weekly photo challenge: the sign says

Tags

postaweek2013, weekly photo challenge

Saturday, June 1: This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is The Sign Says.

Signs. Funny, poignant, symbolic, incorrect, informative, foreshadowing…there are so many signs in the world.

Like so many signs translated from another language into English, I can’t help but wonder if this one was done by Google Translator.  This sign is at the entrance to the village of Misfat Al Abriyyen in Oman.

I don’t know who translated this sign into English, but it’s a mess!

the ruins and gardens of adam

Tags

Oman, Travel

Saturday, June 1:  This morning, Mario takes his friend Sultan and me to see the extensive ruins in Adam, about 40 km south of Nizwa in Ad Dakhiliyah region.  I am surprised to see such an extensive array of ruins, and to see that they are actually being restored.

the first of three huge sets of ruins in Adam

one of many painted metal doors in the ruins of Adam

We take a long stroll through ancient forts, citadels and towers, mosques and deserted traditional souqs, all surrounded by beautiful gardens of date palms, pomegranates, apricots, figs, bananas and numerous other fruit trees.  Today is about 40 degrees C (104 F) and unusually high humidity for the interior, so we are sweating profusely.  I drink a bottle of water; despite this, my head is pounding.  We make a short detour to the local market for Panadol.  This is not a strenuous hike, mind you, but even a leisurely stroll is taxing in this heat.

ruins and gardens in Adam

arches and gardens

The history of the Wilayat of Adam dates back to pre-Islamic times. Adam has several meanings in Arabic but most likely means “fertile land.” The most notable places are Harrat Al Ain, Harrat al Bousaid, Harrat Al Hawashim & Harrat Bani Shiban, where several archeological sites have been found, and Harr Al Jamii, which is more recent.    About 13,000 people live in sixty villages around Adam. (Wikipedia: Adam, Oman)

Click on any photo in the gallery below for a full-sized slide show.

crescent moon on a mosque in Adam

banana plants

date palms through an arch

Omani door with lock and spikes

dates

gardens of Adam

ruins in Adam, Oman

ruins and gardens of Adam

ruins and gardens

watchtower

ruins and gardens of Adam

ruined door

door lock

arches and gardens

gardens and ruins

ruins and shadows of date palms

layers of arches

watchtower

a stand-alone wall

another watch tower

ruins and arches

arches and ruins

metal gate

gardens

colorful metal door

When Mario visited Adam last weekend, he got a tour of the ruins from a local Omani man who told him about the restoration project.  A large section of the ruins, where we find many painted rooms, has been restored already.  The government seems to be using mud bricks for the restoration, which is same construction material as the original buildings.

mud bricks lined up for the restoration project

Apparently, in March of 2012, a meeting was held between the Ministry of Heritage and Culture (MoHC) and the Ministry of Tourism on restoration and management plans for Al Jame village in Adam and Al Bilad in Manah, where intensive restoration work is going on.  Other members of the committee included the Ministry of Housing, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources and the Supreme Committee for Town Planning. (Muscat Daily: Restoration of historical sites to be discussed at MoHC meeting).

It’s obvious to us as we walk around how expensive this project must be.  We have visited so many ruins throughout Oman that are in various stages of disintegration, so Mario and I are both pleased to see the government restoring these amazing ruins.  At least these villages can increase local employment and make some money off these tourist sites.  Mario also thinks the ruins could be used in movie sets.

Click on any of the images below for a full-sized slide show.

painted rooms in the restored section of ruins

paintings

wall paintings and niches

carvings on door

painted room

painted ceiling

painted room

painted room

the restored ruins on the outside

another painted room

painted room

painted room

painted room

old door

crumbling watchtower

bicycle in the ruins

This project is just one example of the amazing things Sultan Qaboos has done in this country to bring its people into the modern world.  The list is extensive: excellent roads, hospitals, schools and universities, a huge airport that is currently under construction, desalination plants, dams and recharge dams, and too many other projects to count.  As I have a Master’s degree in International Commerce and Policy, the focus of which is economic development, and as I have traveled extensively all over the world and seen many places where the governments do NOT take care of their people, I have to salute the visionary Sultan and his government for a comprehensive development plan in the midst of a very harsh environment.

painted room and ceiling with Quranic verses at the top perimeter of the walls

We’re exhausted from our 2 hour stroll through these ruins in the heat, so we go to the New Firq Restaurant for an early lunch. On our way, I ask Sultan when he started wearing glasses, as I’ve never seen him wearing them before.  Mario says, “Show her your glasses.”  He doesn’t take them off, but I say to him what I suspected all along: “Don’t tell me those glasses don’t have lenses in them!”  Sultan shows me how the frames broke and the lenses fell out.  I ask why he is still wearing them.  I am reminded of Korean boys who often wore frames without lenses, and I thought that was silly.  Sultan says, “Don’t they make me look stylish?”  I say, “They make you look like you’re trying too hard.”  Mario says, “I said the same thing to him!”

