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. 🙂

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

jebel akhdar: an afternoon of brits & roses, wine & bubbly

Tags

Jebel Akhdar, Oman, Roses, Travel

Thursday, April 4:  For the second Thursday in a row, I go up to Jebel Akhdar to see the rose gardens.   This time, I take my colleague Malcolm and his lovely wife Sandy, who has come from Britain to visit Malcolm for her spring break.

We go up the mountain late in the afternoon because we only want a short walk through the sprawling rose gardens in the picturesque Al Ayn, a village perched on a huge rock-spur jutting out from the escarpment.  Last week, Mario and I came up here, and there were multitudes of tiny buds on the bushes.  This week, more roses seem to be in bloom, but there are still millions of buds, meaning there will still be roses to see for at least several more weeks.

we start our walk through the rose villages

We walk along the trail from Al Aqr to Al Ayn, where we see below us the large escarpment where the rose bushes and fruit trees and onions are planted.

the rose gardens on the plateau

closer up to the rose gardens

Malcolm and Sandy

We walk through a grapevine trellis, with baby vines just starting to curl through the lattice.  At this point, we have to make a decision.  Either we have to walk along the falaj, which is quite high in some spots and requires good balance, or through a boulder-filled wadi.  We decide to walk through the wadi.

grapevines on the trellis

a little pond

We come upon a little pond full of croaking and mating frogs.  We stop for quite a while laughing at their mating rituals and shenanigans.

we hear frogs croaking and see all kinds of mating rituals

reflection in the frog pond

As we climb out of the wadi, I find this solitary flower, probably a weed, clinging to the rocks.

a pretty weed

Atop the plateau now, we come upon the rose bushes with their heady fragrance.

the roses

buds

rosebuds

and more rosebuds

As we walk along the falaj, we hear female voices and see some hands reaching from beneath the bushes and plucking the roses off the bushes.  One of the ladies gives me a handful of blossoms.

a gift of roses from one of the rose-picking women

As we walk a bit along the falaj, we see the rose bushes in front of the mosque.

roses and the mosque

roses in full bloom

beautiful pink roses

rosebuds

Some of the pomegranate trees have buds on them now too.

pomegranate flower

And some of the clothes lines have laundry hanging out to dry.

laundry hung out to dry

We find a pretty door lined with colorful tiles.

the tiles around a door on Jebel Akhdar

And later, as we backtrack, the ladies picking the roses have collected a bundle of blossoms, which they will take to make rosewater.

collecting roses for rosewater

We decide to walk back along the falaj instead of through the wadi, and after we make it back, I see the buds on the walnut trees have grown larger over the last week.

the bud on a walnut tree

And I see this pale starry plant huddled on the ground, trying to be inconspicuous.

a pretty pale starry plant

After our walk, we sit outside at the Sahab Hotel and I break out my red wine, while Sandy and Malcolm, Brits that they are, break out the bubbly.

Sandy and Malcolm

And we watch the sun slide behind the mountains.

Sunset at the Sahab Hotel

For once it’s not freezing cold on Jebel Akhdar.  We don’t even need our jackets tonight.  We brought them along though, because just one week ago, it was freezing.   After wine and laughs, we go inside for the buffet dinner, quite a treat.  Part of this excursion is for Sandy’s birthday, coming up next week, so we make toasts all around.

my buffet dinner at the Sahab

Happy birthday to Sandy!  I hope she has all she wishes for in the coming year. 🙂

the roses of jebel akhdar & a lovely encounter with an irish couple

Tags

Jebel Akhdar, Oman, Travel

Thursday, March 28: This afternoon Mario and I venture up to Jebel Akhdar to see the roses for which the Green Mountain is famous.

first glimpse of the roses on Jebel Akhdar

In late March and April, this rugged landscape breaks out in blooms of bright pink.  We love wandering through the rose bushes and breathing in the intoxicating fragrance of the delicate blossoms.  Many of the roses are in full bloom, but there are still millions of tiny buds on the bushes, meaning that this is still not the peak of the season.

the rose bushes in front of the mosque in Al Aqr

God gave us memory that we might have roses in December. ~ James M. Barrie

At dawn each day, these rose gardens are apparently filled with men and women plucking the petals of full-blown roses. The harvest is collected in a sheet of cloth, gathered in a bundle and taken to one many traditional extraction units set up by villagers in these parts.  The process is rudimentary: An earthen pot, sealed within a hearth, is stuffed with petals and heated for about two hours. The essence condenses into a metal container placed within the pot. The condensate is cooled and filtered several times, yielding a clear liquid (Nizwa.net: Roses of the Jabal).

