn't open when we arrived, but the guards were there and let us in to wander around for awhile. Afterwards, we sat awhile and shared coffee and dates with the guards... such a great experience! The next stop was Jami al-Hamoda mosque, an oddly shaped adobe building topped with 52 nipple-like domes. It was quite warm at this point and we hardly saw any people, they were wisely staying indoors! The Wahiba sands started nearby, a vast sand sea. Several signs warned of the dangers of entering the desert unprepared. We hoped to visit a small corner of the sand dunes, and after driving awhile found a scenic spot near an oasis village. M. stayed in the car, but D, S, and I all walked up the dunes in the searing sun. Even the camels were seeking shelter, there was a lone camel in the distance tied up under a lean-to. After about 5 minutes struggling up the sand dune for a quick photo we went back to the car before our shoes melted. We were rather fort-ed out by the time we reached Nizwa, and it was still early afternoon, so we decided to skip Nizwa fort and go on ahead to Bahla, the site of a UNESCO World Heritage listed fort. There was not much choice of accommodations once we arrived in Bahla, our Lonely Planet had only mentioned the oddly shaped Bahla Motel east of town. We still had some time before sunset, and D+S wanted to visit Jebel Shams, a nearby mountain. My wife decided to stay at the hotel and rest awhile while we drove back towards Nizwa to the turnoff for Jebel Shams. The book had mentioned that the road wasn't finished, but they had already nearly finished paving the road all the way to the top. On the way up the mountain we passed a cool looking ruined village (Wadi Ghul) on the other side of the valley, it was hard to see as the rock walls blended in with the rock. We finally reached the top of Jebel Shams, where there were a few old men selling carpets... very expensive though comparatively! We walked around in awhile, but the sky was very hazy and not great for taking photos. We ran into a couple teenage boys and spent awhile talking with them. We headed back down the mountain, arriving back in Bahla just as it was getting dark. The hotel was a bit of a dump, our bedroom smelled like a sewer, and there were cockroaches peering out from the bath. We headed into town for dinner, finding a nearby place that had a projection TV set up, the locals were watching Omani soccer. People still dress very traditionally here, men wearing a white or purple robe and beautifully embroidered caps. We had only seen a few women so far, and many of them were wearing the full length black robes, covered head to toe.

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