Jebel Shams, and back to Muscat

After leaving Nizwa, we drove to Misfat Al Abyreen, a mountain village located 1000m above sea level and recognised by UNWTO as one of the world’s best tourism villages for its preservation of Omani culture. First, we had lunch at Ali’s house and met most of his six sons, but not his wife who had prepared our deliciousness. (Hmmm! What’s up with that?) The first pix of the village are from his house, and the picture of the house is his – both looking across the valley…

We took a walk through Misfat Al Abyreen, appreciating it’s irrigation system and historic buildings. The tour concluded at Ali’s shop which specializes in the various honeys of the area, but includes a variety of local products. Note the Omani bee hives inside sections of old date palm trunks. The spoons represent each different flavor of honey (or date syrup) – the winner: cedar!

We continued our drive to Jebel Shams, the highest mountain in Oman (featuring a military installation on top), near Wadi Ghul and adjacent to a deep valley known as the Grand Canyon of Oman. First, we checked into our hotel, another nature resort constructed primarily of local rocks. Then, we drove up to a view point to take in the views of the canyon, then to another spot to watch the sun set…

The next morning, after a cold night in our stone rooms, we drove back to the trailhead for the balcony walk which we only did part of, but enjoyed the goats and vultures…

A couple panos of my hiking companions, our guide Said, and Mike from England…

…a bit more of the balcony walk in the Grand Canyon of Oman…

We popped back to the hotel to freshen up, and fetch our fellow travelers who didn’t hike, and set off again on a precipitous dirt road making necessary use of four-wheel-drive…

We checked out Wadi Bani Awf, the Snake Gorge, and Bilad Sait, a remote fortress village in the heart of the mountains, lush with palm trees and irrigated farm patches. We had a picnic lunch again at a mostly lovely wadi – which seemed to have some ancient (or not) rock pictures…

The drive was spectacular, and at times, quite precarious. Time lapses lapsed due to the bumpy roads. Said and I had a great conversation about religion in general and Islam in particular. This is only a brief snippet…

Eventually, we made it back to the same hotel we started at, and had our farewell dinner at the same restaurant where we began. This time, instead of the comprehensive Omani cuisine sampler, I had a camel burger with cheese. Afterwards, we popped into the Crown Plaza before hitting the sack. The next morning, with some rare leisure time, I walked down to the “secret beach” and jumped in the ocean.

(This batch concludes with a couple random shots – the smallest bathroom sink I’ve ever seen, and a warning sign on an electrical facility.)

I’m writing his in the Oman Airport after a delightful ride with another fun taxi driver who told me about his career as a police officer, his huge family, and his take on US politics (we agreed!). Ya gotta love the wonderful people of the Sultanate of Oman! Want more: the History of Oman?