Sweet spring, full of sweet days and roses, a box where sweets compacted lie. ~ George Herbert

The end product, the famous Omani Rose Essence is used in the making of Omani halwa.  Omanis also add a dash of the rose-water to a range of hot and cold beverages, and as flavoring in food dishes and sweets.

a pink, pink bud

A cupful of the essence is also believed to be good for heart.  When applied to the scalp, it is believed to ease headaches as well. Its potential for use in exotic perfumes and fragrances is yet to be tapped, say local villagers.

Each bush yields about 15-20 kg of petals during the season, while it takes about 2 kg of petals to generate 750 ml of essence valued at 5 Omani rials. With the demand for Omani rose essence as strong as ever, the arithmetic works out in everyone’s favor — grower, extractor, seller and halwa-maker included (Nizwa.net: Roses of the Jabal).

sweet fragrance 🙂

We wander through the farms, taking pictures of the rose-bush terraces interspersed with terraces of green onions. The sweet scent of the roses mingles with the loamy scent of the onions. We also see buds on the pomegranate, apricot and walnut trees. As Mario grew up on a farm in El Salvador, the whole experience takes him back to his childhood, when he believes he was most happy.  Although I know Mario very well, and I know he is quite a happy person now. 🙂

terraces of onions and roses

roses and onions

rose bushes on the terraces

onions galore

fields of onions

the terraces

the terraces abloom with roses and onions

Along the way, we see some other interesting things: walnut buds, a golden cat, a lizard sunning himself on a rock, some delicate wildflowers, more terraces.

the walnut trees have little buds

a little cat in the rose gardens

a lizard sunning himself near the roses

wildflowers

more terraces

And in the distance, we can see the Sahab Hotel sitting atop the mountain: our ultimate destination.

the Sahab Hotel at the top of the mountain

departing view of the rose gardens

After spending a couple of hours meandering through the villages and farms, we head to our favorite spot, the Sahab Hotel, where we drink some wine by the pool, watch the sunset, and then move inside for the always delectable buffet.  After several glasses of wine, we are both telling each other how much we will miss each other when I leave Oman at the end of June.

another beautiful sunset on Jebel Akhdar

While we are enjoying our buffet, an Irish girl comes up to our table and asks if I write a blog.  Surprised, I say, yes, I do.  She tells me she has been reading my blog and it helped her plan her trip to Oman from Ireland.  She introduces herself as Sarah and then introduces us to her husband; I introduce them both to Mario. I say, “You would recognize Mario if you’ve been reading my blog!”  When I ask about their travel plans, she says she is planning to stay 3 nights on Jebel Akhdar and 3 nights in Muscat.

the fabulous Sahab Hotel

When I first see her, I think she has red hair, but it’s not a bright red and in the light I can’t tell for sure.  I say, “Is your hair red?  It’s hard to tell in this light.”  She says, “Yes, it’s more of a ginger really.”  I say, “I have a daughter named Sarah and she has red hair too. It’s wavy just like yours.”

This little encounter really makes my day.  Mario and I both marvel that someone who traveled all the way from Ireland recognizes me from my blog.  Isn’t it a happy coincidence that I happen to be up at the Sahab on this particular night, when she is here?  What a treat.

After they finish their dinner, they take off and I wish them a good time in Oman.  After they are gone, Mario says, “You know, they had a bottle of wine with them.  That shows they really read your blog because otherwise how would they have known they could bring a bottle of wine?”  That’s so funny, but so true.  Because the Sahab doesn’t serve wine but does allow you to bring your own bottle and I’ve written about this in my blog.

pink clouds to go with the roses

The sad thing is that often I don’t think about certain things until it’s too late.  After they’re gone, it dawns on me that I should have taken their picture.  And Mario says, “It would have been great if I had taken a picture of you with them.”  Sometimes I can’t believe how I don’t think of these things until it’s too late.  I’m supposed to be a photographer, after all!!

