Tuesday, January 8: We drive up Jebel Akhdar and park at the head of 3 hanging villages looking over Wadi Al Ayn. The first, Al Aqr, is famous for its rose gardens (not in bloom currently). The next, Al Ayn, perches on a dramatic rock outcropping. The third village, A’Sherageh, leads down to terraced plantations with splashes of green.
a cute little cat peers down at us at A’Sherageh
Click on any image in the galleries below for a full-sized slide show.
terraces
splashes of green on the terraces
terraces in the sunlight
Alex, Mike and Adam with a village behind
After our hike, we head to the Sahab Hotel for a spectacular view of the sunset, accompanied by wine and dinner. As seems to always be the case in winter, we shiver and hunker down as we drink wine by the pool, and when the cold gets overwhelming, we move inside for dinner. I have Sahab Mary Rose (a smoked salmon appetizer), Mike has a pineapple chicken salad he says is mediocre, and the boys have vegetable noodles with fried egg. Then Mike decides he will tackle the long slow drive down the mountain with the Terrain in low gear. We return to my flat, where we rest our tired bodies for another day of hiking on Wednesday.
Looks like another lovely day and evening with your guys.
Yes, it was lots of fun every day they were here, Carol! Now it feels way too quiet around here!
What are they growing in the terraced areas? What a fun place to visit!
I’m really not sure what the crops are in the terraced areas. Some of the terraces you can’t see in these pictures have pomegranate trees, but I’m not sure about these! It is fabulous up on Jebel Akhdar!
You’re all certainly getting a lot of exercise, Cathy. Beautiful photos, and your dinner sounds like what I might have ordered for myself.
They’re gone now, Sylvia, and I need some time to recover from all that we did. I’m exhausted. And now, it turns out we get next week off, so I just booked tickets to Nepal!! I’ll really be wiped out after that!!
So glad you have another trip coming up. It sounds really exciting and energetic. You’ll certainly keep in trim with this one.
It IS good, Sylvia. I need all the exercise (& dieting) I can get!
My god that scenery is beautiful.
I’m glad you identified the food – it looks delicious.
Thanks so much, Rosie!! The two hikes on Jebel Akhdar are some of my favorite in all of Oman!! Glad you like them… and our food.