Sometimes, great minds think alike…..

Mario and Sultan at the New Firq Restaurant

weekly photo challenge: in the background

Tags

Oman, postaweek2013, United States of America, weekly photo challenge

Saturday, May 25:  Friday’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is In the Background: The places that we pass through day after day, or even once in a lifetime, leave in their small way, echoes and traces of themselves upon us. But so often when taking self portraits or pictures of friends, the places themselves become a soft blurred mush of indistinct semi-nothingness, the limelight stolen by our smiling faces. In today’s challenge, let’s turn the tables. Take a picture of yourself or someone else as a shadow, a reflection, or a lesser part of a scene, making the background, or — as in the example above — the foreground, the center of attention.

I’m not sure I really “get this” challenge, but here are a couple of attempts.  Adam, with his mouth watering, is the blurry background with the tofu sandwich as the center of attention.

there’s Adam, all blurry in the background, mouth watering over his vegan sandwich

In this one, taken at the Sahab Hotel on Jebel Akhdar, the blurry background of the Sahab is shown upside down and in the foreground, in the glass of wine.

The Sahab Hotel in the background, and again in the foreground, upside down in the glass of beer

Alex is in the background, covered completely by the glass, but you can see his face in the foreground in the glass of beer

And finally, in this picture of a vintage shop window in Carytown, Richmond, Virginia, it’s hard to tell the background from the foreground.

Vintage Shop window in Richmond, Virginia

And finally, in Dubai, UAE, the Burj al Arab in a mirror, though we’re still in the foreground!

Us in the mirror with the Burj Al Arab in the background

a stroll through al qasha on jebel akhdar & a farewell to old friends

Tags

Jebel Akhdar, Oman, Travel

Friday, May 24:  Today I go up to Jebel Akhdar with my oldest friends, Anna, Kathy and Mario, for a farewell gathering.  Anna is leaving the university at the end of July, a month after me, and Kathy is going on vacation in a couple of weeks.  Mario will still be here for a while, but, regrettably, we will be leaving him behind as we vacate the premises.

the view from Wadi Al Ayn of the escarpment above

Spina Christi

flowering bushes

lovely flowers

flowers

the path down into the wadi

delicate white flower

pomegranate flowers

baby pomegranate

pomegranate buds

I’m thinking it will be the same old stroll we always do, along the villages of rose garden fame.  Anna, however, has other ideas.  She wants to drive past Diana Point down into Wadi al Ayn, park the car and walk through the village of Al Qasha.   Although I like the hikes we always do on the Green Mountain, I am surprised to find a new place to discover as I begin my last month in the Sultanate.

looking up the wadi to Al Qasha

terraces with pomegranate trees

the falaj to Al Qasha

flowering wild bushes

more flowering bushes

a little pool ~ possibly the source of the spring?

“What is that feeling when you’re driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? – it’s the too-huge world vaulting us, and it’s good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.”                         ~ Jack Kerouac, On the Road

Kathy and Anna

me

You and I will meet again, When we’re least expecting it, One day in some far off place, I will recognize your face, I won’t say goodbye my friend, For you and I will meet again.  ~ Tom Petty

Kathy

little swimmer

We only intend to do an hour stroll, and that’s exactly what we do.  We descend a rocky path down into the wadi, where we see terraces of pomegranate trees.  We can look up to the escarpment above where the rose gardens and the three villages of Al Aqr, Al Ayn, and A’Sheragah are situated.  It’s strange to see the escarpment from below when I’ve always been up at the top looking down.  We see some beautiful wild flowering bushes, blooming pomegranate trees, and terraces fringed by fuzzy trees.  Eventually we climb up on the falaj and walk along that until we reach a little pool where the spring seems to originate.  Frogs are swimming in the pond.  Other frogs are croaking out a symphony of sorts from a pool deeper in the wadi.   A giant lizard lies placidly in the sun; Mario tells us he’s dead.

pomegranate flower

We make our way back to our car and drive up to the Sahab Hotel for their buffet dinner.

appetizers at the buffet

appetizers and a little donkey friend

our table setting

an Omani door made into a coffee table at the Sahab

During dinner, we share tales of dreams, premonitions and ghosts.  Mario doesn’t believe in ghosts, but he’s dreamt of people with whom he’s fallen out of touch, only to find they die within the next week or so.  Kathy feels there is a presence of some sort in her flat in Oman.  Anna has dreamt of carpets, cars and strange evil men, all of which (or whom) have shown up on her doorstep matching the dream images.  I can’t say I’ve had any of these types of encounters, but I’m open-minded enough to believe there very well might be a different reality than what most of us know.

