Tony Walsh – author & tours through Arabia
calm seas made a smooth crossing from the Amadea into Port
Sur in Oman had probably its largest visitor ever – the Cruise Ship Amadea .
So big it wasn’t possible to berth – it needed to anchor outside Sur and using lighters ferries passengers into the fishing port. It was great the sea wasn’t rough.
close with bees – and a good distance away from bulls on the Batina
Dashing up the Oman Batina Coast I managed to enjoy the sight of Oman’s Little Bee ‘Apis florea’ . These are less numerous than Apis mellifera (the honeybee) – but are probably better adapted to Oman’s summer heat. Unfortunately, like the honey bee they are suffering from a unknown swarm killer (possibly virus ) .
At the opposite end of the scale one of Oman’s Bull Fight spectacles included over 30 bulls brought for their day of glory. Of course, not a drop of blood is expected to flow – this is Bull against Bull – and when it becomes clear which of a pair is the more dominant they are pulled apart and taken off.
Back again in Muscat – it’s raining; a great thing for Oman as always, though apparently in the north-west several deaths have occurred.
Rain soaks Ruwi – and probably a few Donkeys
Wet Roads isn’t typical Arabia – but today after a few drops earlier in the afternoon Ruwi had a thunderstorm and glistening roads and streets were created.
Those few drops happened just as I finished swimming at Bandar Jissah, I only noticed as the car showed them up . Driving away I came upon these Donkeys. They were wandering through the wadi that goes into Bandar Jissah which must be Muscat’s most popular beach at the weekend. Just behind them is the famous Iron Age Cemetery at Bandar Jissah and its associated Iron Age Village .
They are the first little herd I have seen in the main area of Muscat for many years I suspect they will be spending a wet night in the wadi
Just around the corner from Al Alam Palace in Muscat is Bait Sayyid Nadir, one of its few remaining 19thc houses.
The name of the house comes from Sayyid Nadir bin Continue reading “Bait Sayyid Nadir Muscat”
Passing a Camel I searched for a good spot to sleep
Oman’s beachs sometimes have huge numbers of sea birds, mainly Gulls and Terns. Here, on a beach I was driving past, large numbers of Gulls descend on fish scraps thrown away by fishermen .
This beach is long with the gulls concentrated where the fishing boats beach to offload their catch.
With so many birds I sometimes prefer the silence of Oman’s wadis to sleep in; so I drove through this wadi as the sun set – passing this camel who was in a bit of a rush to get somewhere. The night was nice and cool – and the bright full moon lit up the landscape till dawn.
The Shangri-la in Muscat – home for a few days to dozens of the world’s best cars
The Al Bandar Hotel is a great destination for Bentley and Rolls-Royce cars at the end of their Arabian Gulf Adventure.
Arriving into Qatar they drove into the UAE and then into Muscat – via Nizwa .
Probably the Shangri-la will have to wait a very long time before such a superb queue waits to check in again.
and a very enjoyable evening at Al Bustan
Simon Wright was the guest conductor for last night’s Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra performance at Al Bustan.
He has been Continue reading “Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra”
I had an interesting meeting with H.E. Sultan Al Harthy – President of Muscat Municipality
Certainly the first meeting of this type (that I can recall) it looks as if the Municipality is looking for more input from ‘stakeholders’ ; his next meeting is with the Bankers of Oman.
The fabulous Pink Roses of Oman
Rose Water is prized the world over. Not just because of its delightful fragrance – but of course because it’s so costly to acquire .
In Oman it’s also a desirable product Continue reading “Oman’s Rose Water production”