Blogs from Oman, Middle East - page 12

December 8 2015 continued navigation along the coast of Oman all day the Sultamate in an Asian State located in the south oriental portion of the Arabic penninsula, bordering with the United Arabic Emirates (NW) and Saudi Arabia (in the west) and Yemen in the (SW) passing the Island of Masira and moving into the Arabic Sea. Late in the Day we passed the city of Al Hadd, we centered the Gulf of Oman in the mast oriental port of the Arabic penninsula, where there is a natural canal that connects the Arabic sea to the strait of Harmuz and he Persian Gulf. Now heading North to arrive at Muscat by sun up to arrive muscat tomorrow, December 9 2015 Took a jeep adventure heading out through the city of Muscat 1.8 million of the 3 ... read more

Geo: 18.7563, 58.7737Another sea day, this time cruising the Arabian Sea which is part of the Indian Ocean at 15 knots. After lunch in our suite, we walked around the deck and saw dolphins jumping out of the water off the starboard side. There were several of them performing for us.Before dinner, we went to the show with a new comedian who just got on the ship at Salalah. He was okay, but most of his jokes were a bit tired and predictable. However, the audience was generous with laughter and applause and easy to please and everyone seemed to have a good time. We had dinner in the Colonnade again since they were serving an Old English menu. The English beef we had a few days ago was excellent, and this was tonight, too. They ... read more

The drive down from Nizwa took all of the afternoon and we arrived into Seeb quite late but fortunately the whole of the next day to explore the towns and surrounds. The day started with a quick visit to our final fort of the trip at Nakhal. More interesting though was the nearby Ath-Thowra hot springs, not that a place bathing in 40 degree heat requires hot springs! Back in Seeb, we had a short wander around the town. No tourists sights as such, Seeb is a coastal town that thrives on fishing and has an interesting souq and a wonderful corniche. We strolled down the corniche watching fish dry out on the sands and take in the wonderful sea views. It was early evening before we knew it and I sat and watched a 25-a-side ... read more

Still amazed from our Turtle Experience the night before, we packed up and got back in the car heading this time for the desert region of Wahiba Sands, for a night in a desert camp! On the way we had time to stop at Wadi Bin Khalid. Similar to Wadi Shab but rather that an adventure this was more of a 'parking lot and well trodden path' kind of Wadi. Still very pretty, the pools no less refreshing but just feel as wild. We stopped in a café (see, no where near as wild!), enjoyed a beverage and carried on our way. It had just turned afternoon before we arrived almost at our destination. I say almost, we were driving a regular saloon car and the rest of the way to our camp was over sand! ... read more

The Middle East provides cities that straight away evoke thoughts of mystique, labyrinth esque alleys and exotic markets. Cairo, Damascus, and for me Muscat are such cities and I couldn't wait to contrast a modern city of the region like Dubai with the more traditional. Arriving on the flight from Khasab, what immediately struck me was how flat and desert like the region had become again, although this changed completely by the time we got to Muttrah, about 25kms from the airport. On arrival we drove through the new part of Muscat on a modern highway dotted with shopping malls and McDonalds. Almost completely flat until we arrived at the old port for the city of Muscat, Muttrah which is hemmed in by mountains which many years gone by would have made the city easier to ... read more