OH MAN - OMAN

Oman, the land of Sultans and Sinbad, frankincense and the impression that you’re the only person around these arid terrains.

We started the journey to this intriguing country with the reunion at Muscat airport - it was like we hadn’t seen each other for months (It was only just over a week). After exchanging stories of our last few days of travels and Naomi’s exciting time in Cambodia, it was the realisation that now was the beginning of just the two of us! We collected our hire car - now it was time to tackle firstly driving on the right hand side of the road for the first time, secondly the majority of road signs being in Arabic, and then directions from the locals not actually being correct! The driving in Oman frustration begins!!!
We spent the first night in Muscat, woke early the next day and drove down to Mutrah markets, the old Souk trading areas in Muscat old town. Naomi treated herself to a beautiful Arabic blend of perfume that we got from this little old man in his shop that gave you the impression it had been around for thousands of years. I was than treated to a traditional Omani cap worn by the local men – now was the beginning of, “Are you from Oman?”

After a fresh pomegranate juice and a falafel alongside the waterfront of Muscat we mapped out a plan and started our descent south. First port of call was a small seaside town named Yitti. As soon as we got out of Muscat onto the highway it was as though the roads were ours and ours only, very rarely was there any other car in sight. Driving through the magnificent mountains splashed with red hues from the burning sun, we arrived to Yitti mid-afternoon and set up camp for the night, right on the beach! As soon as the sun went down, the stars were out in their full glory and we really had nothing else to do but sleep.
On the road again, we headed south to Al Seifa, as Lonely Planet said that it was a great secluded place to camp on the beach, and that it was. Again, after hours of asking for directions when the road suddenly ends and you’re faced with an unsealed dirt road with no signs and you wonder ‘Is this actually what they mean?’ and then, as if by magic, at the end of these long stretches of bumpy dirt roads you are faced with the most picturesque little bay. It seemed so desolate as if no one had been there for quite some time, not even one footprint in the sand. This was the most incredible camping experience so far. We pretty much spent the day, swimming, sun baking, swimming again because it was so hot, eating, then swimming, and we made a camp fire then time for bed as soon as the sun had gone down.

Early rise. Pretty much as soon as the sun comes up, so do we. On the road again this time we headed as south as Tiwi - there isn’t much to this small fishing village but it is the gateway to Wadi Shab, which is said in all the guidebooks to be the most impressive Wadi in Oman (A Wadi is a riverbed often dry except for after a massive rainfall). By the time we arrived it was looking like we needed to find somewhere quick to camp before it started to get dark. The road we took led us straight to the Wadi, and we were unsure if we were able to camp inside the Wadi as the mass of tourists were departing. We had a quick look in and thought that maybe we could, or really had no other choice, found a spot and then started to head back to the car when we were approached by this stylish looking young Omani man, who pretty much asked if I was Omani! We started talking and then he said not to camp in the Wadi, but that he would take us to a secret beach for the night to camp 15 min down the road. So he jumped in our car and took us to this magic spot where we set up camp for the night. We were told that we were to meet our new friend Salaah at his house at 9am the next day and he was to take us to the Wadi and show us around - Naomi was a bit sceptical about this but I assured her he was just showing his true Omani hospitality that I had read about and he sure did!

The next 24 hours we were spoilt and taken everywhere possible, to experience what Salaah could in the time we had together. The Wadi was one of mother natures’ wonders. We walked for half an hour or so through the blistering heat until we were met with the most magnificent blue turquoise pools, and to a mystery cave inside the mountain, where we jumped off waterfalls and sipped on the purest water I have ever tasted.
After our amazing Wadi experience Salaah invited us to stay the night at his family’s house and would not take no for an answer. So we accepted his offer, and in the meantime we had a day full of activities planned. We went to a sinkhole which the guidebooks say is the house of the demon, and that you could come face to face to with more than you bargained for - but Salaah’s version of why and how this peculiar 40m by 20m limestone hole was created was that a star fell from the sky and made this hole and that the water comes from the nearby ocean, the depth of which is unknown to this day. Following the sinkhole we drove to the nearby city of Sur with its attractive forts, lighthouse and famed for its history of dhow (Traditional Arabian boats) building.

Salaah took us on a quick tour of the local souk where he bought us some fresh mango juice and stocked up on some provisions for the family dinner, and we bought some Persian saffron for ourselves. Then off we went back to Tiwi where we were the guests to a traditional Arab family feast. Salaah has 9 siblings, 3 brothers and 6 sisters. It was great to interact with them all, many not even being able to speak a word of English, and learning as much as we could about the life of a Muslim family.

The next morning after breakfast it was time to depart and say our goodbyes to Salaah and his generous family. Salaah told us he was coming to Germany to visit friends in Munich later on in the year and we convinced him that he must come to Berlin so we could repay his kind hospitality. We ended with our last night in Seeb, which was 20 minutes north of Muscat International airport, right on the coast. This was our last Omani beach experience. Oman was in one word: awesome. We pretty much came here blind-eyed, not really knowing what to expect and we left with some of the most amazing experiences.

Heads up for next time and anyone planning to travel - hire a 4WD as there were many places we couldn’t possibly get to because of this. The food was mind-blowing, the landscape out of this world and the local Omani people were more than hospitable. Oh and eating fresh dates were out of this world, my personal fave!