Blogs from Oman, Middle East - page 6

I wasn’t supposed to get ill on day 1. (It’s now day 12 so you can rest assured I made a speedy recovery.) Thursday’s bus/ferry combo to Khasab on the Musandam Peninsula wasn’t supposed to be full. Plan B, Thursday’s flight to Khasab wasn’t supposed to be full (and the next day’s flight, come to that). I could see the men standing around the travel agent’s desk scratching their heads – what on earth was going on in that distant part of the Sultanate this weekend? And knights in shining armour aren’t supposed to appear in white dishdasha and embroidered kuma in a Mutrah travel agency and wave their magic wands while driving to pick up their kids from school. But that was Muneer. It wasn’t exactly clear why he was in the travel agency that ... read more

I get up early to take some happy snaps of sunrise over the canyon. There aren’t too many people around, but I’ve got lots of goats for company. This morning we've signed up for a hike through three of the small villages that cling to the walls of the canyon. Our guide’s name is Maher, and we are joined by a Japanese lady and her two young sons, and a couple from Hawthorn in our humble hometown of Melbourne. We haven’t gone too far when we come across an elderly man in long white flowing robes walking very quickly up the steep hill towards us. He greets Maher enthusiastically, and they have an animated conversation in Arabic. The man laughs almost constantly. Maher tells us that he is over 100 years old, and he walks up ... read more

This morning we have booked a half day tour of Muscat town. We are met by our guide who introduces himself as Hamid. First stop is the very imposing Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, which was opened in 2001. The mosque has five minarets, a ladies mosque with capacity of 750, and a main hall which can cater for up to 6,500 male worshippers. Hamid proudly tells us that if the internal courtyards and corridors are included, its total capacity is 20,000. He preempts our question as to why the capacity for female worshippers is so much less than that for the men, by telling us that the ladies are not expected to attend the mosque as frequently so that they can be at home looking after their children and performing domestic duties. The main hall is ... read more

We’re tired, in the wrong time zone, and the weather app says that the temperature “feels like” 43, so we decide to spend most of the day relaxing by the pool and on the beach. As I make my way out of the sea up onto the sand, it’s a bit hard not to notice a crab the size of a small dog. I suspect it wouldn’t have too much trouble chomping off one of my feet with a single snap of one of its gigantic claws, so I decide that maybe that’s enough swimming in the sea for today. I take the opportunity to read up on the history of Muscat. The ever reliable Wikipedia tells us that there’s evidence of a settlement here from as early as 6,000 BC, and it seems that the ... read more

Oman: a delighful diversion On this trip (to the Middle East) we were confronted with expensive options that travelled via Europe. The alternative was a more direct route using multiple legs. The latter were daytime flights (our preference) being Australia > Malaysia > Oman > Jordan. Instead of using Oman as an overnighter, we decided to stay a little longer. As always, if you want to see the picture in a larger size, just click on it. Day 1 - May 3: Arrival As the plane descended to Muscat (capital of Oman), the dust haze of the Arabian peninsular gradually gave way to a rocky, parched desert. The bright blue of the ocean contrasted with the beige and brown of the landscape. From the air, there was no evidence of green anywhere! At the terminal, we ... read more