Tony Walsh – author & tours through Arabia
Oman’s Frankincense would have been the original cash crop if cash had been invented 3,500 years ago; but in those days it was a crop of barter, royal gift or the spoil of war.
The most famous use of Frankincense is Continue reading “Oman’s Frankincense”
June though its mid-summer is often not as searing as May, that’s often because the rise in humidity also drops the temperature; so Oman’s Top 5 things to do June takes that into account. This year the start of June is part of the month of Ramadhan, and probably the 4-6 June will be Eid, so do take that into account when making plans.
So here are the top 5 things to do in June in Oman.
Indoor bowling included in Oman’s Top 5 to do June as its a great activity during Ramadhan as Continue reading “Oman’s Top 5 things to do June”
One of the original Christmas Gifts and primarily from Oman, Frankincense is a ‘must have’ to bring back home after your visit into the country.
Frankincense (Boswellia sacra) is both Continue reading “12 Days of Christmas in Oman Day Three”
for a nice meal
Opposite the Fish Souq (still under renovation) in Mutrah is a restored old house. On the upper floor is the Bait Al Luban Restaurant (Bait Al Luban is Arabic for Frankincense House ).
Its decor is re-imagined traditional Omani and sets the atmosphere nicely. The restaurant has only just opened in Mutrah so diners were outnumbered by staff, however rather than Continue reading “Bait Al Luban Restaurant Muttrah”
Within the slopes and valleys of the southern mountains of Oman are an extraordinary variety of flora. The plants in Dhofar inhabit an environment that can change from wet cloud soaked biome to bone-dry desert in the period of a few days or meters. Grass dominates the mountain upper plateau while the sea-facing slopes are have Anogeissus dhofarica as their dominant plant.
Though many plants catch a visitors interest, four are Continue reading “Oman’s famed plants in Dhofar”
Frankincense is such an evocative word for many religious people, but few have a chance to visit the real Land of Frankincense in Dhofar. Its associated with religious ceremonies worldwide and of course with the gifts brought by the 3 Kings, or Wise Men, to Jesus.
We flew down to Oman’s Continue reading “Frankincense in Dhofar”
At the end of the Khareef is a great time to visit Salalah. We visited the nice Land of Frankincense Museum and saw a Frankincense Flower being pollinated by an Apis Florea bee.
Unexpectedly Continue reading “Trip to Salalah and a focus on Frankincense”
Y Magazine’ s Kate Ginn rang me last week regarding the book and after a chat asked for photos. I of course expected a short piece with a photo or two. So it was fantastic to open up Y Magazine this morning and see a double page spread about the book. You can read it here http://www.y-oman.com/2013/03/heritage-hunter/ (thanks Kate)
One of my favourite photos is this of Arab Horses in Oman decked out in traditional silver. Marco Polo wrote about them in his book ‘The Travels’ – “and the merchants take a great number of Arab horses to that market (of India from Al Balid)”
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Flying down to Salalah after visiting northern Oman our group from Steppes Travel have been visiting some of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Oman.
Some of the group enjoyed Continue reading “Khor Rori Oman with a visiting group.”
I dropped into Al Roya’s office and saw the ‘dummy’ of my book.
All the pages have Continue reading “Walking Through History – sample of printed book arrives – so the publication is on schedule”
As the 18th May is International Museum Day I thought
it would be nice to have a picture from Oman’s Land of Frankincense Museum in Salalah, probably my favourite Museum in Oman.
If you are interested in learning more about Frankincense, Oman is the source of Boswellia Sacra and my book ‘The Land of Frankincense’ has over 180pages about this mystical product and the land it grows in.
18 April is World Heritage Day. In the far south of Oman are the sites under the UNESCO citation Land of Frankincense.
The Frankincense Tree itself can be found in places scattered throughout the Dhofar Mountains, including here at Wadi Dawkah, the UNESCO WHS.
I enjoyed attending an Omani Wedding near Muscat. Dressed in traditional Omani dress with the addition of a formal Khunjar (dagger) &
Saif (sword) three Omani Bridegrooms looked Continue reading “Omani Wedding near Muscat”
For 2012 I’ve just done a Frankincense Calendar.
Its got 13 pictures all about Frankincense in Oman including Continue reading “Omani Frankincense as a picture calendar for 2012”
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