I hope if Sarah reads this post, she will contact me on my About Me page and send me a picture of their time in Oman, so I can add it to this post! 🙂

Saturday, April 6:  Today Sarah from Ireland contacted me and sent a few pictures of herself and her husband Andrew on Jebel Akhdar.  I was happy to hear she enjoyed her time in Oman.  She wrote of her time on Jebel Akhdar: “We really enjoyed our visit to that area, such a fascinating place and spectacular scenery. I think I liked Wadi Bani Habib best as it really gave you an insight into how people lived in the villages.”

Here are two pictures she sent of her and Andrew on the Green Mountain.

Sarah and Andrew at Jebel Akhdar

Andrew and Sarah from Ireland at Jebel Akhdar

Sarah also wrote of our encounter: “I did think we might meet you in Oman, as I knew that you liked to visit Jebel Akhdar so it was serendipitous that we did meet. I hope that you continue to blog about your travels, wherever they take you as it is lovely to read about these places, even if I don’t get to visit them all myself.”

Thank you so much, Sarah.  You made my day. 🙂

travel theme: mountains

Tags

Greece, Nepal, Oman, travel theme

Saturday, February 16: Ailsa’s Travel Theme for this week is Mountains:  She writes: It’s hard to beat the soaring majesty of mountains. It’s also apparently hard to define exactly what a mountain is. Countries around the globe use factors such as height, elevation, relief and volume in a vain attempt to define them. The Oxford English Dictionary settles for something suitably vague: “a natural elevation of the earth surface rising more or less abruptly from the surrounding level and attaining an altitude which, relatively to the adjacent elevation, is impressive or notable.” Merriam-Webster doesn’t do any better: “a landmass that projects conspicuously above its surroundings and is higher than a hill.” Look up ‘hill’ in the same dictionary and you will find that it is described, helpfully, as “lower than a mountain.”

Some of the world’s tallest mountains are the Himalayas in Nepal.  Here is a view of the Annapurna Range taken from Pokhara.

the Annapurna Range seen from Pokhara, Nepal

Machhapuchhre, or “Fish-Tailed” at sunrise

Here are mountains, with monasteries built on top, in Meteora, Greece.

Meteora, Greece

And finally, in Oman, where I have never seen snow-cover, are the mountains of Jebel Akhdar.

the view of Al Ayn and the gorge on top of Jebel Akhdar

For more takes on the theme, see Where’s My Backpack? Travel theme: Mountains.

To see more of my trip to Nepal: catbird in south asia

To see more of my trip to Greece: greek wanderings

a valentine’s day adventure on jebel akhdar

Tags

Jebel Akhdar, Oman, Travel

Thursday, February 14:  Today is Valentine’s Day, but I don’t give it a thought since I don’t have a Valentine.  As if it’s any other day, I invite two of my colleagues to come with me for a hike on Jebel Akhdar; we’ll have wine and dinner afterwards at the Sahab Hotel.  These colleagues arrived in Oman this past fall and were both readers of my blog before they came here.  They don’t have cars of their own and so haven’t had much chance to explore the country.

the view of the village of the roses

Mona Lisa is from Canada and has traveled all over the world.  She used to work a long time for the United Nations and spent 5 months in Nepal some years back, even trekking to Everest Base Camp.  She inspired me to go to Kathmandu, which she loved, for our semester break.  Beg is from Turkmenistan but has also lived and worked in Turkey; he speaks both Turkish and Turkmen, as well as English, Russian and other languages, fluently.  He’s planning to get married in March and bring his new bride to Oman.

Mona Lisa and Beg

This is a good thing for me and, I think, for them.  For me, it’s a great accomplishment, and really stepping outside of my comfort zone, when I get up the nerve to invite someone other than the regular characters to go on an outing.  I’m always afraid of being rejected, so I usually only plan things with the old standbys.  Or I just do things alone.   Under my social category of 2013 resolutions, I resolved this:

Cultivate new friendships with great discernment. Cultivate at least one new friendship in Oman and one in Virginia. Make more of an effort to talk to my close friends regularly.  Invite someone somewhere once a month, either to come by for dinner or a movie, or to go on an outing.

