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a nomad in the land of nizwa

~ an American English teacher in Oman

a nomad in the land of nizwa

Tag Archives: weekly photo challenge

weekly photo challenge: the sign says

01 Saturday Jun 2013

Posted by nomad, interrupted in Al-Dakhiliyah Region, Middle East, misfat al abriyyin, Oman, postaweek2013, Weekly Photo Challenge

≈ 51 Comments

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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!

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

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weekly photo challenge: in the background

25 Saturday May 2013

Posted by nomad, interrupted in Al-Dakhiliyah Region, Americas, Jebel Akhdar, Middle East, Oman, postaweek2013, Richmond, Sahab Hotel, United States of America, Virginia, Weekly Photo Challenge

≈ 42 Comments

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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

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, but again in the foreground, upside down in the wine glass

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

Alex is behind the glass, so covered completely, but you can see his face in the foreground in the wine glass

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

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

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

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weekly photo challenge: escape

19 Sunday May 2013

Posted by nomad, interrupted in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, postaweek2013, United States of America, Weekly Photo Challenge

≈ 44 Comments

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Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, postaweek2013, United States of America, weekly photo challenge

Sunday, May 19: The WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is Escape:  Depending on your current mood and headspace, or time in your life, this word can evoke different emotions and conjure a variety of images. Maybe the end of your semester is near, and you yearn for vacation and release: the desire to disappear and run away, the need to unplug and shut off. Or perhaps you imagine quite the opposite: Lost in a maze. Stuck in a room, feeling boxed in, with the worst company. Frustrated in your own thoughts, wondering what to do next.

This week is final exams and then the spring semester is over at the University of Nizwa.  I still have 39 days left until my last day of work, and I’m not sure what the university will give me to do to keep me busy.  All I know is that I’m waiting to escape my job here in Oman and return home to the USA for good.  On the way, I plan to make a month-long stop in Spain and Portugal.

Here are some pictures of the good old U.S.A., taken last summer at Deep Creek Lake in Maryland.  We won’t be going to Deep Creek this summer, but it does represent the quintessential escape for me.  Lots of green, cool weather, a beautiful lake, boating, swimming and kayaking.  Hanging out with my family playing games and just general relaxing.  Oh, how I yearn to escape!

Life jackets and kayak paddles ready to go

Life jackets and kayak paddles ready to go

these feet are ready for an escape

these feet are ready for an escape

kayaks at Deep Creek Lake

kayaks at Deep Creek Lake

Deep Creek Lake

Deep Creek Lake

an escape into a nice relaxing hot tub on the deck of the cabin

an escape into a nice relaxing hot tub on the deck of the cabin

perfect escape, a drink, smoke and computer on the deck at Deep Creek Lake

perfect escape, a drink, smoke and computer on the deck at Deep Creek Lake

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weekly photo challenge: pattern

10 Friday May 2013

Posted by nomad, interrupted in Asia, Boseong, Emirates Palace, Maisan, Middle East, Muscat, Oman, postaweek2013, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan Mosque, South Korea, Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Suncheon Bay, United Arab Emirates, Weekly Photo Challenge

≈ 78 Comments

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Oman, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, weekly photo challenge

Friday, May 10:  This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is Pattern. Patterns are everywhere. Patterns are sometimes intentional and sometimes accidental. They can be decorative or merely a result of repetition, and often patterns can be in the eye of the beholder to discover them.

Sometimes man makes patterns out of nature, as in these tea farms in Boseong, South Korea.

Boseong Tea Plantations in South Korea

Boseong Tea Plantations in South Korea

And sometimes nature makes its own patterns, as in these wetlands in Suncheon Bay Ecological Park in South Korea.

Suncheon Bay Ecological Park in South Korea

Suncheon Bay Ecological Park in South Korea

At other times, man makes patterns to show reverence at places of worship, such as this Buddhist temple in Maisan, South Korea.

a temple in Maisan, South Korea

a temple in Maisan, South Korea

Or to show reverence to Allah, as in the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan Mosque in Abu Dhabi, UAE or the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, Oman.

Mosque in Abu Dhabi

Mosque in Abu Dhabi

Mosaic at Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, Oman

Mosaic at Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, Oman

And sometimes, man makes patterns to show his own ability to create opulence, as at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi.

Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi

Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi

dome at Emirates Palace

dome at Emirates Palace

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weekly photo challenge: from above

04 Saturday May 2013

Posted by nomad, interrupted in Cappadocia, Greece, hot air balloons, Jebel Akhdar, Jordan, Kalambaka, Khor an Najd, Meteora monasteries, Middle East, Musandam, Nagarkot, Nepal, Oman, Pokhara, postaweek2013, Turkey, Weekly Photo Challenge

≈ 64 Comments

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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, Meteroa, Greece

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

Looking down at Kalambaka from the Monastery of St. Stephen at 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.

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

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

From above: flowers at Pokhara, Nepal

From above: flowers at Pokhara, Nepal

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

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

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

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

From above in a hot air balloon over Cappadocia, Turkey

From above in a hot air balloon over Cappadocia, Turkey

From above: the "fjords of Arabia" in Musandam, Oman

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

Omani children at Jebel Akhdar, from above

Omani children at Jebel Akhdar, from above

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weekly photo challenge: up

19 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by nomad, interrupted in Eiffel Tower, France, Paris, Photography Challenges, postaweek2013, Weekly Photo Challenge

≈ 79 Comments

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postaweek2013, weekly photo challenge

Friday, April 19: Today’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is Up. Up can be a direction, an orientation, or even a movement.

Here’s looking up at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Looking UP at the Eiffel Tower

Looking UP at the Eiffel Tower

looking up at the Monastery at Petra, Jordan

looking up at the Monastery at Petra, Jordan

Looking up at the Jebiwon Buddha in Andong, South Korea

Looking up at the Jebiwon Buddha in Andong, South Korea

Looking up at the ruins of Munisifeh in Ibra, Oman

Looking up at the ruins of Munisifeh in Ibra, Oman

climbing up the watchtower at Wekan in Oman

climbing up the watchtower at Wekan in Oman

part of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece

part of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece

Looking up at a Buddhist temple in Gongju, South Korea

Looking up at a Buddhist temple in Gongju, South Korea

Looking up at the huge Reclining Buddha in Bangkok, Thailand

Looking up at the huge Reclining Buddha in Bangkok, Thailand

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weekly photo challenge: change

14 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by nomad, interrupted in Americas, Photography Challenges, postaweek2013, United States of America, Virginia, Weekly Photo Challenge

≈ 45 Comments

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postaweek2013, United States of America, weekly photo challenge

Sunday, April 14: I have been struggling for three days now to come up with something for the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Change.  I first thought I would post a picture of my children and how they have changed, but I realized that would take hundreds of pictures.  Then I thought of posting about how my life has changed since I decided to live and work abroad, and still, that would have taken too many pictures.  I thought of posting one photo of me in my graduation gown accepting my Master of Arts degree. Or at my first wedding.  Or my second.  Or, I could have posted pictures of the change of seasons, flowers growing, leaves dying, snow falling.  The possibilities were endless.

The problem, of course, is that EVERYTHING CHANGES.  Every minute of every day, change happens.

Finally, after spending hours looking through my archives for something that would inspire me, I decided to show something that is ALWAYS changing but NEVER changing.  This is my friendship with four women, Louise, Martha, Rosie and Charlene, that has spanned decades.  Four of us met in 6th grade, in 1966, when my family moved to Yorktown, Virginia and I attended Yorktown Elementary School for the first time.  I moved from the “big city” of Newport News to the rural Yorktown, and it was a rude awakening.  I arrived on the scene wearing a plaid dress with layers of crinoline, delicate lace-bordered ankle socks and patent leather shoes.  The girls I met at Yorktown Elementary wore A-line skirts, button-down shirts, athletic socks and tennis shoes.  My friend Louise always tells me she can never get that picture out of her mind of me arriving in that dress with those black shiny shoes.

Louise & Martha have been my friends since that time.  I was elected to be Vice-President of the SCA (Student Cooperative Association) in 6th grade, and Rosie was elected President.

I'm on the left as Vice- President of the SCA, and Rosie, second from the left, was President.

I’m on the left as Vice-President of the SCA, and Rosie, second from the left, was President.

When we merged with another elementary school in 7th grade, at Yorktown Intermediate School, we met Charlene.   Though I had known Rosie ever since I arrived in 6th grade, our friendship didn’t solidify until we were in 10th grade, at York High School.  Since then, the five of us have been good friends.

Yearbook staff at York High School: bottom row: Rosie, me, Martha, and Charlene standing back right.

Yearbook staff at York High School: bottom row: Louise, Rosie, me, Martha, and Charlene standing back, second from the right.