Strawberry mousse desserts

chocolate mousse desserts

Mario’s plate

Mario, Anna and Kathy

“I’ll never see them again. I know that. And they know that. And knowing this, we say farewell.” ~ Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

 

friday meditation: my top ten happy memories in the sultanate

Tags

Life, Oman, Travel

Friday, Mary 24: I will carry to America hundreds of wonderful memories of my time here in the Sultanate of Oman.  There are too many to put into one blog post, as I have written over 475 posts during my 20+ months here.  As part of my fond farewell to Oman, here are my top 10 happy memories.

1.  On April 19, 2012, Mario, his Omani friend Sultan and I went on a mis-adventure to Wadi Damm.  It was shortly after a big rainfall and we had to cross about 10 fast-flowing wadis.  It was a foolish exploit, because many people get killed every year in flooding wadis; it rains so rarely here that most of the time the wadis are bone dry and people don’t realize how dangerous they are.  For us on this day, it was a grand & somewhat dangerous adventure.  We laughed a lot and then ended up at my house drinking wine and enjoying the night away ~ high jinks all around.  (an attempted trip to wadi damm ~ foiled by raging wadis)

one of the raging wadis on the way to Ibri

2. On April 26, 2012, two of my friends, Kathy and Tom, and I ventured across the Hajar Mountains in Oman.  We drove over a treacherous dirt road along the edges of steep mountains through Wadi Bani Awf toward an idyllic little village called Balad Sayt.  In order to get to this beautiful village, we had to clamber through a pool-filled canyon to emerge on the other side in an open bowl surrounded by mountains.  The village with all its lush green plantations sits in the middle of this bowl.  Kathy made the mistake of abandoning her shoes beside one of the pools in the canyon.  When she came out on the Balad Sayt side, she struggled mightily to walk over the burning gravelly path up to the village. She devised several methods to protect her feet, using discarded pieces of rotten wood which she tossed ahead of her one step at a time; this painstaking method didn’t work too well.  She finally tied some flexible bark around her feet with old twine.  I know it wasn’t too funny for Kathy, but Tom and I never laughed so hard in our lives! (52 pick up: success (aka overcoming adversity))

Kathy and her bark and twine makeshift shoes ~ at Balad Sayt, Oman

3. On March 28, 2013, Mario and I went up to Jebel Akhdar to see the roses.  The year before, we had tried to see the roses but had come too late.  This time, we were able to breathe in the sweet fragrance and take lovely photos of the pink blossoms.  We had a lovely time walking through the rose gardens and then having wine and dinner at the Sahab Hotel after (the roses of jebel akdhar & a lovely encounter with an irish couple).  We repeated similar amazing experiences on Jebel Akhdar so many other times, I can’t even count them all.

Roses on Jebel Akhdar

Everyone who reads my blog knows that my favorite place in Oman is Jebel Akhdar.  Each time I went up the “Green Mountain,” I had different memorable experiences that I’ll carry in my heart always.  Here are a couple more of my favorite times.

• Taking Beg and Mona Lisa up to the mountain on Valentine’s Day, 2013:  a valentine’s day adventure on jebel akhdar
  

  the terraces of Jebel Akhdar on Valentine’s Day

• Taking Mike, Alex and Adam to the Hanging Villages on January 8, 2013: a hike around the hanging villages of wadi al ayn on jebel akhdar
  

  Alex, Mike and Adam on Jebel Akhdar

• Hiking through Wadi Bani Habib with Mario and his Omani friend Mohammed on Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 2012: thanksgiving day on jebel akhdar: villages of wadi bani habib. {part two}
  

  finding colorful ruins at Wadi Bani Habib with Mario & Mohammed

  

  Mario in the ruins of Wadi Bani Habib on Jebel Akhdar

• Taking Malcolm and his lovely wife Sandy to Jebel Akhdar on a cold December night in 2012: a cold but lovely night at the sahab on jebel akhdar
  

  Sandy & Malcolm on a cold night on Jebel Akhdar

4) On May 11, 2012, Mario and I went hiking on Jebel Akhdar in search of the roses, but we were too late to see them.  However, we had one of many great conversations throughout the course of our friendship.  After our hike, he invited me to come over and share lime-flavored white corn TOSTITOS® tortilla chips (a rare find in Oman), apricot & almond cheese, cheddar cheese and a bottle of wine.  We sat in his air-conditioned living room and talked about the tribal society of Oman and the confining rules under which a tribe must live, a conversation I call “escaping the tribe.”  Sometimes I think I should write a book titled “Conversations with Mario.” (searching for roses on jebel akhdar & a conversation about escaping the “tribe”)

Ruins at Wadi Bani Habib on Jebel Akhdar

5) On January 13, 2012, my sons came to visit me in Oman, and all of us loved our excursion into the watery cave at Wadi Shab (cliff-jumping in the hidden caves of wadi shab).  Stunningly beautiful.

