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a nomad in the land of nizwa

~ an American English teacher in Oman

a nomad in the land of nizwa

Category Archives: 52 Pick Up

52 pick up: pick a colour. any colour!

03 Thursday May 2012

Posted by nomad, interrupted in 52 Pick Up, As Sifah Beach, Muscat, Oman, Sifawy Beach Hotel

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52 Pick Up

Thursday, May 3:  Another challenge from Sherene at PRINT SENSE photography & design: pick a colour. any colour!  As always, please interpret this challenge as you desire.  For some of us we are surrounded by the colours of spring, for others we are awash in the rich hues of fall.  This challenge is about capturing the beautiful colours around you.  Be creative and have fun!

I pick Yellow!  I found these Lantana flowers at the Sifawy Boutique Hotel at As Sifah Beach near Muscat today….

“they call me mellow yellow, quite right…” ~ Donovan

“I really just want to be warm yellow light that pours over everyone I love.”
~Conor Oberst

Finally, here are some yellow & jewel-colored textiles at the Mutrah Souq.

“Yellow wakes me up in the morning. Yellow gets me on the bike every day. Yellow has taught me the true meaning of sacrifice. Yellow makes me suffer. Yellow is the reason I am here.” — Lance Armstrong

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52 pick up: success (aka overcoming adversity)

26 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by nomad, interrupted in 52 Pick Up, Balad Sayt, Oman, Wadi Bani Awf, Western Hajar Mountains

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52 Pick Up

Thursday, April 26:  I came up with my photos for Sherene’s 52 Pick Up theme purely by accident this week.  In her photo challenge, she wrote: “Has there been a period of adversity in your life that you have overcome?  Have you successfully stayed away from junk food  for a hour, week, month?  Or maybe you are ready for swimsuit season!  Be creative and have fun!”

Today, 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.

I guess this might be where Kathy took off her shoes in the canyon??

Walking through this canyon involves wading through some thigh-deep pools, climbing up through crevasses over deeper pools, and hugging the canyon walls while climbing along narrow ledges above other boulder-filled pools. It’s quite scary in some points because of the poor footing and the slippery rocks, which could easily result in slipping or sliding into one of these pools.  Slipping could in turn lead to broken bones or ruined cameras.

My friend Kathy at some point along the canyon walk decided to leave her shoes on one of the ledges in order not to ruin them while wading through the pools.  Had I known she was going to do this, I would have advised her against it.  I knew from having been here before that there was still a long gravelly path ahead in the canyon, as well as a lot of walking through the village of Balad Sayt.  I didn’t realize she had discarded her shoes until I heard yelping behind me as she started walking over the gravel path.  I looked and she was gingerly walking over the hot gravel and boulders along the path in her bare feet!

Kathy puts little boards on her feet to get over the gravel

Kathy puts little boards on her feet to get over the gravel

Several times she wanted to give up and just sit and wait for Tom and me.  I protested, saying she HAD to see the village; we didn’t come all this way for nothing!! So, with real pioneer spirit, she tried to devise different methods to protect her feet so she could continue walking.  First she found an old rotten piece of wood which she broke in half into two foot-sized pieces.  She made her way by lifting one foot and tossing the board in front, lifting the back foot and then picking up that wood and throwing it in front, etc.  As you can imagine, it was quite slow and tedious.

Kathy’s improvised bark shoes

For a brief time, she tried to use her towel as a kind of hammock for her feet, but that didn’t work very well either.

Finally we came to the road to the village, where at least she could walk on pavement.  However, the pavement was quite hot and she still had lots of walking ahead.  She happened to find some thin flexible bark and pieces of yellow twine lying in a jumble near the canyon exit. I guess it’s a good thing there is not good rubbish disposal in Oman.  She fashioned two makeshift shoes out of the bark and tied the bark to the bottoms of her feet with the twine.  After she did this, we walked slowly along and happened upon a garden of aloe vera plants, one of which she picked and rubbed onto the bottoms of her soles.  Meanwhile, we were all having a great laugh over the entire situation, which was really quite ludicrous!

Kathy with her makeshift shoes surrounded by aloe vera plants

Some Pakistani guys in a house we passed along the way later brought her some deteriorating plastic slippers which were huge on her, but she wore them anyway as we walked through the gardens.

Later, she wondered how on earth she would get back through the canyon.  There is a way to get out of the village without going through the canyon, but we needed a car and our car was on the other side of the canyon.  She said she just knew we would find someone who could drive us to the other side.  We figured our friend Tom could climb back through the canyon to pick up the shoes she left halfway along the path, while we drove back to the car with some kind-hearted Omani.  Sure enough, while sitting along the edge of the road, she found a villager going to Ar-Rustaq and she talked him into driving us back to our car.

