Oman Recap: Ithnaan

The Nizwa tourist bazaar was closed (Eid can be a bit troublesome for tourists), but most of the stuff is left out overnight so we could get an idea of what there was to buy.  

Posing in front of Bahla Fort.  This was as close as we could get to the inside due to Eid (did I mention Eid can be annoying?).

One of the cool things about Eid Mubarak is that everyone is busy buying up animals to sacrifice and pass around the neighborhood.  Lots of terrified creatures in the back of trucks.

A hot spring in Rustaq.  The water was painfully hot, but not as smelly as I expected (I could only think of the hot springs we used to visit as kids in Thermopolis, Wyoming).  There were men's shower stalls next door, but Tammy was not happy when we couldn't find the women's stalls (she assumed this was another time when women were completely left out of the fun).  After a 1/2 mile drive downstream we found the female bathing stalls, but the idea of splashing around in all of the removed dirt coming from upstream wasn't too appealing, so we headed to our next spot...

These are the views of/from Nakhal Fort.  This place is ridiculously gorgeous.  If I lived nearby I would come up here all the time at sunset to look out over the date fields.  This was a great way to reflect on our last night in the country and think about all the amazing things we had seen during our brief trip in Oman.  

Getting ready to return the car, but first a quick stop by the Sultan Qaboos Mosque.  This place is big.  Our Mitsubishi doesn't look that bad for having just rocked 1000 miles in a few days around the desert, coastline, and mountains.  

Oman Recap : Wahad

It's been awhile, but I'm home sick today (not homesick, well maybe a little, but the Sri Lanka family reunion is only 5 weeks away) and I finally have the time to post the pictures from Oman.  I hope that this doesn't feel like a photodump, but there is just too much to share from our amazing holiday.  Here goes...

Night stroll down the bazaar in Muscat.  Love the neon.  

One of the many mosques in Muscat.  The bright colors remind me of a Dravidian Hindu temple.

Muscat is a laid-back town.  Not quite a beachy atmosphere, but quiet and plenty of places to sit and enjoy the view.  Tammy is sketching one of the main Portugese fortresses that still stands guard in Muscat.  And the interesting tribal niqab that some women near the Yemeni border down South still wear.

Beit al-Afreet (House of the Demon).  This massive sinkhole is about 100 feet deep and massive.  It sits about a mile inland from the shore in between Sur and Muscat and is a must-see if you are driving that way.  When we were there a young tourist did a gainer off the top, while we all tried to remember first-aid techniques.  

Our beautiful Mitsubishi posing in front of a castle in Sur.

A failed attempt at pitching a tiny A-frame in the rock-hard dirt near Ras al-Jinz Turtle Area.  Tammy barely managed a smile for the camera...

Who needs an A-frame?  We parked opposite a fishing lagoon in Ras al-Hadd and woke up to a beautiful sunset and plenty of classic dhows moored in front of us.  

A wild camel.  If only I had read the article about the health benefits of consuming camel urine one month earlier...

The entrance into Wadi Shab.  

The water is even more beautiful than it looks here.

Unlike our current residence in the Middle East, there is tons of wildlife to be spotted in Oman. 

A view out from one of the many cliffs at Wadi Shab.

Here I am contemplating a big leap...