Visiting Oman (and III): Sur and Wadi Shab

After hitting the mountains, I decided to have a rest at Sur, a nice coastal town, where I stayed with a wonderful Tunisian family which I met in Couchsurfing, a web I didn’t use since 2016 when I went to South Korea. Maybe there were not many activities during these days, but I really enjoyed with my hosts, talking, playing guitar and celebrating New Year Eve.

One of the most famous thing in Sur is the traditional shipyard industry, There is a small museum, near to the suspension bridge in Al Ayjah area, where you can see how they build the ships, called dhows. These boats have been used during centuries for both freight transport and fishing, and they have being built till now.

Crossing the above mentioned bridge it is possible to access to the oldest and most picturesque part of the city. It is here where you can fin the lighthouse, one of the most iconic places in Sur. But, if you want to enjoy the best views, you need to go up to the Al Ayjah tower, where you can observe entirely this are which, in somehow, reminded of Cadiz, a lovely town in the South of Spain.

From Sur it is possible to plan excursions towards other interesting spots. A very recommendable place is Wadi Shab, only a 45 minutes drive. It is one of the wadi (Arabic Word which can be translated as “valley” or “canyon” in English) most fascinating in Oman and one of the best places I visited during my whole trip. The whole route can take about two hours, although the usual thing is staying longer, especially in the ponds of blue turquoise water, where you can enjoy a nice bath. Till this part, there is a relatively easy trail between the cliffs, through narrow paths and rocks which, in some parts can be a bit slippery, so you should bring appropriate shoes. 

After leaving Sur, I came back Muscat where I spent my last days together with my friendo Arturas and his family, talking about the trip and how was life in Oman for them. According what I heard, I think they looked quite comfortable and they didn’t feel like yet to return to the cold Lithuania. Actually I would like to live for some time there but, for better or for worse, I am again here in Kuwait which, in spite of adapting to some annoyances, I don’t see as a suitable place for living. Anyway, the return was not so traumatic and it was easy to get used again to the usual life. However, I would lie if I say I didn’t sigh every time I ended a post about Oman during this last month. I will come back whenever I can.

Visiting Oman (II): Nizwa and surroundings

After visiting Muscat and leaving to Nizwa, a inland town located between spectacular mountains, the so needed in every trip adventure part began to happen. I stayed here for four days, when the most of anecdotes and curious moments took place.

I left the apartment where I stayed very keen to explore and discover with more light the streets and buildings I passed the night before, when I arrived. It was very nice to enjoy again the countryside atmosphere, with people moving around by bicycles, without traffic or annoying horns. I was also surrounded by mountain landscapes, very convenient for a walk. But the trekking had to wait one more day since I decided to go to Bahla before, half an hour distance by car, famous place because its splendid fort, UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the way there I made friendship with the taxi driver, Ahmed, a guy who proposed me to take me to the mountains when he would be free, something that I couldn’t reject.

Returning to Nizwa was a bit more complicated because I couldn’t find any taxi and in that moment I really realized that in Oman you need to rent a car if you want to move easily around. Even so, finally I found a very kind man who offered to drive me to Nizwa. That wouldn’t be the only time that something like that happened to me in this trip.

Once in my destination, I enjoyed the last daylight hours to walk by the souk, with a lot of pottery, and the fort, the oldest in Oman. It is a beautiful place, containing ancient objects and texts and a tower that offers an amazing view of the city and surroundings. A very recommendable place in spite of most of it has been restored many times and there are almost no remains of the original structure.

Stalls in the souq

The following day, I went to another nearby town, this time Misfat al Abryeen, a picturesque village surrounded by terraces full of vegetation, where the famous falaj, a traditional irrigation system, also World Heritage, twist around. This method of irrigation is the same than the ditches built by the Arabs in the Iberian Peninsula, which took the Roman aqueducts as inspiration. 

Out of the village there are several trekking routes where you can walk between canyons. I found a very good one but I couldn’t complete it because I wanted to be back before sunset. There are only two places to stay in Misfat, and the two were completed, so I decided to walk downhill towards Al Hamra, the neighboring town. In the way, two persons who carried chickens, stopped and invited me to go in the driver’s cabin. They barely spoke English but I could make them understand I needed find a hotel. I found a place but they also didn’t have empty rooms but the owner, very kind, had a friend who had a friend who just opened a kind of guest house two days ago. That night, in a empty house, all for me, I became the first guest in that, I hope, future prosperous business.

I was already inside of a dynamic of unexpected and surrealistic situations, so I didn’t mind to go with Ahmed, the taxi driver, to explore the Jebel Akhdar mountains, in a old 4X4 with Arab music playing loudly. Beyond the place, where the most impressive spot is the abandoned town of Birkat al Mouz, it was very interesting to chat with my improvised guide, a boy with a very traditional and conservative mind, about different social and cultural topics. For me it was a kind of shock when I listened how he explained me how his uncle could manage his two wives, or how he saw completely normal that women in his town rarely go out and were almost completely covered (some of them even don’t show their eyes). I started to think about how the culturalization processes impact people’s attitudes and I could imagine how could be this guy’s reaction if I would talk about certain questions concerning the sexuality and social rights which in Spain are perceived as legitimate and completely acceptable. I didn’t dare actually to start a debate since, for some reason, I knew it was going to be difficult to make him understand my opinion (and, well, I didn’t want to be abandoned right there in the mountain).

