Racing around any continent, country or city is not ideal; it rarely provides any genuine travel experience. In this case it really was a race however as part of a treasure hunt organised by Oman Air, which was another experience altogether.
Entrance to the Grand Mosque
Whilst there was little opportunity to really explore during the whistle stop tour, we still managed to visit some amazing places and witness a beautiful country.
Meeting people is also a large part of enjoying a destination, having the chance to discover the country through them is a travel highlight. Although time did not really allow this it soon became evident from the little interaction that was possible that they are a warm, friendly and welcoming nation.
Answering the call to prayer
Despite the limited time available at each location only providing a fleeting glimpse of Omani life the trip did demonstrate the diversity of landscape and terrains.
“envisage the roar of past battles”
The bustling capital Muscat of Oman acted as the ‘start line’ with visits to the Grand Mosque, impressive opera house, palaces, museums and the important souk at Muttrah. It is almost certainly where most tourists visit. They were equally as intrigued as the locals by our rushing through most of the attractions with a camera team in tow.
Cannon eye view of Nizwa
Visiting one of Oman’s oldest cities Nizwa and the nearby villages was one of my favourite days. The city has a lovely old fort which dates back to the 17th century providing great views of the city, surrounded by date palms and distant hills. It still has the cannons in place and an active imagination can be envisage the roar of past battles. The air filled with smoke from the fort armoury, the heady, caustic smell of gunpowder hanging in the air and whistles from the awesome destructive cannonballs creating terror and mayhem within the ranks of the enemy.
The souk is one of Oman’s most important. Particularly famous for artisan produced goods and the products farmed from the fertile land in which the city lies. We were informed by some locals that there is a livestock market on Friday mornings, which was very useful on Wednesday!
Pottery on display in Nizwa
Seeking clues in the authentic village of Misfat, amongst its narrow, steep and stepped streets with an ancient irrigation system known as a falaj was possibly where everybody wanted to linger most. It is a lovely village, the houses almost having a troglodyte appearance but before long the impressive rock formations of Al Hoot Cave had me catching my breath. The lion’s head is a remarkably apt name as it is hard to imagine it as anything else.
Washtime in Misfat falaj
The Lion’s head rock formation Al Hoot Cave
“It may not make the indie top ten”
Nights spent in the mountains at Jabal Al Akhdar and in the desert provided stunning views of majestic dunes with some of the most fantastic sunrises and sunsets I have ever witnessed. Our Bedouin desert dinner consisted of lamb slow cooked for two days in the sand and was accompanied by traditional music, dancing and singing. It may not make the indie top ten but it was still cool entertainment.
Experiencing real dunes at last
The coastal town of Sur was the next stop, although stop is hardly accurate. Yet another place that would be great to explore with a small lighthouse, and a boatyard building traditional dhows.
Sunset over Jabal al Akhdar
Having to leave Sur so quickly was a little disappointing, however arriving at the stunning entrance to Wadi Shab more than made amends for the fleeting visit. It was high tide so a ferry ride to the far side was required before hiking a little further into the chasm. Steep cave pocked walls and emerald green pools, palm trees forming oases amongst the rock strewn landscape. This seemed the perfect spot to hang a hammock, sip on pre-mixed mojitos and spend a night, obviously this did not happen though!
Wadi Shab
To reach the ‘finish line’ required a flight to Salalah which is located in the southern Dhofar region of the country. It is an entirely different environment and climate than the north. It is very green here and there are miles of rugged coastline, with a string of sandy bays. It is also Oman’s second largest city much of which still remains to be explored by the hunt participants. There are several archaeological sites and a Frankincense museum suitable for a country famed as the ‘home’ of the incense.
Entrance to Wadi Shab
“Beauty has an address”
Oman Air had invited some of us to remain a couple of additional days and being able to visit the Muscat Festival and the nearby fishing town of Seeb at leisure was the perfect end to the trip. Being able to explore and meet some of the local people left me smiling all the way through the flight home.
The airport road Salalah
The Sultanate has the slogan; “Beauty has an address” as part of its new advertising campaign. Even with the fleeting glimpse which we were afforded it is easy to fall in love with Oman and a return to properly explore will hopefully be possible soon.
Omani hilltop forts
Whilst I was a grateful guest of Oman Air and the sultanates Ministry of Tourism there was not sufficent time for them to influence my thoughts therefore all opinions as always are my own.