The entrance to the pools at Wadi Shab that you must swim through to get to the cave

6) On April 11, 2013, Mario and I went to explore Wadi Bani Kharous.  Not only did we explore the multitudes of picturesque villages in that wadi, but we experienced some great Omani hospitality along the way. (a trip to wadi bani kharous)

Omani hospitality at Wadi Bani Kharous

7) On Tuesday, February 21, 2013 Mario and I went on a huge road trip, where we explored Wadi Dayqah Dam, among other places, and ended up in Wadi Arbiyyin on the east coast of Oman.  Then we headed to Muscat and had a sushi buffet.  It was the road trip to beat all road trips, and perfectly lovely, except for the gunshots that scared us out of our wits. (wadi arbiyyin >> quriyat >> sushi in muscat. {the road trip: part 3})

Wadi Arbiyyin on the east coast of Oman

8)  When I first arrived in Oman, I coudn’t find anyone who wanted to go exploring Oman on the first National Holiday, so I went by myself. I had a great time at Al Areesh Desert Camp meeting random people and listening & dancing to the Bedouin music. (national holiday chapter 3: sharqiya sands & al-areesh desert camp)

Bedouin singers at Al Areesh Desert Camp

9)  When I went to Jordan over the 2011 Eid, I met an Italian guy, Guido, who came to visit me in Oman in December.  We had a great time going to Wadi Tiwi on his visit here on December 2, 2011. (cathy takes guido to wadis tiwi & shab…and up the coast to muscat)

Exploring Wadi Tiwi with Guido

10) The first time I went to Nakhal Fort, had lunch with an Omani family, then drove through Wadi Mistal to Wekan was simply magical. (nakhal fort, lunch with an omani family & a wild drive up wadi mistal)

My first magical time in Wekan

I’ve been to some of these places many times, and each time was wonderfully special.  I’ve picked my favorites based on a feeling of peace and contentment I experienced during those specific times.

My time here in Oman is coming to a close.  I am ready to leave, but I will carry many happy memories with me.

travel theme: the four elements

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travel theme

Sunday, May 19: Ailsa of Where’s my backpack? challenges us this week to come up with “an homage to earth, air, water and fire.”

For earth, what else can I post but the mountains of Oman?  Because they’re usually vegetation-free, they’re considered a geologist’s heaven.  Here are the mountains that make up the sides of Wadi Ghul.

the rock-solid earth at Wadi Ghul

One evening, at Dana Nature Reserve in Jordan, the air looked quite unstable and threatening.

Air at Dana Nature Reserve in Jordan

Water filled Santorini’s caldera after the volcano erupted some 3600 years ago at the height of the Minoan civilization.  This was the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history.   Now it is one of the most peaceful and serene places you can imagine, except for the tourists.

water ~ the Mediterranean at Santorini’s caldera

And fire has destructive power, but also provides much-needed warmth on a cold night in Kathmandu, Nepal.

fire at New Orleans Cafe in Kathmandu, Nepal

getting my green fix in the gardens of misfat al abriyyen

Tags

Oman, Travel

Saturday, May 4:  This afternoon, I decide I need a green fix, so I go for a short walk through the gardens of Misfat Al Abriyyen.  I love the broad and lush green leaves of the banana plants, the date palms, and the papaya trees.

The falaj is flowing with water through the gardens and the tank that holds the water for the village is overflowing due to the abundant rain we’ve had over the last week.  It feels like a little slice of paradise.

the falaj flows at Misfat al Abriyyen

the holding tank for water in the village is overflowing

People still live in the old village, even though a lot of the houses and buildings look like ruins.

We come upon an old man singing a song while another Omani man takes a video of him. When I ask the man if I can take a picture of him he giggles like a child and gives me a wide toothless grin.

a friendly old man in the garden

weekly photo challenge: from above

Tags

Greece, Jebel Akhdar, Jordan, Nepal, Oman, weekly photo challenge

Saturday, May 4: This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is From Above: Change your perspective on something. Share a photo of a subject which you shot from directly above.