Rosie, Josh, and Charlene in 1973

Rosie, Josh, and Charlene in 1973

Rosie, Martha, me and Louise at a party in 1973

Rosie, Martha, me and Louise at a party in 1973

me, Rosie, Louise and Charlene at Lake Gaston, 1973

me, Rosie, Louise and Charlene at Lake Gaston, 1973

partying in 1974.  I'm the one with my mouth open and Rosie's standing beside me

partying in 1974. I’m the one with my mouth open. Rosie’s sitting beside me

Building pyramids at York High School, 1974

Building pyramids at York High School, 1974. Me top tier on right, Charlene and Louise middle tier on left.

Charlene, Mickey Mouse and Rosie at Disney World, Spring 1974

Charlene, Mickey Mouse and Rosie at Disney World, Spring 1974

me, Donald Duck and Louise at Disney World in Florida on our senior class trip

me, Donald Duck and Louise at Disney World in Florida on our senior class trip

Louise and Gary, me and Paul in 1974

Louise and Gary, me and Paul in 1974

We have each constantly changed: married, divorced, had children, had grandchildren (except me), and moved to different parts of the country and the world.

At Charlene's bachelorette party: Rosie, Louise, Charlene and me

At Charlene’s bachelorette party: Rosie, Louise, Charlene and me

me and Louise (and our mothers) at Charlene's wedding

me and Louise (and our mothers) at Charlene’s wedding

Our bodies have gotten older and chubbier.  Yet.  Despite all the changes we have gone through, one thing has remained constant: our friendship.  Despite 40 years, we are still best of friends.  Whenever we get together, it as if nothing has changed, even though, in reality, EVERYTHING has changed.

Louise, me and Charlene in New York City

Louise, me and Charlene in New York City

Rosie and Charlene in New York City

Rosie and Charlene in New York City

me, Rosie, Charlene and Louise in Yorktown, September 2007

me, Rosie, Charlene and Louise in Yorktown, September 2007

Louise, Charlene, me and Rosie in Yorktown in February 2009

Louise, Charlene, me and Rosie in Yorktown in February 2009

Rosie, Louise, Martha and me in Yorktown in April 2009

Rosie, Louise, Martha and me in Yorktown in April 2009

Charlene, Rosie and me in Yorktown in June 2009

Charlene, Rosie and me in Yorktown in June 2009

Rosie, me and Martha at Rosie's brother's house in August 2009

Rosie, me and Martha at Rosie’s brother’s house in August 2009

Charlene, me, Rosie and Martha in May 2011

Charlene, me, Rosie and Martha in May 2011

Louise, Rosie, me, Martha and Charlene in May 2011

Louise, Rosie, me, Martha and Charlene in May 2011

Martha, me and Rosie in front, May 2011

Martha, me and Rosie in front, May 2011 at a York High School reunion. (Standing in front of a port-a-potty, not the best choice for a photo!)

I know without a doubt that our friendship will be something we’ll have for the rest of our lives.  🙂

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weekly photo challenge: color

06 Saturday Apr 2013

Posted by nomad, interrupted in Istanbul, Japan, Kathmandu, Kyoto, Nepal, Phewa Lake, Photography Challenges, Pokhara, postaweek2013, Seoul, South Korea, Turkey, Weekly Photo Challenge

≈ 46 Comments

Tags

Japan, Nepal, Oman, postaweek2013, South Korea, Turkey, weekly photo challenge

Saturday, April 6: The WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is Color. Splashed on the walls of cities, in batches of flowers in gardens, in the doodles of students, and on the palettes of artists, color is everywhere: it may represent our mood, and it can affect our mood. In photography, you can use a spectrum of colors to bring a place to life, or focus on a single shade to make a bold statement. Conversely, you can shoot in black-and-white or remove color in editing mode for a different effect.

In a new post created specifically for this challenge, share a picture in which color takes center stage.

