Blogs from Oman, Middle East - page 13

We left Dubai, heading north to Oman's Musandam Peninsula, a small inhospitable area cut off from the rest of the country by the UAE. We drove through the flat desert pain, with only the odd sand dune and town breaking up the landscape. After an hour or so, barren rocky mountains appeared on the horizon. And these mountains stayed in front of us right up to the Omani border. For some reason I really enjoy crossing borders by land. The nations flags held up high, border guards, the little bit of 'no mans land' between the two border posts... it's infinitely than arriving into a new country the usual way, through a nondescript airport. As soon as we were through, the road which previously had all the space in the world to weave through the desert ... read more

Hey Everyone, So far on our Omani Journey...we have done a BIG Bus tour of Muscat, where the Sultans Palace and Port were our highlights. We headed down the coast to a place called Hayiwat Najm (known as the Dabab Sinkhole) which is a limestone hole 20x40m of unknown depth and immense beauty, where we dipped our feet, only to have our toes nibbled by pedicure fish (not their scientific name)..something you pay a fortune for in a spa. You can't help but laugh, almost hysterically! Not far from the Sinkhole we visited Wadi Shab, a creek surrounded by mountains, where we treked for a couple of hours, taking in the beauty and serenity. After staying a night in a beautiful hotel on a cliff overlooking the Sea of Oman we headed inland to a Desert ... read more

Ras Al Jin and Sur Down on the coast again after a day driving down from the mountains and across the edge of the desert. After an early morning walk on the beach outside the hotel drove in the Muscat direction. Stopped for coffee at Ras al Jin the turtle conservation beach. Wandered down to the beach from the hotel and were taken back by the beauty of the place. Long sandy beach, lovely creamy sandstone rock cliffs and beautiful blue sea. Just a few people there enjoying the sun and sea. Also surprised at the number of turtle tracks and nests that must have appeared in the last night or so, it’s not supposed to be the season. A fortuitous stop for a coffee. After that lovely couple of hours we drove on to our ... read more

Hajar Mountains, Forts and tombs Drove up out of Muscat into the foothills of the Hajar Mountains. Beautiful rocks everywhere, so many colours. Does look a bit like driving through a colourful quarry, big heaps (hills) of crumbly rocks. On the way to our hotel in Bahla we stopped in the old town of Nizwa. Old refers to the very heart, the rest is undergoing significant renovation with big highway expansions and a new university amongst other things. The fort was initially built in the 9th century and renovated I the 17th by and Imam best known for removing the Portuguese for Oman, it was a centre of learning, culture and Islam for a long time. The main part of the fort is the massive, squat round tower. Whole place is well restored with lots of ... read more

Muscat Started with a visit to the magnificent Grand Mosque. It’s quite new and has a stunning main prayer hall with massive chandelier, beautiful tiles and the world’s second largest Persian carpet that was also beautiful. The outside is vast, many shady courtyards and big lawns, a peaceful place. Mutrahis the heart of the traditional area with its corniche that goes between the souq and Old Muscat. Had lunch at an old watchtower on the corniche, (later to discover that these are absolutely everywhere in Oman). Walked along the waterfront into Old Muscat, not at all lively, government buildings and a big palace. On the rocks that create the harbor for the palace there’s writing dating back centuries from ships visiting the harbour, clearly some British HMS … Apparently this is called the “Sultan’s Visitor’s Book”. ... read more