From above at the Monastery of St. Barbara, Meteora, Greece

Looking down at Kalambaka from the Monastery of St. Stephen at Meteora, Greece

from above: Nepalese Vegetarian food: basmati rice, black lentils, vegetable curry, spinach green curry, pickle, papad (some kind of mushroom curry?), salad and curd.

the view from above at the Hotel View Point in Nagarkot, Nepal

From above: flowers at Pokhara, Nepal

the view from above at the ancient Crusader castle at Karak, Jordan

from above: the curving staircase at Eikan-do, Kyoto, Japan

From above in a hot air balloon over Cappadocia, Turkey

From above: the “fjords of Arabia” in Musandam, Oman

Omani children at Jebel Akhdar, from above

a sepia kind of day in nizwa: rain, rain, rain & a shifting weekend

Tags

Nizwa, Oman, Travel

Thursday, May 2: This week in Oman has been surreal.  It’s been raining some part of every day for over a week now.  In the entire 19 months I’ve lived here, I’ve never seen it rain this much or for this long a period of time.  Many students didn’t show up for parts of last week.  They were unable to get from their villages to Nizwa because of flooding wadis.

Inside Nizwa Fort

at Nizwa Fort

Nizwa Fort

a door at the fort

closeup of the door

entering the fort

Looking down on Nizwa mosque from the fort

looking over Nizwa souq area from the Fort

inside the fort looking up at the heavy clouds

On top of the rain, we have been given a 3-day weekend this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  Oman, as of May 1, is shifting its weekends from Thursday-Friday to Friday-Saturday.  I understand this shift is happening in order to line up Oman’s weekends with the weekends observed by the other Gulf countries.  After this weekend, we will have Friday and Saturday off each week.

an outdoor room at Nizwa Fort

the minaret of Nizwa mosque

Finally, since the weather has been hot, humid and threatening rain, since traveling is dangerous (people are often killed in Oman trying to cross flooding wadis), and since I sold my GMC Terrain and am now driving a tiny Suzuki Celerio, I cannot go out exploring wadis on this three-day weekend.  On top of that, I’m trying to save every penny for my month-long trip to Spain and Portugal on my way home to the USA at the end of June.  I consider going to Muscat this weekend to spend the day at a pool or the beach, but as rain clouds are still darkening the skies and money is in short supply, I decide against it.

Nizwa souq

Nizwa souq

Nizwa souq

pottery at Nizwa souq

more pottery

arches hung with pottery

the souq

So, what to do?

I decide to do some experimenting with my camera at Nizwa Fort and Souq.  To reflect the dreary day that it is, I take photos with the sepia setting.  Surprisingly, I find I like the atmospheric photos, which make the souq look like it’s in the middle of ancient Arabia, except for the modern-day cars.

When I arrive at the souq, I find the parking lot is slightly flooded.  The air is heavy and damp, unlike Nizwa’s usually dry air.  Cars are barreling through the flooded parking lot, and Omanis, Indians, Pakistanis & Bangladeshis are riding their bicycles through the water or rolling up their pants legs or pulling up their dishdashas to cross the water.  I go into Nizwa Fort and climb to the top to take some photos of Nizwa mosque and the town.  I walk through the souq and stop for a cold Lipton Peach-flavored iced tea.

the outside wall of Nizwa souq

a Bangladeshi tries to ride across the flooded parking lot on his bicycle

the entrance to the nut souq

the door to the nut souq

in the nut souq

Nizwa mosque

Then, when I am thoroughly drenched in sweat, I return to my air-conditioned flat, where I put on my pajamas and hunker in for the day.

Yes, it’s a sepia kind of day in Nizwa.

looking from the bridge over the wadi to the souq

Ma’a salama to my GMC Terrain {trials & tribulations of selling a car in Oman}

Tags

GMC Terrain, Oman

Wednesday, April 24:  I listed my 2008 GMC Terrain for sale on April 1, just as I planned. I was worried about the whole process because 1) I’m always a worrier and 2) I’m a foreigner in Oman and don’t know all the ins and outs of doing business here.  So, as you can imagine, my stomach was tied in knots as I went through this process.  All I could do was take steps that I thought would lead me to my goal and keep my fingers crossed that everything would work out as it should.

My GMC Terrain all clean and shiny

The hardest part was determining a price because Blue Book values as we know them in the United States are not applicable here in the Gulf.  The price is determined solely by the market.  I looked at similar 4-wheel drive vehicles with prices ranging from 4,000 rials to 5,600 rials, with higher mileage than mine.  But I knew I had paid 5,550 ($14,421) for mine in November of 2011 and I’d put 60,000 km on it in 18 months.  I am a good and gentle driver, but I often took the car off-road into wadis and up mountains in less than ideal driving conditions.

