Tony Walsh – author on Oman & Arabia
Oman’s built history stretches back 5,000 years, its one of the Arab world’s most enduring cultures. Today its interconnected through modern highways and impressive mobile telecom networks.
from a BBC program
Late 2009 we organized a Camel week in Oman for a TV program – culminating in their participating in a Couple of Camel Races .
Well – here is part of the resulting TV program – the really chaotic pursuit of the racing Camels by their trainers in cars.
You can also read about a visit we made to camel races in Oman a few years ago
to be joined in Muscat by Seabourn Legend in a couple of years
Joining the Costa and Aida ships, Brilliance of the Seas is now a regular arrival for us in Muscat bringing people for a visit into Oman
As its a new destination for her it will take time for the cruise excursions to be tailored to her passengers needs but I am confident that Muscat will be one of her more popular port calls in the Gulf cruises.
shown on a NASA image
We have been having over a week of dusty skies covering Oman. Unusually it really does cover the entire country as I found on my drive to Salalah last week. And here is the reason –
an enormous dust cloud moving down from Iraq and spreading out over the Arabian Sea. Of course its not one of my photos so – a nice thank you to NASA for the image
looks as if it will be a nice hotel for Oman
Having just opened, it was nice to be able to visit the new Marriott Resort near Mirbat Oman. Set on a very interesting beach with some areas of white sand and others of rock it will be a good hotel to relax in, especially as its isolated at almost 80kms from Salalah.
On the drive back I made a visit into Shuwaymiyah, whose pale cliffs drop into the Arabian Sea , as I was staying in a small village nearby.
for a different Honeymoon
Spending a night in the desert during a holiday in Oman with the stars sparkling overhead is a memorable experience; especially if the afternoon arrival and morning departure is a trek by Camel .
Then onto a second night in a traditional Bedouin tent – with a very traditional musical accompaniment during dinner.
attended a lecture hosted by the Oman Ministry of Tourism
It was nice to be able to attend a presentation by Professor Ross Dowling.
Organised by the Oman Ministry of Tourism it was designed to give an overview about ‘Enhancing Visitor Experiences’ for Omani Tour Guides
and his company’s work in Muscat
Jan Gehl, whose company is advising Oman’s Muscat Municipality, gave a talk last night on creating people friendly cities.
He gave examples of New York’s Broadway being pedestrianized, and how Melbourne in Australia moved away from being a ‘DoughNut’ city (one with an empty hole at its core) into a vibrant people oriented city.
The new Chairman of Muscat Municipality seems to be keen on creating a city where vehicles are given less priority and pedestrians and cyclists more (as I live in one of the more walkable areas of Muscat and have cycled round it for over two decades that emphasis will be great)
and two Queens of the Sea in Muscat
With 24 hour work the impressive Royal Opera House in Muscat is beginning to show how it will look.
In the ‘in vogue’ monumental style with beige coloured stonework – it will be in keeping with the latest government buildings throughout Muscat. Sultan Qaboos likes western classic music and I suspect Russian in particular. The opening is going to be a spectacular occasion – hopefully including the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra.
Gliding in and out of Mina Sultan Qaboos to allow passengers to go on Muscat Shore Excursions – the Queen Continue reading “Oman’s Royal Opera House”
is held in the warm sun
With the threat of rain over it was good to to take up an invitation to attend the Annual Royal Horse Racing Festival at the Royal Stables in Oman.
The afternoon made a nice conclusion to the last 3 weeks of rain. Sultan Qaboos attended with guests including Sheikh Mohammed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi. From the Sultan’s stables several Akhal-Teke Horse – which are a very elegant breed – were shown. So, it was disappointing not to have been able to bring cameras into the grounds especially as a friends horse won the 5th race.
during our tour in Northern Oman
With nice bright skies and comfortable temperatures our guests enjoyed taking time while on holiday in Oman to watch Camel racing.
The next day the newly tiled Mosque at Nizwa made an excellent subject for photographs – before returning to Muscat.
on a very nice sunny day
After all the rain – the flags are out in Muscat.
However there is no connection with the weather; they are out for the visit of the Croatian President Stjepan Mesić . He hopefully will enjoy the fresh sunny weather .
to take shore excursions in Oman
Avoiding the rain the Aida arrives into Mina Sultan Qaboos, Muscat.
This is probably the most colourful ship coming into Oman – and on a weekly basis does brighten up the harbour as the visitors spend part of their holidays in Oman.
Some cruise excursions during the type of heavy rain we have been having, needed to be cancelled, but better safe than sorry.
and schools in Muscat are to close on Sunday as a precaution
We spent a wonderful day up in the cool of Oman’s northern mountains. For much of the time we were under cloud cover which, as the day wore on, increased .
Its unusual to have extensive cloud cover here, but on the drive home we drove through about 150kms of intermittent rain – arriving in Muscat to find that the rain probably arrived in Muscat first, before covering the mountain peaks inland.
A stormy few days are forecast as all schools in Muscat are advised to close on Sunday by the Education Ministry
in a gallery in Al Ain
It was interesting to visit the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi and Wilfred Thesiger exhibition in Al Ain on a trip from Oman.
Although completely different in design, the chandelier is from Faustig who supplied the magnificent ones for the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. Almost overflowing with floral designs, the mosque sits opposite Continue reading “Abu Dhabi and Wilfred Thesiger”
a win for National day
Al Taawn Football Team, which we sponsor, had a good win in the local league competition to celebrate Oman’s 39th National Day . They won the first round 4:1 and went through to the final against Hai Aldhahir .
In a very competitive game the single goal was scored by Yahya AlBusafi of Al Taawn . So it’s probably the only time Arabesque will overcome the might of Toyota – as we sponsor the winning team and they the losers.
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