MAR-14 & 15: Oman - Inland Trip

After a day at sea the ship docked in Muscat, Oman about 0730.  

The proximity and high of the mountains was a bit of a surprise.  The highest peak in the range is approximately 9,000 feet above sea level.  

Due to limited space at the overnight destination, there were only twelve people on the tour.  With four vehicles to transport us, there was a comfortable amount of room.  Given the number of hours we would be in the vehicles, this was fortunate.

Only one other person from in inland India tour was on this trip, so the three of us rode together.  We were lucky.  In our car were the guide and the lead driver.  Both spoke good English (see Notes in Tour Description) and we were always the first vehicle, a particularly nice position to be in during miles of travel on dusty dirt roads. 

TOUR DESCRIPTION

Day 1:  Leave the port of Mina Qaboos to drive to the village of Nakhl, where you will visit the fort that once served the imams of Bani Kharous and the Ya'arubah Dynasty. It has been furnished with traditional furniture and handicrafts. Continue to Wadi Bani Auf, where the road runs through a narrow canyon that forms the bed of a mountain stream. You will find water behind the mountains of Jebel Sham and visit the beautiful mountain village of Bilad Sait. From there, head to Sherfath Al Ayman, 6,500 feet above the sea level for a view of Oman’s "Grand Canyon." Enjoy a picnic lunch here before driving through date plantations to visit the Jabreen Castle and overnighting at the View Camp. Dinner is served at the camp.

Day 2:  Enjoy a buffet breakfast at the camp; then drive to the foothills of the Jebel Akhdar mountain range. Your first stop is at the Nizwa souq (market) famed for its antiques and silver jewelry. Take advantage of a brief photo stop at the Round Tower Fort before proceeding to Wadi Al Madeen. From here, a 20-mile stretch of winding road leads to Jebel Akhdar (6,500 feet above sea level)—the green jewel of the Al Hajjar mountain range. This is an altogether unique spot on the Arabian Peninsula. Akar village boasts a stunning view of the spectacular landscape of dramatic peaks, gorges and wadis. Lunch is served at a local restaurant; then you’ll head to the pretty village of Birkat Al Mauz. Enjoy a walk through the green date plantations. You’ll arrive in Muscat this evening and re-board the ship.

Notes:  This excursion involves a bumpy ride in a safari-style vehicle. Although a guide will accompany the group, your driver will provide narration when you are in the vehicle.

TOUR EXPERIENCE

It was apparent within the first few miles of our drive that Muscat was a clean, modern city.  In fact, everything appeared to be new.  We learned from our guide that when the current sultan assumed power in 1970, he committed the country to a program of modernization funded by oil exports.  Development of infra-structure to improve the quality of life of Omanis was not restricted to urban centers.  During the course of our tour we found it in remote places where the cost per consumer of installing it must have been huge.  The result 43 years later is truly impressive.  It is understandable why the people of Oman revere the sultan.  

From Muscat we worked our way west toward Nazwa where we would spend the night. 

Our first stop was Nakhal Fort.

In the next picture you will see a pyramid-shaped furnishing.  Scarves were placed over it.  Frankincense was burned under it, scenting the scarves.  Frankincense was and remains an integral part of Omani culture.  For those readers who had the gifts of the Three Wise Men pop into mind, at that period in time Frankincense was of equal value with gold.  This is no longer true.  It is inexpensive and sold at shops throughout Oman.  

It is considered a grave insult to show the bottom of one’s foot in public.  Our guide demonstrated the proper way to sit with the right foot tucked under you and the left foot flat on the floor.  With some practice, you can sit into and arise from this position without showing the sole of either foot.

This fort is one of numerous forts, castles and other attractions around the country that has been restored as part of a master plan to expand tourism. Some of the exhibits still needed a little work.

Our first mountain ascent was on a one lane dirt road necessitating a four-wheel drive vehicle and a skilled driver.  We learned our driver had participated in numerous road rallies.

Meeting a truck with an unskilled driver descending the mountain on the narrow road posed a problem that took a few minutes to resolve.  According to our driver, it was important to keep looking at turns in the road above/below you to know if a vehicle was coming and look for a place to pass it.  

Climbing towards to the top, our vehicle became covered with dust.  Based on a comment our guide had made earlier, we teased our driver about getting it washed quickly.  In Oman, a driver can be fined for having a dirty car.  This does not reflect draconian rule, but rather civil pride. 