The Terrain on the dirt road through the Hajar Mountains, a harrowing 70 km route.

the Terrain at the bottom of Wadi Bani Auf

I had done all the proper servicing through the GMC authorized service garage, but I also knew there were some problems with the car:  1) One was the small dent on the front driver’s side of the hood, which was there when I bought it. I didn’t know the origin of that dent and so couldn’t answer potential buyers’ questions about it.   2) The tires were questionable, but my friend Tony looked at them in December and told me that the tread was good and the tires were perfectly good.  Mike also looked at them when he was here in January and agreed that the tread was good and I didn’t need to replace them.

the small dent in the driver’s side hood

3) The last issue was the electrical system of the car.  Before I first bought the car, I took it to Precision Auto for a computerized test.  They told me a few minor problems that needed fixing, but they also said that there was some kind of electrical problem with the car.  However, they couldn’t determine what it was.  I could tell that in a small panel in the dashboard, the date and time didn’t work.  My CD player and radio worked, but I couldn’t advance through tracks because the button didn’t work.  But everything else seemed to be just fine, so I never bothered with checking it further.

the time and time electrical panel on the dashboard never worked

Mario told me the way he got a value for his used car when he sold it was to go to the Toyota dealer and pretend he was interested in buying a new car.  So I took his advice and went to visit them.  Of course, it didn’t help that I had originally bought my car from this same Toyota dealer, so they knew the whole history of the car.  This is life in a small town in Oman.

This is where I originally bought the car in Nizwa

I told them I was looking to buy a Toyota RAV and that I wanted to know what value they would give me for a trade-in.  The same guy who sold it to me asked how much I owed on the car and I told him 2,600 rials.  After a couple of hours of thought, he called me back and told me he’d give me 3,000 ($7,795) on a trade-in!!  I was shocked at the low value, so I called my husband Mike in Virginia and told him the situation.  Being the finance guy that he is, as controller for a large government contractor, he did an extensive analysis with detailed spread sheets telling me the dealer would mark up the car about 20%, up to about 3,600 rials or more.  Thus I should expect to get about 3,400 in the private market.  He said I’d do well to get my loan paid off and recoup about 1/2 of my down payment of 1,400 rials.  So the ideal sale value would be about 3,400 rials.  Because I know everyone wants to think they’re getting a good deal, I raised my asking price to 3,700 rials ($9,614).

The Toyota dealer in Nizwa gave me a very low offer on a trade-in

I started by telling my students, who immediately texted their uncles, brothers and fathers with the news. I put up an ad on Dubizzle, an online free advertising site for the Gulf.  I sent an email to everyone in the Foundation Institute at the University of Nizwa, with a link to my Dubizzle ad.  I put up flyers all over the university.  A number of expats at the university told me my 3,700 asking price was a very good price.

And the calls started coming in.

The barrage of calls I got in the first two weeks were Omanis calling or sending text messages: “What is your last price?”  I quickly got annoyed with this question about the “last price,” as I was certainly not going to tell them my last price.  After all, who really knows what their “last price” is until they decide to accept that price?  The last price always depends on the seller’s level of desperation — how quickly the seller wants to get rid of the vehicle.  My last price in June, when I am due to leave, would certainly be lower than my last price in April, when I still have several months to go.

At first, in answer to this question, I would say, “I’m not going to tell you my last price.  You can make me a reasonable offer and I’ll tell you whether I will accept it.”  But I quickly found this was a waste of time.  They’d make me an offer of 2,500 or 2,700 or 2,900 or 3,000 and then refuse to budge.  So I finally started answering that my last price was 3,500 ($9,094).  That immediately eliminated the people who were wasting my time.

The other calls and texts I received said the following: “I’ll give you 2,500 rials ($6,500) upon inspection of the car.”  I got so many of these calls, I figured out that these were Omanis looking to buy the car at a low price, then mark it up and resell it.  I got to the point where I cut these people off, either by not responding to their texts or telling them in the phone calls that they were way too low so there was no point in wasting time talking.

I showed the car many times at this Lulu Hypermarket

The first person I showed the car to was an Egyptian pharmacist who works in Birkat al Mouz.  When he took the car (with me inside) on a test drive from the Lulu Hypermarket, he almost wrecked the car before we even got out of the parking lot.  Then he drove the car at about 150 km/hour on a road where no one should be going that fast, looking at me and talking with his hands and swerving over the line.  I kept having to yell at him, “Slow down!  Watch out!  You’re going too fast!”  When we finally returned to the Lulu parking lot, happily unscathed, he said, I’ll give you 2,800 right this minute.  I said no.  I said 3,500.  He came up to 2,900.  I said 3,500.  He said he wouldn’t come up anymore and I said I wouldn’t come down.  So we parted ways.  A week later he called and asked if I changed my mind.  I said, I’m not yet desperate.  Call me back in June and if I still haven’t sold it, I’ll consider your offer.

Another long line of Omanis at the university asked to test drive it.  The car has always been noisy and make a kind of shimmying noise, but some of these people were commenting that the tires were not good and that was what was making the noise.  I said no, I had been assured by several people that the tread on the tires was good.  They said, no, in Oman, because of the heat, the tires can have good tread but they get very dry and hard.  They insisted that was what the noise was.  I heard this comment enough times that I started to think they might be right.  I went to see a friend’s trusted mechanic who told me that yes, the tires were responsible for the noise.