So, yay!  I do something on my resolution list for February. 🙂

Al Ayn on Jebel Akhdar ~ the village of the roses

After parking at the cul-de-sac near the trail head of the path that meanders through the rose villages, I point out our destination.  Mona Lisa is a little worried that we will be hiking down into the canyon.  I point along the ridge line and tell her the hike is basically level, that we will be walking only along the top of the canyon.

a little pool in the wadi

In the first village of Al Aqr, we come upon 3 lively Omani girls playing with some mud in a bowl; they take great pleasure in holding up their muddy hands for us and begging: “Sura, sura!” (Picture! Picture!)

hamming it up with hands in the bowl of mud

playing in mud

This little girl speaks to us in some English

Sura, Sura!!

We enjoy our walk and stupendous views on the relatively flat hike through the first village of Al Aqr, through a boulder-filled wadi, and through the second village of Al Ayn. It’s only when we get past the second village that I remember that in fact we have to climb down quite some distance to walk along the falaj to the third village of A’Sheragah.  From there, we have to walk further down to the terraces, doing a loop back UP to the trail leading down.  Then we have to backtrack further UP that trail to the second village.  It turns out a lot of climbing is involved, leaving us all winded and sore.

fields of onions in Al Ayn

a falaj along the edge of a terrace

we hike some of the way down here…

terraces

little plots of wheat or onions

more terraces

beautiful green terraces and mountains

me and the terraces

Mona Lisa and terraces

the walls of the terraces up close

Thank goodness they are both good sports. I keep pointing to the Sahab on the top of the plateau, reminding them that we will have a reward at the end: dinner and wine.  They’re too busy breathing heavily to think about this.  Actually, I’m breathing quite heavily myself.  We are all exhausted when we finish our loop, about 2 hours after starting, and head to the Sahab.  We sit by the pool and share a bottle of wine.

the fabulous Sahab Hotel

Beg

Mona Lisa

At 6:30, we go inside the hotel for the buffet dinner.  The place is packed with tourists!  I keep exclaiming that I’ve never seen so many people here; Mario and I have been many times and had the whole place to ourselves.  When the staff brings out the buffet, we are surprised at its sumptuousness.  Many of the dishes served have a heart-shaped motif.  The dessert selection consists of a huge variety of confections, including heart-shaped chocolate and pink-iced cakes.  Watermelons are carved with the words “Happy Valentine’s Day.” The meal is delicious, especially accompanied by the two bottles of wine brought by Mona Lisa.

inside the Sahab’s dining room

Valentine candles on our table

colorful dishes from the buffet

vegetables

heart-shaped chicken with mushroom sauce

Only at the end, when it’s time to pay the bill, do we find that this buffet is 12 rials ($31) as opposed to the normal 8 rials ($21).  Ouch.  It’s wonderful despite the price, and we have a great time talking and laughing and enjoying each others’ company.   And at the end, it turns out Beg insists on treating both of us to dinner!  And I feel happy that I extended the invitation and provided the car, without which none of us would be here.

What a lovely afternoon and evening. I feel happy to have spent time with two new friends. 🙂

in search of the persian steps from the top of jebel akhdar

Tags

Oman, Travel

Thursday, February 7:  Last weekend, while I was miserably sick and going back and forth between my bed and the couch, Mario and Anna took a long walk up the Persian steps in Imti, near Izki.   They walked up and up those steps for about 3 hours until finally they got tired and turned around and walked back down.

looking toward the Muscat-Nizwa Highway from Jebel Akhdar

the view toward Izki

Both of them got it in their minds that they wanted to find the top of the Persian steps, otherwise known as the W22 trail, starting from somewhere on Jebel Akhdar, and heading down the mountain until it intersected with the Persian steps that come up from Imti.  Once they could find the trail head on Jebel Akhdar, they reckoned, we could drive a car up to that trail head one evening and leave it there overnight.  Then the next morning, we could hike up from Imti, all the way to the top of Jebel Akhdar, driving the car back down the mountain after the hike.  The plan sounded great — in theory. In reality it was going to be much more difficult than any of us imagined.