Talk about SUCCESS (aka OVERCOMING ADVERSITY). I don’t think I’ve ever met someone with so much faith and determination. This girl definitely gets the award!

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52 pick up: growth

15 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by nomad, interrupted in 52 Pick Up, Al Hayl, Oman, Wadi Damm

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Sunday, April 15:  Sherene at Print-Sense Photography & Design posted her 52 pick up challenge for this week: Growth. She says: “Signs of spring are an obvious choice in interpreting this challenge, but please feel free to let your imagination soar!  As always have fun!”

One of the rules to this photo challenge is the following: “Each image must be taken during the theme week. No scrounging back through last year’s photos for “a good one”. That would be cheating and the challenge is about taking new photos with new inspiration!”

Last week, when I posted my photos for this challenge, I forgot that rule and posted pictures from my archives!  Oops!  This week, I will post a picture from a farm in Al Hayl near Wadi Damm on the way to Ibri, Oman.  We couldn’t figure out exactly what this plant is, going through a spurt of growth brought on by our recent rains, but we thought it might be garlic.

growth in the rains

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52 pick up: things are looking up!

08 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by nomad, interrupted in 52 Pick Up

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52 Pick Up

Sunday, April 8: Sherene’s 52 pick up challenge this week is: things are looking up!  Here is my interpretation.  I like the optimism of looking up and snapping a photo leading skyward… 🙂

things are looking up at the Persian steps from the village of Wekan to Jebel Akhdar in Oman

things are looking up at Mehrangarh Fort in the Blue City of Jodhpur, India

things are looking up at the Library of Celsus at Ephesus, Turkey

Don’t worry, everybody.  Things are looking up!  🙂

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52 pick up: anticipation (bahla fort)

05 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by nomad, interrupted in 52 Pick Up, Bahla, Bahla Fort

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52 Pick Up

Thursday, April 5:  This week I came across yet another photo challenge. It’s created by Sherene at PRINT-SENSE photography & design.  One of the interesting rules to this photo challenge is the following: “Each image must be taken during the theme week. No scrounging back through last year’s photos for “a good one”. That would be cheating and the challenge is about taking new photos with new inspiration!”

Here’s the quote about this week’s challenge: “There is nothing better than that feeling of anticipation!  The fluttery heart for something we truly desire.  Our challenge this week is to capture anticipation.  Anticipation for an event, trip or just a special treat.  This may be something you are patiently, or maybe not so patiently waiting for, or even the very emotion of anticipation.”

It was really a challenge for me to think what I could photograph in Oman during this week  for this theme, without cheating and looking back at my archives.  Finally, I came up with an idea to drive to Bahla this morning and take photos of Bahla Fort. This is one of Oman’s biggest forts with huge walls and irregular towers, bastions and crenelated walls.  The fort is believed to be pre-Islamic, although the present structure was mostly rebuilt during the 17th century.  The fort fell into disrepair during the 20th century and was actually near total collapse when it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.  At this time, it was closed for a huge renovation project, which continues to this day, 25 years on.

People ANTICIPATE the Bahla Fort will be renovated one of these days, but in 25 years it hasn’t been done. Are the jinns at fault?

My Omani friend Moo tells me the jinn are at fault. Jinn are apparently ghosts or spirits, maybe even witches (?), which are part of the local legend of Bahla.  Omanis believe that black magic or alchemy abound in this area. Legend has it that in Bahla’s past, people were turned into cows or goats, or they simply vanished into thin air when they leaned on certain fence posts.  I ask a shopkeeper in Nizwa souq about this today, and his eyes sparkle when I bring it up.  He shakes his hand, “in the past, in the past!”  I say, you mean the jinns are in the past?  They’re gone now?  “No, we think that in the past, but no more!  We don’t think this any more!”

are the jinn responsible for thwarting the much-anticipated renovation of the Bahla Fort?

According to Moo, every time part of the fort is renovated, the jinn come in during the night and undo whatever repairs have been done.  Another legend has it that Indian laborers went in to do repair work and disappeared.  Of course I’m skeptical about the truth of these tales.

anticipated opening date of Bahla Fort: UNKNOWN. If the jinn have their say, maybe never??

So, I guess it’s been 25 years and people are still anticipating the completion of Bahla Fort’s renovation.  I personally anticipate it will not be completed during my time in Oman.  🙂

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Cardinal Guzman

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