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. 🙂

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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. 🙂

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

This little girl speaks to us in some English

playing in mud

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. 🙂

a hike around the hanging villages of wadi al ayn on jebel akhdar

Tags

Oman, Travel

Tuesday, January 8:  We drive up Jebel Akhdar and park at the head of 3 hanging villages looking over Wadi Al Ayn. The first, Al Aqr, is famous for its rose gardens (not in bloom currently). The next, Al Ayn, perches on a dramatic rock outcropping. The third village, A’Sherageh, leads down to terraced plantations with splashes of green.

a cute little cat peers down at us at A’Sherageh

Click on any image in the galleries below for a full-sized slide show.

Beginning the hike to Al Aqr on Jebel Akhdar

Alex in a tree

the farm on the plateau

Adam crouches on the falaj

Alex under a walnut tree

a little pool in the wadi

plantation

a mosque in the 3rd village

Alex on the falaj

terraces

terraces

square plots

cactus

Wadi Al Ayn

terraces

Mike climbs up

Alex & Adam

terraces

and more terraces

Alex, Mike and Adam with Wadi al Ayn behind

the first village

terraces

splashes of green on the terraces

terraces in the sunlight

Alex, Mike and Adam with a village behind

After our hike, we head to the Sahab Hotel for a spectacular view of the sunset, accompanied by wine and dinner.  As seems to always be the case in winter, we shiver and hunker down as we drink wine by the pool, and when the cold gets overwhelming, we move inside for dinner.  I have Sahab Mary Rose (a smoked salmon appetizer), Mike has a pineapple chicken salad he says is mediocre, and the boys have vegetable noodles with fried egg.  Then Mike decides he will tackle the long slow drive down the mountain with the Terrain in low gear.  We return to my flat, where we rest our tired bodies for another day of hiking on Wednesday.

Alex & Adam at the Sahab

reflection of the Sahab in Adam’s beer

Mike, Alex and Adam

Sunset at the Sahab

Me

Aloe vera

Adam, Alex and Mike

Arabia bean soup

Sahab Mary Rose

Pineapple chicken salad

Vegetable noodles with fried egg