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Tuesday, April 17: Frizztext’s challenge for this week is the letter P:  “Introduce one photo of your own archive with an “P” keyword for example POLAROID PHOTOGRAPHER or PYGMEE tribes, Pakistan or Pepsi Cola, Perfume or Poetry, Pavilions or Pontiacs, Painters or Peanuts, Penguins or Pirates, Police or Pain, Prayers or Politics, about Putin or the Pantheon, Picnics or Paths, about the term PARADOX or PASSION, Peacocks or Paragliding, Possessions or Phones, Pressure or Paris etc.”

My entry for this week’s challenge is palms & paintings. According to Explorer’s Oman Off-Road, Oman has over 8 million date palms, outnumbering Omanis by four to one.  Over 150,000 tons of dates are produced annually in the country, making it by far the largest crop grown in Oman.  With long hot summers, moderate winters, and little rainfall, Oman has the perfect climate to grow date palms.

dates growing on a palm tree at the University of Nizwa campus

Whenever I travel in Oman, which is almost every weekend, I encounter date palms.  They are the icon of this country, if not for all of Arabia. I honestly think they would be a better symbol for the country’s flag than the khanjar.  Date palms flourish along every water source, and Omanis congregate to picnic in the shade of the trees.  No picture of Oman is complete without its palms.

Here are some date palms from Misfat Al Abriyyen.

Palm trees, ocean breeze, salty air, sun-kissed hair. That endless summer, take me there.

Nakhal, Oman is home to one of the largest date palm plantations in Oman.

one of Oman's largest date palm plantations is in Nakhal ~ as far as the eye can see!

Even beautiful paintings I found in the art department on the campus of the university show the students’ fascination with the abundant palms in Oman.

My grandfather gave me my first guitar, an old acoustic with palm trees and dancing-girls painted on it. ~ Dan Fogelberg

I love the palm trees (& the boats and the sea) in these watercolor paintings.

stylized palm trees on a hill in Oman