On the weekend of April 11, Mario and I were on our way to Wadi Bani Kharous and we stopped in Muscat to show the car to two Omani brothers.  They drove the car and made an offer to buy the car at 3,300 right then and there, AFTER they took the car to Precision Auto to have a computerized test done.  By then I was getting sick of the effort of selling the car, and sick of the really low offers and it was close to my “last price” of 3,400.  When they took the car to Precision Auto, the computerized test showed some problem, as it had when I first bought the car, with the electrical system.  They said something about a catalytic something that senses buildup in the exhaust system and said it could present a POTENTIAL problem in the future.  By this time, the two Omani brothers had been joined by their father and several other brothers to inspect the car.  A whole family affair!!  They asked the mechanic at Precision Auto if he could guarantee there would be no problems for 5 years.  Of course the mechanic couldn’t guarantee such a thing.  They tried to get me to come down further on my price and I said the car was already discounted for the unknown of this electrical problem.  The deal fell through and Mario and I went on our merry way to Wadi Bani Kharous.

The next day, on our way back through Muscat, another Omani drove the car and offered me 3,200 and told me to think about it a few days.  I told him I would do so, and then we returned home to Nizwa.

In the meantime, one of my colleagues had expressed interest in the car, but she needed to obtain financing.  She didn’t give me a deposit, nor did I have anything in writing from her that she would buy the car.  Therefore it was impossible for me to hold it for her.  She and I had agreed on a price of 3,500, but I had determined that until the deal was done, I would sell it to whoever made me a reasonable offer first and could close the deal.

Finally, last Thursday, April 18, two Omani friends, Badr and Senad, came to look at the car.  Senad came because Badr can’t speak English, so he came to translate.  Badr had heard about the car from a student at the university who had seen my flyer. Badr, who is from Suwaiq in Al Batinah on the north coast of Oman, wanted the car for his wife.  He has four children from 2 years old to 8 years old. When he drove the car, immediately he asked about the electrical panel and I said it has never worked since I bought the car.  He mentioned that the tires seemed to be a problem.  He asked me my “last price” and I told him someone at the university had offered me 3,500 but she was trying to get financing.  However, I said, if you want to give me 3,400 today ($8,835), I will sell it to you now.  Badr decided he liked the car and said he would go to the bank to get the money.  We had to meet at the finance company to pay off the loan and get a release letter.  I would get the difference in cash.

We had an hour to wait until the finance company opened, so I ran home and cleaned out my car while they went to Bank Muscat to get the cash.  When we got to the finance company, Oman ORIX Leasing, we found that Badr could pay off my loan, but it would take a number of days to get the release letter from their Muscat head office.  The police station is closed on Thursday anyway, so it was impossible to transfer the registration until after the weekend.  We agreed since they had to wait to get the clear title, Badr would just pay off the loan  We would draw up a bill of sale for the difference of 879 rials ($2,284), and we would meet next week at the police station to do the transfer.  However, as Oman ORIX Leasing wouldn’t open again until Sunday (the bank weekends are Friday and Saturday), it would take until Monday or Tuesday to get the release letter.  I had the sudden realization that the payment for the Terrain of 141 rials/month had just come out of my account and thus I had no money to rent a car, which I would need to do right away.  So Badr gave me 200 rials ($520) of the 879 rials he owed me, leaving a 679 rial balance remaining ($1,764).

Oman ORIX Leasing, where I have my loan

When we walked out of the finance company, Badr opened the back car door of the Terrain and ripped off the FOR SALE sign I had taped to the inside window.  “Khalas! (Finished!),” he said happily. Then I drove the Terrain and he drove his Nissan Altima to Muscat, where we met at the Clocktower Roundabout.  We drove together to a used car lot where someone drew up the bill of sale for the remaining 679 rials.  As we were driving, Badr again mentioned that the tires were no good.  These Omanis know their cars, there is no question about that.  Even though two people I trusted had told me the tires were good, they were Americans who didn’t understand what Oman’s heat can do to tires.

I handed over the keys and all the paperwork on the Terrain to Badr, keeping a copy of his ID card, the bill of sale, the receipt for the loan payoff, and the mokia (registration) for myself. I also had his phone number. We agreed to meet at the police station in Nizwa the following Wednesday morning, April 24, to do the transfer.  He attends Master’s degree classes at the University on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so that seemed to be the perfect arrangement.