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

a colorful carriage buggy in Kathmandu, Nepal
a colorful carriage buggy in Kathmandu, Nepal
delicate flowers on the University of Nizwa campus
delicate flowers on the University of Nizwa campus
the flower market in Istanbul, Turkey
the flower market in Istanbul, Turkey
Sweets in Istanbul, Turkey
Sweets in Istanbul, Turkey
Flowers in Crete, Greece
Flowers in Crete, Greece
More paintings by Oman
More paintings by Oman
more colorful boats in Pokhara, Nepal
more colorful boats in Pokhara, Nepal
colorful socks in Kyoto, Japan
colorful socks in Kyoto, Japan
Pokhara, Nepal
Pokhara, Nepal
Flowers on the University of Nizwa campus
Flowers on the University of Nizwa campus
lamps in Istanbul, Turkey
lamps in Istanbul, Turkey
colorful boats in Pokhara, Nepal
colorful boats in Pokhara, Nepal
Gloves in Kathmandu, Nepal
Gloves in Kathmandu, Nepal
Paintings by Omani students
Paintings by Omani students
Yarn in Kathmandu, Nepal
Yarn in Kathmandu, Nepal
Paper lanterns in Kathmandu, Nepal
Paper lanterns in Kathmandu, Nepal
Colorful doors and bedding in Kathmandu, Nepal
Colorful doors and bedding in Kathmandu, Nepal
Street art in Rethymno, Crete
Street art in Rethymno, Crete
Paintings of Oman
Paintings of Oman

Finally, in honor of South Korea, which is having a few problems with its bellicose northern neighbor right now, here are some colorful lanterns from a lantern festival in Seoul.

colorful lanterns at a lantern festival in Seoul, South Korea

colorful lanterns at a lantern festival in Seoul, South Korea

Let's hope everyone takes a deep breath and tries to diplomatically solve the problems between North and South Korea.

Let’s hope everyone takes a deep breath and tries to diplomatically solve the problems between North and South Korea.

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weekly photo challenge: a day in my life

30 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by nomad, interrupted in Al-Dakhiliyah Region, Middle East, Nizwa, Oman, Photography Challenges, postaweek2013, University of Nizwa, Weekly Photo Challenge

≈ 64 Comments

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Nizwa, Oman, postaweek2013, University of Nizwa, weekly photo challenge

Saturday, March 30:  The WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge asks us to create a tiled gallery of A Day In My Life.

What does your day look like? Here’s your chance to share with everyone a day in your life! Here are some suggestions to get started: snap a picture once an hour and share what your day was like, walk us through a typical day for you, or even just what happened today!

Pick the best pictures which give your readers a sense of a day in your life and share them!

Since I’m 9 hours ahead of the east coast of the United States, I always get the photo challenge late on Friday afternoon.  So for this challenge, I started taking photos on Friday evening.  So my day is from Friday evening at 5:00 to Saturday evening at 5:00.

Friday afternoon: writing about the gift of time on my blog
Friday afternoon: writing about the gift of time on my blog
I leave to go to Mario's for a seafood, olive, veggie, tomato & olive pasta
I leave to go to Mario’s for a seafood, olive, veggie, tomato & olive pasta
Mario the chef
Mario the chef
Candles and a table set for 3
Candles and a table set for 3
Saturday morning, driving down my road, heading to work
Saturday morning, driving down my road, heading to work
I park my car in the university parking lot
I park my car in the university parking lot
my desk at work
my desk at work
my students working on exercises
my students working on exercises
My students writing their answers on the board
My students writing their answers on the board
Me checking their exercises
Me checking their exercises
Students present new vocabulary to other students
Students present new vocabulary to other students
LOVE
LOVE
My studenst want me to photograph them making hearts and peace signs
My studenst want me to photograph them making hearts and peace signs
me in front with my students behind
me in front with my students behind
in the "canteen" for lunch
in the “canteen” for lunch
Mona Lisa at the canteen
Mona Lisa at the canteen
walking on the campus under covered walkways
walking on the campus under covered walkways
driving home to Nizwa after shopping at Lulu
driving home to Nizwa after shopping at Lulu
I park my car and take out the groceries
I park my car and take out the groceries
the groceries in my kitchen waiting to be unpacked
the groceries in my kitchen waiting to be unpacked
one bag of my groceries
one bag of my groceries
Coca-Cola Light ~ Arabic style
Coca-Cola Light ~ Arabic style

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weekly photo challenge: lunchtime

16 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by nomad, interrupted in Asia, Cambodia, Crete, Fira, Greece, Middle East, Nagarkot, Nepal, Oman, Phnom Penh, Phoneography Challenge, Photography Challenges, postaweek2013, Santorini, South Korea, Weekly Photo Challenge

≈ 38 Comments

Tags

Greece, Nepal, Oman, postaweek2013, South Korea, weekly photo challenge

Saturday, March 16:  The WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is lunchtime.  Michelle of WordPress writes:

Time to show us your lunchtime. This might seem like a pretty narrow task, but if you think of “lunchtime” as a theme, there are lots of places you can take it:

  • Show us what you actually had for lunch.
  • Show us what went into your lunch — a stunningly saturated pile of red radishes at the farmer’s market, or the process by which you construct the Ultimate Turkey Sandwich.
  • Show us what a mealtime is like at your house. Who’s there? What are they doing?
  • Show us a photo of someone truly enraptured by what they’re eating and capture the deep satisfaction of an enjoyable meal.
  • If you don’t have time for lunch or eat on the run, show us that.
  • Show us your favorite place to sit while you eat lunch, or your favorite place to prepare food.
  • Capture a candid photo of the guy behind the counter of your favorite greasy spoon.

This is meant to be another phoneography challenge, which I’m not at all keen on since I don’t have a camera phone.  Since I usually eat lunch at my desk at work, and since I didn’t feel like hauling my camera to work to take a boring picture of me eating lunch at my desk, I thought I would post some of my favorite lunchtimes I’ve experienced in my travels.

I’ll start with the smoked salmon, cream cheese and caper baguette I ate for lunch on Thursday at the Blue Marlin at Marina Bandar al Rowdha in Muscat.  I have to say I didn’t find the lunch all that exciting.  On the contrary, I found it totally uninspiring.  I probably wouldn’t go back to this place again to eat.

Smoked salmon baguette at the Blue Marlin

Smoked salmon baguette at the Blue Marlin

Only one time in the whole year and a half that I’ve been in Oman was I invited to an Omani’s house for lunch.  First they brought out this.

the snacks before an Omani lunch

the snacks before an Omani lunch

Those beans on the left hand bottom corner of the large tray were delicious.  So were those French fry-like things.  I ate and ate, thinking this was our lunch.  After I was fully stuffed, they brought out this.

the main course, rice and chicken and salad

the main course, rice and chicken and salad

Needless to say, I tried to eat as much as I could, but it was hard because I wasn’t hungry at all after eating all those beans.  (nakhal fort, lunch with an omani family & a wild drive up wadi mistal)

Here’s a hole-in-the wall lunchtime place, similar to many such places in Oman, that Mario and I encountered when we went exploring wadis on a rare day of flooding in Oman.

a "restaurant" on the way to Wadi Damm

a “restaurant” on the way to Wadi Damm

Here’s a “restaurant and coffee shop” (they don’t seem to believe in naming restaurants in the interior) in Ibra, where my family and I ate lunch while they were visiting Oman in January.

a typical Omani restaurant like most you will find outside of Muscat.  This one is in Ibra.

a typical Omani restaurant like most you will find outside of Muscat. This one is in Ibra.

My son Adam eats with his hands, Omani style.

My son Adam eats lunch with his hands, Omani style, in Al Hamra.

To be honest, I’m not all that crazy about Omani food or Oman’s Indian food, the only alternative outside of the capital.  I normally like Indian food, but in these types of restaurants, the menu is limited to Chicken Biriyani or Chicken Masala.  Both Omanis and Indians in this country are really fond of chicken.

Neither did I care much for Korean food when I lived in South Korea, but here is a typical Korean lunch of bibimbap I shared with my son Alex when he came to visit me in Korea.

Korean lunch of bibimbap

Korean lunch of bibimbap

Koreans have to wash a lot of dishes for breakfast, lunch or dinner

Koreans have to wash a lot of dishes for breakfast, lunch or dinner

However, in most of my travels, I adore the local cuisine.  Turkish and Greek food were my favorites, but I also loved the food in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.  Here are some pictures of my Greek lunches.

Sardines and capers in Fira, Santorini, Greece.

Sardines and caper leaves in Fira, Santorini, Greece.

Eggplant rolls in Fira, Santorini, Greece

Eggplant rolls in Fira, Santorini, Greece

Greek salad for lunch in Akrotirion, Santorini, Greece

Greek salad for lunch in Akrotirion, Santorini, Greece

Bruschetta & Greek beer in Fira, Santorini, Greece

Bruschetta with feta cheese and olives & Greek beer in Fira, Santorini, Greece

the owner of the Meteora Restaurant, who serves her customers right from the huge pots as we bring our dishes around

the owner of the Meteora Restaurant, who serves her customers right from the huge pots as we bring our dishes around

My delicious meatballs at the Meteora Restaurant in Greece

My delicious meatballs at the Meteora Restaurant in Greece

Here is a lunch I enjoyed at a riverside restaurant in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  I love this kind of food.  It seems so healthy. 🙂

Cambodian lunch of steamed fish with dipping sauces :-)  YUM!!