Near the summit, we stopped for a boxed lunch.  Within minutes, we had company – first one but soon several. 

We were obviously not the first tour group to pick this location.  While persistent, the goats were not aggressive except with each other.  There was some disagreement on sharing.

Back in the vehicles, dust flying, we reached the summit where we found ourselves suddenly on an excellent, modern road.  Our descent down the other side of the mountain was not as much fun, but it was a lot smoother and quicker.  The comparison to the Grand Canyon was understandable.

Back down at about 2,200 feet above sea level, we drove to Jabreen Castle.  The castle had slits cut above some doorways through which scalding hot date oil was poured on unwelcome guests.  Guests who were welcome would have admired the painted ceilings.

Our first day of touring completed, we drove to View Lodge which is situated on the side of a mountain at an elevation of about 4,400 feet looking down on Nazwa.  We slept in tents.  While technically this is a true statement because the structure was in fact fabric, I do not remember any camping trips where my tent had a queen-sized bed, heater, air conditioning, electric lights and a bathroom complete with shower and flush toilet.  And the view was pretty good.

The next morning we were off to an early start to see the souq and livestock auction.  The souq is a combination of farmers’ market and permanent shops.  Friday and Saturday are the equivalent of Saturday and Sunday in the United States.  Today being Friday, the souq would be busier than usual until about 1030 when the farmers’ market would close and the livestock auction end.

We first went to the livestock auction.  Goats and cows were the two types of animal being sold.  People with animals to sell take turns walking a circular corridor made up of buyers and spectators.  If a buyer is interested in an animal he calls the seller over and they try to negotiate a deal.  

The souq was divided into sections.  Produce could be found in one section, spices in another, crafts in a third and so on. 

There was even a section for guns.  We saw a number of rifles.  The low-caliber of the predominantly bolt-action rifles indicated they were not combat weapons or for hunting large animals.  Our guide said that on ceremonial occasions rifles were part of the traditional uniform.  We had the feeling the guide was leaving something out but were not sure what it might be.  A rifle and a dagger are both included in examples we saw of the traditional ‘costume’ but a scoped .223 seemed a bit much.

In general we found the souq interesting, the only detractor being that except for a small section all the structures were new so it was harder to envision that the trading, haggling and bargaining we saw taking place was a process essentially unchanged in a thousand years.

Leaving the souq, we crossed the street the Nazwa Fort.

Returning to our vehicles, we were off on an amazingly good road, climbing to a height of approximately 7,000 feet.  There we visited a small “typical” village.    The fact that there was a big sign at the road leading into the village admonishing visitors about behavior suggested that strangers to the village were common…and ignored.  

The buildings were constructed in the traditional way using mud, straw, stones and wood, and sometimes a non-traditional rusty 55-gallon drum to shore-up a sagging window arch.

Climbing up the short, steep road from the village to our vehicles the effort required was a reminder that we were more than a mile above sea level.

We drove a short distance for lunch at a nice restaurant where we could look back at the village.  In the first picture below, note the terracing below the village.  By any standard, growing crops there is tough work.

The last stop on the tour, described as a “walk through the green date plantation” was in reality a drive up a steep, man-made hill with a cellphone tower on it to look down on the date plantation.  No one objected.  I think we had all thoroughly enjoyed the tour but were looking forward to putting the drive back to Muscat and ROTTERDAM behind us.

Back aboard ROTTERDAM, we relaxed watching local boats go by and waiting for the ship to depart.  

With the sun setting, ROTTERDAM backed away from the pier.  We admired the Sultan’s six deck yacht.

Friday being a holiday in Oman, a lot of traffic was returning to the city -the first time in Oman we saw anything resembling a traffic jam.

Ruling out ‘a space ship from another planet’, can you guess what this might be?  Here’s a wider shot of it.  It turns different colors.

On the off chance you have not already identified it, it is a huge frankincense burner that can waft the scent of frankincense over much of Muscat.

At the mouth of the harbor we passed the sultan’s palace with a fort either side of it.

We settled down for a quiet evening and a sea day tomorrow.

FOOTNOTE:  If you have noticed that there were virtually no pictures of women in this posting it was intentional.  Not even taking pictures of women except in some crowd scenes was intentional.  In some places our guide told us not to take any without express permission for the woman.  In other places our guide was more succinct – “Don’t”.  I never saw a potential picture so good that it made me want to attempt asking permission.