After all of this, he kindly dropped me off at the airport where I went directly to Budget Cars and rented a turquoise Suzuki Celerio for 150 rials/month.  That is $390!! Outrageous!  My car payment on the Terrain had only been $141 rials a month, and that for an all-wheel drive!

me with my Suzuki Celerio rental car

Of course the unfinished deal left me with a lot of discomfort.  I thought right away that both Badr and Senad were honest and upright people.  It was just a feeling I had.  I would have never felt that way dealing with that Egyptian who drove my car like a maniac.  I was slightly worried that Badr might never show up to pay me the remaining balance.  However, I had all the documents in order and could go to the police if he didn’t show up.  My bigger concern was that when we met again, he would have had the car for a week and might decide there were more things about the car he didn’t like. I was afraid when we met again, he would try to wiggle his way out of paying the whole 679 rials on the grounds that he found repairs that needed to be made.

the Suzuki Celerio I will have until I leave Oman

Then we had a water debacle at the university. On Saturday, the beginning of the work week in Oman, there was no water in the university.  As you can imagine, this started creating back ups in the toilets.  Disgusting, yes.  On Sunday, the situation was the same.  The university decided to cancel classes for the week; however the administration insisted the teachers continue to come to work.  As you can imagine, this made for some very unhappy teachers.  I will write about this in another post.

This situation threw a glitch in my plans to meet Badr in Nizwa because if classes were cancelled he would have no need to come to Nizwa on Wednesday. However, when I communicated through Senad, he told me that the Master’s classes were not cancelled, so Badr would still come to Nizwa. During the week, I obtained the release letter from the finance company and transferred the insurance to Badr’s name, so I was ready to go on the final deal.  In Oman, unlike in America, the insurance is on the car rather than the person, so when the car is sold, the insurance goes with it.  I had just renewed my insurance for 175 rials in January of 2013, so the insurance was good through January 2014.

New India Assurance Company, where I transfer the insurance to Badr

On Tuesday and Wednesday it started raining in Oman.  This is tantamount to a blizzard in the USA.  When it rains here, everyone is afraid to drive because of flooding wadis.  Many people are killed as they try to drive through raging wadis and get washed away.  Apparently, the wadis in Al Batinah, where Badr lives, were quite problematic as the rains in the north had been quite heavy on Tuesday.

As I walked into the Nizwa police station through a steady rainfall on Wednesday morning, Senad called to tell me Badr wasn’t able to make it out of Suwaiq because of flooding wadis.  He wouldn’t be coming to Nizwa after all.  He suggested we could wait till next week, but I wasn’t happy with that.  I wanted to close this deal, get my money and be done with it.  I was already feeling so much anxiety and I didn’t want to go another week feeling this way.  So I suggested that if Badr could at least drive to Muscat I would meet him there.  Senad called Badr and he agreed to try.  We both headed on our way to the Royal Oman Police in Muscat.

In Muscat, there are four or five police buildings across from the airport and I wasn’t sure which one I was supposed to go to.  I drove through several parking lots looking for the Terrain.  I called Senad and asked if Badr was driving the Terrain so I could look for it.  He said, no, Badr is driving his Altima because the Terrain is in the shop!  Gulp!  I panicked, wondering what was wrong with the Terrain.  I again feared that there was some problem and he was going to try to pay me less than we agreed for the car.

When I finally met Badr at the police station I knew all my fears were in vain.  The first thing he did was proudly show me pictures of the Terrain on his phone.  The dent on the front hood had been repaired and repainted and the car looked like brand new!! His excitement was infectious.  I said, “How much?” He said 30 rials! That was nothing.  He added that he also put 4 new tires on the car.  I was afraid to ask, but I did anyway: “How much?” He said 350 rials ($909)!!! I was shocked.  He said he needed to make the car perfect for his wife.  It was so sweet!!  He was as excited as a little boy who just got some brand new toy.

He asked to see the papers. I gave him the manual, which I had accidentally removed from the glove compartment when I cleaned out the car, and showed him the release paper and the insurance document.  I asked about the money and he had the 679 rials bundled up in a rubber band.  I counted it in front of him.  He told me he had a friend in the police so we didn’t have to take a number; we could get in right away.  We sat down with the policeman and the transfer was done in two minutes.  Badr showed me pictures of his children, glowing.

Badr and his Altima

What a perfect ending for my GMC Terrain.  I couldn’t have sold the car to a nicer person, someone who I know will love and take care of that car like it’s a precious gem.  He obviously is a caring person – to his wife, his children and his possessions.  I’m so thankful that he turned out to be the next owner of my much-loved little GMC Terrain that has enabled me to explore all the terrains in Oman!!

Badr, the new happy owner of my car

Finally, after leaving Badr in Muscat, I drive the long 1 1/2 hours to Nizwa in the pouring rain.  Here’s some very rare video footage of rain in Oman.

Ma’a salama (مع السلامة) ~ Goodbye in Arabic ~ to my dear traveling vehicle! I hope that my little car will give him and his family as much happiness as it gave me.