morning mountains

the winding road up Jebel Akhdar

This morning, we go on a quest to find this mystery trail. The problem is that neither Anna nor Mario have a clear idea about how to find the elusive trail head on Jebel Akhdar.  Anna tells Kathy, who is driving, to set her odometer to zero somewhere near the bottom of the mountain, before the police checkpoint.  She thinks we must start looking for the trail anywhere from 15-25 kilometers up the mountain.

misty mountains

the view toward Izki

On our way up, we see fabulous views of the mountains below with mist hanging in the creases and stop for a photo shoot.

Mario, Kathy & Anna ~ my fellow hikers

At about 15 kilometers, we get out of the car near a big construction site, where there is a kind of graveyard full of concrete barriers.  We wander to the edge of the mountain, and we think possibly this area could be the start, but we see no markings to indicate a trail.  We decide that we’ll go ahead and drive all the way to the Jebel Akhdar Hotel, past the 25 km mark, where we can ask the hotel staff if they know the directions.  We drive slowly to the hotel, looking carefully to the right side of the road for any indication of the trail.  We see some possibilities, but again, there is no clear marking.

me, Mario & Anna

flowers can sprout up anywhere in the desert

At the Jebel Akhdar Hotel, we ask about the trail, and the only map the hotel has is of the Saiq Plateau.  That won’t help us.  Before leaving, we have some coffee and tea, then we head to the police station nearby to ask them if they know of the trail.  Sadly none of them speak English.  Anna, however, manages to ask them a few questions in her rudimentary Arabic.  It seems there is no simple answer, at least not one we can understand.

the Jebel Akhdar Hotel

the inside of the dome in the Jebel Akhdar Hotel lobby

In the meantime, I have been studying two maps.  One is from Oman Trekking and the other from Oman Off-Road.  Both maps show the trail down to Imti, but there is no landmark on the map as to exactly where the trail intersects the main road.  We can see on the map that the trail originates from Hail Al Yemen and goes to the main road, follows the road for a short distance to the left, then turns right toward the edge of the mountain.  At least we know how to find Hail Al Yemen.  We figure that we will just start at Hail Al Yemen and go until we meet the main road, then we will know where to begin our descent down the mountain.

leaving Hail Al Yemen, we come to a wadi filled with water and several dams

one of the dams in the wadi

It turns out that this is easier said than done.  We start out optimistically.  From Hail Al Yemen, we descend down into a wadi that actually has a couple of dams in it, and some water.  Along the edges of this water source are gardens and grape arbors, but of course nothing is growing at this time of year.

Anna contemplates jumping in

We wander along the edge of this wadi for a while, stopping to climb on top of one of the dams to take pictures of the pools with the mountains reflected in them.  Here along these pools and further into the dry wadi, we see interesting plants: palm trees, ornamental grasses, and oleander.  The rock formations on the sides of the wadi look like creatures with odd appendages, at least in Kathy’s eyes.

reflections

more reflections

inviting wadi

We continue on down the dry part of the wadi until we come across a number of Omanis and Bangladeshis burning some plants.  We ask them about a trail to Imti, and they tell us to continue along the wadi until we see some steps going up on the left.  We continue on until we decide to stop for lunch under some trees.

Omanis & Bangladeshis burning plants

This man and his grandson, Abdullah, tell us directions

in the wadi, with fires burning

Omani young guy burning plants

a cheery old Omani man

I love the grasses and the way these green plants glow in the sunlight

in the wadi near our picnic spot

in the wadi

yellow wildflowers in the wadi

rock formations with strange appendages, according to Kathy

a tower rock

Finally, we come to a fork in the wadi and we veer to the left.  We almost miss the rough-and-tumble rock steps that blend seamlessly into the canyon wall, but Anna miraculously spots them.  We climb up the steps until we have sweeping views of the Saiq Plateau and the village of Saih Katenah across the huge expanse.

