Oman is much more than a desert —from souks to palaces this country of forts can be your perfect getaway.
You're going to Oman? What does one do in Oman? Won’t it be terribly hot in the desert? Add a few startled face emoticons and you’ll sense the reactions when I mentioned to friends that’s where I was going next. But the best way to dispel uneasiness with the unknown for both the visitor and the visited, is interaction. In a nutshell, Oman is just as safe as anywhere else, hospitable to a fault, brimming over with desert- related adventure and culturally in heat — nothing like I’d imagined but much that I’d hoped for.
Wherever you go in Muscat, Oman’s culturally rich capital city, whether to the Grand Mosque or a museum, the state- of- the- art Opera house or an old Portuguese fort, the souk or the sultan’s palace, you only need to throw a stone and you’ll hit water. Which is why before I drive off into the interiors of the country in search of adventure, I spend a day in Muscat dolphin- watching and snorkeling.
The next morning arrives as fiery and hot as a cheer- leader. We drive towards Jebel Shams or Mountain of the Sun, part of the Al Hajar Mountain range. For those who came in late, Jebel Shams is Oman’s highest peak at 3,075 m.
The landscape dominated by these mountains looks like it has been drawn out of some primal unconscious. Miles and miles of uncompromising peaks, trees twisting together in the heat like an ossified orgy, boulders sandpapered by the wind, and down beneath the roads precipice, enticingly verdant valleys, date palms, trekkers the size of ants.
En route we pass through the ancient capital of Nizwa. The thick- walled, mudbricked Nizwa fort with its treasures on display and superlative views on offer from its citadel speak volumes for Oman’s past as a powerful and wealthy kingdom. But best of all, the city of Nizwa is free from cloned monopolies of supermarkets and drab apartment blocks that dot most other cities. The souk is worth a wander through, for the energy and variety of its produce.
While the meat, vegetables and dowry chests on sale can be admired, it’s the silver that must be considered for purchase. The silversmiths are known for ‘ chased’ decorations — an ancient technique based on the use of small chisels, awls and other hand tools to punch, impress and inscribe arabesque, geometric and floral patterns on the surface of the silver.
When at last we arrive at the much- yearned for Jebel Shams, we’ve been flayed by the elements, but despite the heat and the exhaustion, I’d give anything to live the experience over. The canyon that lies alongside ( locally known as the Grand Canyon of Arabia), offers heart- stopping views when you peep into the abyss.
You’ll also see a tiny ledge- hiking route bordering the void, that gives new meaning to the phrase ‘ living on the edge’. Anyone who’s visited Oman has a different experience they swear by. The adventurous claim there’s nothing quite like riding the sinuous, arch curves of a sand dune at Wahiba Sands in a four- wheel- drive vehicle. Aficionados of ecological adventure swear by turtle- watching in these parts. Leaving Oman without seeing the Green Turtles at the protected beach at Ras Al Jinz, where the beauties come to lay their eggs and creep their way back to the ocean, would be little short of sacrilege.
Lovers of the unsual vote for a night in a Bedouin camp — for a glimpse, oriental though it well may be, into a nomadic way of life.
What could be sweeter than dusk in a tented camp — with only the desert moon, the dunes, the haunting music of Bedouins and a few tethered camels for company? But while not everyone speaks the language of dune- bashing or turtle- watching or camel rides or exotic tented- stays with the same verve, all speak with enthusiasm the language of Wadi. The transformation of the landscape from desert into Wadi is as sudden as it is beautiful. One minute there’s stark mountain, next there’s lyrical water and green swaying palms.
For me there’s complete enchantment to be found in Wadi Bani Khalid; swimming in the crystal blue- green spring- fed rock pools, setting up a picnic amid the lush date palms, admiring the colourful rock formations that abound: green with copper- oxide and rustred with iron ore, all against the scape of dramatic mountain.
But here’s the experience that means the most to me. A little Bedouin girl seated on a mat beckons and offers me a cup of kahwa ( strong, bitter, cardamom- flavoured coffee) and a fistful of dates, the welcome mat to any Bedouin meal.
I sit down and talk to her, moved by this gesture. No more in search of a story, but because it feels right.
No comments:
Post a Comment