Cambodian lunch of steamed fish with dipping sauces 🙂 YUM!!

In Nepal, I ate a wonderful traditional Nepali lunch outdoors while enjoying a view of the Langtang range of the Himalayas.  This was my most recent special lunchtime break. 🙂

traditional Nepali food for lunch

traditional Nepali food for lunch

my view of the Langtang Range of the Himalayas during lunchtime in Nagarkot, Nepal

my view of the Langtang Range of the Himalayas during lunchtime in Nagarkot, Nepal

I love taking lunchtime breaks while traveling, but if I make the mistake of having a beer or wine with my lunch, I get really lazy in the afternoon.  I try to save wine or beer for dinnertime, but I’m not always successful. 🙂

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Heading to Spain and Portugal!!

To Barcelona & beyond! :-)June 28, 2013
To Barcelona & beyond! :-)

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Recent Posts

  • 2014 in review: wordpress sums it all up!
  • Beautiful Oman Filmed in Sizzling Indian Song “Jiya” for the Movie “Gunday”
  • 2013 in review
  • five hours at heathrow’s terminal 5
  • friday meditation: i get up in the morning. i do my best. nothing else matters.
  • our last dinner at the spicy village
  • travel theme: ripples
  • seeking the moonrise on a rocky hill in izki
  • in search of the perfect suitcase combo & dinner at shang thai
  • a sale of “stuff” & a farewell gathering
  • my itinerary for spain: here’s what i’ve got so far…
  • seeking “the essence of Muscat” on a steamy 42 degree day
  • weekly photo challenge: the sign says
  • the ruins and gardens of adam
  • cbbh photo challenge: knobs & knockers
  • caracalla dance theatre: “kan ya ma kan” at the royal opera house muscat
  • travel theme: pathways
  • weekly photo challenge: in the background
  • a stroll through al qasha on jebel akhdar & a farewell to old friends
  • friday meditation: my top ten happy memories in the sultanate
  • travel theme: the four elements
  • weekly photo challenge: escape
  • friday meditation: on choosing one memory to relive for all eternity
  • a fond farewell to the gardens of wekan
  • on preparing for spain & portugal: first steps
  • sunday post: mother’s day
  • travel theme: beaches
  • weekly photo challenge: pattern
  • getting my green fix in the gardens of misfat al abriyyen
  • weekly photo challenge: from above
  • friday meditation: flow
  • a sepia kind of day in nizwa: rain, rain, rain & a shifting weekend
  • travel theme: light
  • friday meditation: “addicted to a certain kind of sadness” ~ a playlist of bittersweet memories
  • happy birthday to sarah!
  • pay day at the lulu hypermarket in nizwa
  • Ma’a salama to my GMC Terrain {trials & tribulations of selling a car in Oman}
  • weekly photo challenge: up
  • friday meditation: a question of fate
  • CBBH photo challenge: multi-colored
  • weekly photo challenge: change
  • breakfast at the chedi
  • a trip to wadi bani kharous
  • weekly photo challenge: color
  • travel theme: pale
  • friday meditation: star-spangling our solitude
  • jebel akhdar: an afternoon of brits & roses, wine & bubbly
  • 2008 GMC Terrain for sale!
  • sunday post: entrance
  • weekly photo challenge: a day in my life

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Catbird in Oman Menu

  • home
  • About me
    • New Year’s Resolutions
    • Bucket List
    • Share Your World
    • Friday Meditation
  • Oman
    • Al-Batinah Region
    • Al-Dhahirah Region
    • Al-Dakhiliyah Region
      • Nizwa
    • Al-Wusta Region
    • Dhofar Region
    • Musandam
    • Muscat
    • Sharqiya Region
  • University of Nizwa
  • Africa
    • african meanderings {& musings}
  • Americas
    • nomad, interrupted: catbird in the united states of america
    • notes from north america
    • United States of America
      • Virginia
  • Asia
    • catbird in china
    • catbird in korea
    • catbird in kyoto
    • catbird in south asia
    • catbird in turkey
    • ride paddies and papayas
  • Europe
    • greek wanderings
    • in search of a thousand cafés
  • Middle East
    • a jaunt to jordan
    • catbird in cairo
    • United Arab Emirates
      • Abu Dhabi
  • photography
    • Sunday Post
    • Travel Theme Photo Challenge
    • Weekly Photo Challenge
    • whatever a moon has always meant
  • Fiction
    • land of make-believe

