Oman - Tony Walsh توني والش

New Born Kittens 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.

The Klimt exhibition opens in Muscat

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”

Gustav Klimt comes to Oman

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.

Malik was finalizing the Gustav Klimt exhibition

This is the first of a series Continue reading “Gustav Klimt comes to Oman”

Cruises into Sur Oman

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.

Oman’s Batina Bulls and Bees

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.

Ruwi’s wet roads add a sparkle to Oman

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 .

Donkeys in Bandar Jissah's wadi — Donkeys in Bandar Jissah’s wadi

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

Bait Sayyid Nadir Muscat

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”

Wadi in Oman

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.

A Camels dashes through an Oman Wadi at dusk

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.

Bentley and Rolls-Royce in Muscat Oman

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.

Rolls-Royce driving through Oman’s mountains

Arriving into Qatar they drove into the UAE and then into Muscat – via Nizwa .

The Spirit of Ecstasy in Al Bandar’s car park

Probably the Shangri-la will have to wait a very long time before such a superb queue waits to check in again.

Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra

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”

Muscat Festival Oman

I had an interesting meeting with H.E. Sultan Al Harthy – President of Muscat Municipality

Muscat Festival and other tourism related issues were the topics at a meeting I joined with the new President of Muscat Municipality H.E. Sultan Al Harthy . He gave an overview of issues and elicited comments about the Festival and Muscat’s tourism in general .

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.

Oman’s Rose Water production

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”

Rub Al Khali Desert Oman

enjoyed by us on a holiday in Oman

Taking advantage of the cooler months I took a small group into one of great natural features of Oman – the Rub Al Khali.

Exploring the vastness of the Empty Quarter we walked through a landscape full of deafening silence and with no visible occupants

until I came up against this Agama Lizard – catching the last rays of the sun before the chill of night set in.

Responsible Tourism for Oman

I enjoyed a stimulating overview of responsible tourism by Harold Goodwin

Dr Harold Goodwin of Leeds University gave a talk to the Environment Society of Oman about Responsible Tourism.

This was his first visit into Oman but he was able to give very interesting examples from other countries about how tourism can impact, positively and negatively on people’s lives. He implied that New Zealand was probably the country most successful in branding itself in the field of responsible tourism. Interestingly he also felt Gambia and South Africa were two other countries with a very good approach in the field.

Bag for our guest - Sally — Bag for our guests – Jean & Sally

I try and act in a positive way within the Oman community – in a way that also adds value for our guests. Each person on a holiday with us is given a bag, hand created by the Sidab Ladies Sewing Group – and where possible we have the name of our guest sewn in Arabic.

Empty Quarter Desert, Oman

A chilly night in the Empty Quarter of Oman

The Empty Quarter / Rub al Khali offers a great chance to sleep under the stars . On my way to Salalah in Oman , I drove through the Empty Quarter (Rub Al Khali ) to spend the night there . The coldest I have ever been in a desert was a couple of years ago when the thermometer dropped to 2c . Fortunately, though cold, at about 10c, my night this time wasn’t so bad. However, perhaps because of the chill or because the Moon had set – I woke at about 2pm. Above was a black sky set with diamonds of stars – wonderful.

Needless to say a dawn climb up an Omani Desert Dune was called for and though not as extraordinary as the night sky – the view at dawn from the top is also breathtaking .

The next day I arrived in Salalah and amongst other things came face to face with a friend’s Omani Bees . He had moved his hives from the mountains because of the cold and wind – I could understand why.