Tony Walsh – author & tours through Arabia
we climbed to look out over the UAE from the Rub al Khali in Oman
After a long drive we managed to make it to the Rub al Khali border with the UAE in time for sun-set. Not as dramatic as southern Oman’s Rub Al Khali nor with the interest of the Wahiba Sands but this section still has the power to make a human feel insignificant.
It was from this dune that I heard the ‘singing of the sands’ – wonderful.
When camping in the Wahiba a few days ago the sunset wind was strong , here fortunately is was little more than a gentle breeze.
An unbelievably small flow of water allows a village to survive up in Oman’s mountains
In the upper reaches of Oman’s Jebel Akhdar mountains I came across this tiny cascade of water. The groove running left to right is a small man made channel a few centimetres wide in which the trickle is collected in .
Then in a small fountain/waterfall (bottom right of the image) it drops into a collecting pool which feeds into a Falaj. For some 200 people in a small hamlet this is their agricultural water supply. Its drinking water is another similar sized source – topped up with occasional deliveries from the valley 1500ft below.
A well attended talk in the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Oman
Dr David Ford, The Regius (Royal) Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University was in Oman to give talks about the wisdom of the Christian, Islamic and Jewish faiths today.
I was able to make it to his evening talk at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque where he mainly illustrated Christian wisdom .
We survived a desert storm to enjoy Omani Coffee and Honey
Arriving in one of Oman’s Deserts the golden dunes of the Wahiba Sands to set up camp we were faced with flying sand and strong winds; a normal sunset event as the weather heats up. We couldn’t really do anything till the wind had died down – and today it really didn’t want to . Eventually having stretched the time of our move into plan B – a departure to a permanent camp – we were relieved that the wind did die down – and up the tents went in the darkness. Steaks cooked and baked potatoes unwrapped and the meal was good to eat. Continue reading “Golden Sands and Golden Honey in Oman”
A real surprise and a happy ending
What a surprise I had at the Car Wash today – In the engine compartment – 5 wet kittens.
They must have been born during the night and perhaps a warm engine compartment seemed ideal.
So – in a box they went, to dry in the sun . Then, after my car was sorted out – a quick drive home to try and re-unite cat and kittens. Fortunately, a likely candidate was fighting with a tom-cat. When she ran off under a car I placed the box near her.
Amazingly, it was the right mother. She grabbed 1 kitten and took it around a corner to a relatively secluded place – and I put the box and others next to her chosen place.
After a few hours she hadnt noticed them – I tipped them near her. Then a few hours later all were feeding – how sweet.
Sayyid Ali, the Minister of the Diwan, opened the Klimt exhibition on Sunday
Gustav Klimt in Muscat with the “Golden Age of Austrian Art” was opened today by H.E. Sayyid Ali bin Hamoud Al BuSaidi, Minister of the Diwan.
Included in the display is the Gustav Klimt study sketch for the painting of “Adele Bloch-Bauer” Continue reading “The Klimt exhibition opens in Muscat”
Bait al Baranda Museum in Muscat organises a exhibition of Gustav Klimt sketches
Dropping into Bait al Baranda Museum I met Malik Al Hinai, the Director, making a few finishing touches to the Gustav Klimt exhibition that will be inaugurated this evening, for a public opening on April 13th.
This is the first of a series Continue reading “Gustav Klimt comes to Oman”
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