what happens when…

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Blogs I Follow

Blog of the Year 2012

Kreativ Blogger Award

Genuine Blogger Award

Ligo Circle of Appreciation

Shine On Award

Oman Blogs

  • Adventures of an American ESL Instructor Teaching at an Omani University
  • Andy in Oman
  • Angry in Oman
  • Bethany Duffield
  • Desperate Housewife in Oman
  • Dhofari Gucci
  • English Girl in Oman
  • Hallucinations of a Kitten
  • How to live like an Omani Princess
  • Hunting the Lost Insurgency: Oman
  • Matthew Heines
  • Misadventures in HR
  • Mumoftheanimals's Blog
  • Muscat Confidential
  • Muscat Jet Driver
  • Muscat Mutterings
  • Oh Man…Oman is really nice!
  • Omani Book Mania
  • Omani Cuisine
  • Rural Route Runner
  • Samir's Home
  • Secret Salalah
  • Sleepless in Salalah
  • Sultanate Social
  • Susan Al Shahri
  • The Linoleum Surfer

Oman Information

  • Albahja Cinema
  • Background Note Oman: U.S. State Department
  • Bait Muzna Gallery
  • BBC News: Oman Country Profile
  • CIA World Factbook ~ Oman
  • City Cinema Shatti
  • Destination Oman
  • Embassy of the United States – Muscat, Oman
  • Lonely Planet Oman
  • Ministry of Information: Sultanate of Oman
  • Oman Daily Observer
  • Royal Opera House Muscat
  • Sultanate of Oman Tourism
  • Sultanate of Oman: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Travel Blogs

  • Dan & Jillian's International Teaching Adventures
  • Dude Travels to Go
  • The Cool Hunter: amazing places to experience around the globe
  • The Traveling Gypsy
  • Wildcard Travels

X-terraneous Stuff

  • CIA World Factbook ~ South Korea
  • Dawn King
  • Let me bite that.
  • Life in the Bogs
  • reinventing the event horizon

my photostream on flickr

Sunny but only 20 degrees today!uploaduploaduploadTaking a walk through the neighborhood#whpsentbymailNext door to port royal post officeNext store in port royalupload
More Photos

Goodreads

Top Posts & Pages

  • "ladies tailoring" ~ killing time at al bustan roundabout & a walk around al riyam park
  • bahla: the sultan qaboos mosque, bahla fort & old bahla
  • the nizwa cemetery
  • the dilemma of the feet in oman
  • the road to jebel harim: petroglyphs, mountain views & graveyards
  • abu dhabi heritage village, the marina mall and marina

InterNations

Weekly Photo Challenge

PostaWeek2012

share your world

a-z photo challenge

52 Pick Up

Sunday Post

Six Word Saturday

No Comfort Zone Challenge

I pledge to read the Printed Word

things i write about

"Happiness" 52 Pick Up 2012 A-Z Photo Challenge Abu Dhabi Abu Nooh Building Africa Akrotírion Al-Areesh Camp Al-Batinah Region Al-Dakhiliyah Region Al-Dhahirah Region Al Aqr Al Ayn Al Hamra Al Musanaah Americas Asia As Sifah Beach Athens Bahla Balad Sayt Birkat Al Mouz Cambodia Cappadocia Crete Daegu Ethiopia Europe Falaj Daris Hotel Family Foundation Institute Friday Meditation Geoje-si GMC Terrain Greece India Intercontinental Hotel Jakesprinter Japan Jebel Akhdar Jebel Shams Jordan Kyoto Lake Langano Lalibela Life Matthieu Ricard Middle East misfat al abriyyin Musandam Muscat Muttrah Muttrah Souq Nakhal Fort Nepal Nizwa Nizwa souq Oia Oman Oman Dive Center Phnom Penh Photography Challenges Pokhara postaweek2012 postaweek2013 Rethymno Royal Opera House Sahab Hotel Saiq Plateau Salalah Santorini Seoul Share Your World Sharqiya Region Sharqiya Sands Six Word Saturday South Korea Spirituality Suncheon Bay Sunday Post Travel Travel Theme Photo Challenge Turkey United Arab Emirates United States of America University of Nizwa Virginia Wadi Bani Awf Wadi Bani Habib Wadi Bani Khalid Wadi Damm Wadi MIstal Wadi Muaydin Wadi Shab Wadi Tiwi Wednesday Song Title Interpretation Weekly Photo Challenge Wekan Western Hajar Mountains

oh say can you see?