the ramshackle Persian steps from Hail Al Yemen

an interesting tree on the way up the steps

When we look ahead, we can’t see any clear trail.  In the distance on the left, we see the main road, but Anna and Mario are convinced we don’t head that way.  They feel it isn’t in the direction of Imti.  To the right we see a roofless building compound and a dirt road winding further up the mountain.  They decide we need to head in that direction.  There is no trail, but there are plenty of goat droppings, which Mario believes is as good as a trail.

looking back into the wadi from the top of the Persian steps

bird’s eye view

Every once in a while we see faint traces of a trail. We continue on in the direction of that dirt road. From the top of the plateau where we are, we can’t see all the wadis that are between us and that road. It’s only as we walk that we come upon canyon after canyon, where we have to either go to the deep end of the canyon and cross, or climb to the bottom and then climb out again. Finally, after much up and down and up and down, we end up on the dirt road. The climb up the dirt road is steep and strenuous, especially as, by this time, we are exhausted. When we finally reach the main road, we have been hiking about 4 hours.

the mountain terrain on the Saiq Plateau

at the top of the dirt road, here are the canyons where we walked

mountain views

We walk along the main road to the left, as the map shows, but we can’t find the trail which should be near here going down to Imti.  We don’t have any intention to continue searching today, as we now know the general vicinity of the trail down.  We find an open area where we walk toward the edge of the mountain, past a bunch of goat houses, and then we decide to turn around and head back to the road.

this is near the point where we come out on the road

Back on the road, we put up our thumbs to hitchhike back to our car.  Luckily an Omani man with a pick-up truck full of 3 children and reams of groceries offers to let us ride in the back of his pick-up truck back to Hail Al Yemen.  By the time we return to our car, we have been hiking for about 6 hours.  Before we leave this kind man, I ask him if the place where he picked us up was near the trail to Imti.  He said yes, in that area past the goat houses, we should find the trial.  Bingo!

Mario & Kathy in the pickup truck as we hitchhike back to our car

Though we don’t find the trail today, we think we are close to solving the puzzle.  Next time we know where to start in our search.  Stay tuned for the continuing saga.

a goat and its little kid scrambling for milk

another day on jebel akhdar: wadi bani habib

Tags

Oman, Travel

Wednesday, January 9:  I’ve done the Wadi Bani Habib hike too many times to count already, but I never find it boring as there’s always something new to discover.  The hike is atop my favorite “Green Mountain” in Oman, Jebel Akhdar.

Mike and Adam with the first village of Wadi Bani Habib behind

Mike, the boys and I park at the end of the road past the modern, but characterless, village of Bani Habib.  We walk down winding stone steps into a narrow gorge filled with walnut and apricot trees and flowering shrubs.   The greenery contrasts nicely with the brown bare rocks of the mountains and the sienna-colored ruins of two villages, made of stone in various stages of dereliction and clinging to the edges of steep sandstone cliffs.  Down the wadi a bit is another village.  It’s wonderful to stand in one village and look down the wadi to the other village.  A spectacular view.

the view from village 2 to village 1

The hike down the steps is quite easy, but it’s difficult to make our way up through the first village because of the ruins blocking the path and the rocky and uneven footpath. However, we gingerly make our way up where I take the boys into a painted house, where it’s obvious someone had both wealth and a love of color.

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

me in the painted house in the first village

Adam in the house

Mike, Adam and Alex

Looking over the ruins of the first village down the wadi to the second village

Adam, Mike and Alex

ruins in the first village

We follow the trail through the village where Alex swings from a tree branch, and further on where Adam squats down along the path, facing the first village in a meditative Buddha-like pose.  The boys climb high to the top of the rocky mountain, and I make my way higher up into the village than I’ve been before.  In this second village is another beautiful painted house I’ve seen before, where we stop for photos.  Further up, we discover another one with the lower half of the walls in royal blue and the top half in crazy brown and cream designs.  Someone obviously had a streak of wildness.

Adam: ohm.

entering the second village

looking at the upper houses in the second village

a wild & crazy painted room

the second village

Mike, Adam and Alex in the painted room

me in the painted room

Alex does some exercises

descending into the wadi before we climb up the mountain again

heading through the path off the wadi

I guess everyone can tell by now what is my favorite place in Oman. 🙂