Fantastic Photos! I especially like the Lion’s Head rock formation. Oman isn’t a place I know much about, and you’ve definitely left me intrigued.
Angela recently posted..A Day in the Life of a Traveler in Prague
Thank you Angela, I hope you make it to Oman soon and you find out for yourself how special it is.
Hi Iain,
I hope your going well.
I was looking again for news about our crazy trip together in oman, but can’t find anything, except old stocks…
Do you have any news from Oman air or any TV crew accomaning us during the trip ?
Do you know if they use the stock-shots to make a TV show or don’t know what….?
Let me know please and tell me too if you cross through France during your crazy life….
Congratulation for your pictures. The one f you I took….hem… you wont like to see it I think, cause when you’re drunk it’something…!
The warmest
Patrick
Hi Patrick great to hear from you. Thank you for the photos comment and replied to your Oman query via email. I was actually in Poitiers, Cognac and Aix in the Poitou-Charentes region just two weeks ago.
These are beautiful pictures…
Siddhartha Joshi recently posted..the sky above…wait and so much beautiful concrete!
The photo of the dune is my favorite! I’m a sucker for desert landscapes.
Camels & Chocolate recently posted..Best of Photo Fridays
Cool name for a site and really pleased you liked the dune image.
I’m lucky enough to travel to Oman fairly regularly on business and really love the place. The landscape can be pretty spectacular, but the thing I love most is the people. It’s a wonderfully friendly, relaxed and hospitable nation! It’s a country deserving of much more tourist traffic.
Alan Gandy recently posted..Radio interview with Sandy B
You are indeed lucky Alan and I totally agree about the people, it is my next planned post.
Salalah, Oman is one of my all-time favorite places in the world. It’s soo exotic and peaceful. I love Muscat too and Nizwa was fantastic, although it was about 40 degrees while I was walking around there at high noon. I’ll be blogging about Salalah very soon!
Sabina recently posted..Luxor’s Coolest Sight – The Avenue of the Sphinxes
This is my second visit to Salalah Sabina, it was a little rushed this time, ok very rushed but it was still a great experience. Definitely cooler when we visited.
it sounds as if it was a worthwhile trip – I wish you also went back with the prize though
It was a great experience really enjoyed it thank you
February 18th I don’t go on many press trips, in part because I live in the U.S. and write only about Europe. It slimpy isn’t practical (or pleasant) to fly to Europe for a typical long-weekend trip. Even a trip of a week or 10 days needs to be unusually interesting if the destination involves a two- or three-leg airline trip of 15 hours or more.Still, I think group press trips can be useful, and I’ve done quite a few DMO-sponsored trips to some of our site’s featured destinations like Germany and Switzerland. For me, a group press trip is like a chef’s tasting menu that may inspire future trips on my own or with my wife. I also get to see places that I might not get around to visiting otherwise (e.g., out-of-the-way, low-profile towns or places that are difficult to reach without renting a car and driving, which I’m seldom in a mood to do).As for the Oman trip, it wasn’t a press trip according to the accepted meaning of that term, and it obviously shouldn’t have been advertised as such. With luck, the Oman Air folks will plan things more thoroughly before handing out invitations in the future, and there won’t be any need to journalists to feel they they’ve been tricked into being unwitting (and unpaid) participants in a TV reality show.This incident does bring up an interesting point, though: Journalists may feel quite legitimately that a press trip is about gathering information, not about participating in a broadcast stunt (Oman’s treasure hunt ), supplying content for a host’s Web site (a recent Wales trip), or tweeting for a host’s social media campaign. Bloggers, especially those who regard blogs as social media (or who view a sponsored trip as payment in kind, as opposed to business travel), may have a different perspective. DMOs and travel vendors need to be careful in distinguishing between promotional trips and press trips when making announcements or sending out invitations. There’s nothing inherently wrong with a promotional trip or media event, but a writer who thinks he’s been invited on a trip to gather information for his own articles won’t be happy if he finds out that his actual role is to be a participant in SURVIVOR XXI: Bloggers in Borneo.
Wow, these photos are incredible. Oman is on my dream destinations list. For now, I’ll have to experience it vicariously through photos like yours until I’m able to make it there myself. Cheers!
The Time-Crunched Traveler (Ellen) recently posted..How to prepare for a winter adventure
Thank you ellen I hope you get there one day and until then come back and read some more