When one is in the capital, it is relatively easy to arrive anywhere or get whatever you want, something that it is not always possible, as I could realize, in rural areas. But, what could mean an annoyance, it is actually an important part of the essence of traveling and this can be, maybe, what I will remember better in my future. It is true that, as I said, Oman is not the best country for backpackers, but finally it is possible to arrive to any place with determination, confidence and also, of course, a bit of luck.

Visiting Oman (I): Muscat

I start here the chronicle of the last trip to Oman talking about the place where almost all international flights arrive, which is its capital, Muscat. The former Portuguese colony (and for some year, Spanish too) and one of the main ports in the commercial routes in sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, preserves a big part of its essence and historic legacy, and it didn’t allow the heedless urbanization to take place, not as in other cities in Persian Gulf. This makes it a city with charm and many conditions of habitability in spite of the heat and humidity during summer time.

My first two nights in Oman I stayed in an apartment very close to the main monument in Muscat: the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, the most important of the country and the third in the world rank in terms of size. Its construction ended in 2001 and it was a present from the governor of the country, still ruling it after 47 years, to Omani people. The entire complex impresses already before entering, viewing the huge dome and the minarets from faraway. Once inside it is an amazing place, a real architectonic jewel in which you can spend hours admiring every detail.

After removing my shoes, I entered the prayer room where a huge 14 meters in height chandelier (the biggest in the World) hangs in the middle. Another jewel which can be also among the Guiness Records is the Persian carpet covering the floor of the hall, which offers a capacity of 20000 persons. Following towards the end of the room, we can find a beautifully adorned mihrab, the holiest place in the complex, whose decoration is based on geometrical figures and Koranic verses. As an interesting fact about Islam in Oman, here the main branch is not the Sunni or Shia, but Ibadi, which makes that this country keeps a neutral position regarding to the conflicts in other nations in the Arabic World.

Still delighted alter visiting the Grand Mosque, I went to Qrum park, the most visited by the locals and the main green lung of the city. It is a nice place to go for a walk and picnic, although I realized that some parts, like the lake, are a bit abandoned and they need a revision. Before meeting my friend Arturas, I walk down to the beach area where I could enjoy one of the most spectacular sunsets I saw lately. Not bad for the first day.

The second day in Muscat, the one before Christmas, I spend it entirely in Matrah district, where you can find the port, the souk, the Corniche walk near the seaside and other interesting places, such as some forts and museums. It is an area where you can spend easily the whole day, with concrete nice corners where you can sit and simply observe, listen and, in essence, feel everything happening around. About the souk, it is highly recommended and there you can get interesting goods beyond the kummar (the typical Omani hat), always bargaining, of course.

If you continue walking along the coast, further than Corniche area, passing Riyam park, you can reach one part with many governmental buildings, such as the Al Alam palace, used by the Sultan for official ceremonies. Around it there are some ministries, a couple of forts where the entrance is not allowed, and the National Museum.  

Al Alam palace entrance

As I said, I got a very good impression from Muscat and, according my friend, it is a good place to live beyond the touristic attractions. But, what I was actually looking for was the mountains and rural areas, something I would find leaving the capital, in Nizwa and surroundings. I will talk about this area in the next post.

Back from Eden

Happy New Year to everyone! So, I am in Kuwait again, coming back from a dreamlike land. These twelve last days passed so quickly in Oman, a country full of fascinating places to visit, where I hope to come back again in the future with a bit more of time.

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, in Muscat

There are many reasons to choose Oman as a holidays destination but the main one for me was the amount of natural spaces where I could do what I am always searching for when I travel, do hiking. There are a lot of trekking routes through incredible rock formations, never-ending beaches, valleys and palm groves, passing old citadels and small villages where you can still breathe the essence of this land. It is actually all I can’t find in Kuwait, what made me experience this trip with more enthusiasm than ever.

View of a valley in Jebel Akhdar

I also enjoyed the friendliness and kindness of local people. Most of them are usually very traditional persons, but open to discover different cultures and points of view. According my friend who I visited, Arturas, who has been in Oman longer, Omani people show, in general, a big respect to foreigners, both workers and tourists. I could notice this these days; very nice people in Oman.

Fishermen in the beach of Sur

If I have to say something negative about the trip in Oman, I just realized that this is not a country for backpackers, since it is not easy to move around. I mean, most of tourists here go everywhere with their rented cars and they normally come with family or in a group. I had the feeling I was the only one walking around carrying a backpack. But, it is not impossible to travel as I did although more time is required. I have been using public buses, shared taxis and spontaneous drivers who stopped to take me to my destination. Anyway, next time I will organize it better and I will get some vehicle as should be.

I also include this tiny boat as an “alternative” vehicle

This is just a short summary of my feelings after the trip. In the next posts I will be describing with more details the places I visited and telling some stories. I hope this can help to those who are planning to travel to this paradise on earth. I would like actually to repeat it.