Free counters!

Tag Cloud

#capturethecolour 7 Super Shots 52 Pick Up @travelsupermkt a-z photo challenge Abu Dhabi Al Amerat Architecture Art Balad Sayt Birthdays Blogging books Bucket List CBBH Photo Challenge Christmas Daydream Saturdays DPchallenge Egypt Empty Quarter Ethiopia GMC Terrain Greece Hyundai Sonata Ibri InterNations Japan Jebel Akhdar Jebel Shams karma's photography scavenger hunt Life middle east Misfat Al Abriyyin Muscat Nepal Nizwa Nizwa Souq No Comfort Zone Challenge Oman Omar Khairat Optimism Pessimism Phoneography Challenge Picture the World! postaweek2012 postaweek2013 Roses Royal Opera House Royal Opera House Muscat Saiq Plateau Salalah share your world Shine On Award Six Word Saturday South Korea Spain Spirituality Story Challenge Sunday Post Tibet Travel travel theme Turkey United Arab Emirates United States of America University of Nizwa Wadi Bani Awf Wadi Tiwi Wedding wednesday song title interpretation weekly photo challenge Western Hajar Mountains Wordpress WPLongform wwwp5k

Blogs I Follow

  • Fairfax County Emergency Information
  • ~ wander.essence ~
  • Living in Paradise...
  • SterVens' Tales
  • PIRAN CAFÉ
  • Word Wabbit
  • Cardinal Guzman
  • Pit's Fritztown News
  • Fumbling Through Italy
  • Empty Nesters on a Green Global Trek
  • snowtoseas
  • Cornwall in Colours
  • Slovenian Girl Abroad
  • Let Me Bite That
  • Running Stories by Jerry Lewis
  • Finding NYC
  • The World according to Dina
  • Cornwall Photographic
  • snippetsandsnaps
  • SITTING PRETTY

Administrative Stuff…

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Categories

Blog at WordPress.com.

Fairfax County Emergency Information

Official Fairfax County Government Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery Website

~ wander.essence ~

where travel meets art

Living in Paradise...

SterVens' Tales

~~~In Case You Didn't Know, I Talk 2 Myself~~~

PIRAN CAFÉ

Word Wabbit

Wrestless Word Wrestler

Cardinal Guzman

Encyclopedia Miscellaneous - 'quality' blogging since August 2011

Pit's Fritztown News

A German Expat's Life in Fredericksburg/Texas

Fumbling Through Italy

Empty Nesters on a Green Global Trek

snowtoseas

Cornwall in Colours

inspired by the colours of the land, sea and sky of Cornwall

Slovenian Girl Abroad

A blog about travel adventures written by an Slovenian girl living in Switzerland

Let Me Bite That

Can I have a bite?

Running Stories by Jerry Lewis

Personal blog about running adventures

Finding NYC

exploring New York City one adventure at a time

The World according to Dina

Notes on Seeing, Reading & Writing, Living & Loving in The North

Cornwall Photographic

snippetsandsnaps

Potato Point and beyond

SITTING PRETTY

Fairfax County Emergency Information

Official Fairfax County Government Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery Website

~ wander.essence ~

where travel meets art

Living in Paradise...

SterVens' Tales

~~~In Case You Didn't Know, I Talk 2 Myself~~~

PIRAN CAFÉ

Word Wabbit

Wrestless Word Wrestler

Cardinal Guzman

Encyclopedia Miscellaneous - 'quality' blogging since August 2011

Pit's Fritztown News

A German Expat's Life in Fredericksburg/Texas

Fumbling Through Italy

Empty Nesters on a Green Global Trek

snowtoseas

Cornwall in Colours

inspired by the colours of the land, sea and sky of Cornwall

Slovenian Girl Abroad

A blog about travel adventures written by an Slovenian girl living in Switzerland

Let Me Bite That

Can I have a bite?

Running Stories by Jerry Lewis

Personal blog about running adventures

Finding NYC

exploring New York City one adventure at a time

The World according to Dina

Notes on Seeing, Reading & Writing, Living & Loving in The North

Cornwall Photographic

snippetsandsnaps

Potato Point and beyond

SITTING PRETTY

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