Nizwa

Yesterday afternoon we visited Nizwa, one of the oldest cities in Oman, situated about 140km inland from Muscat. The city used to be a centre for trade, religion, art and education within Oman.

The road from Muscat took us in a pretty much straight line into Nizwa in around 1 hour 30. We drove past a number of smaller towns and villages en route and stopped for a quick break at Wadi Qurai. For anyone who doesn't know, a wadi is basically a river bed or valley that is dry most of the year except in the rainy season. Wadi's are often home to falaj systems. It was a shame we could not see the wadi full of water as I imagine it would be beautiful had it been.

Following our short stop off we continued to Nizwa. The city itself did not strike me as being that dissimilar to Muscat, just a little smaller and less to do! One of Nizwa's main attractions is its 17th Century fort. The fort was fascinating and is definitely worth a visit. It cost 500 bz per adult and has over 20 exhibits of Omani clothing, silver, food, historical facts etc., an old date store room, prison and lots of steps to the top of the fort where you can see for miles over Nizwa and beyond.

Incense burners.

View from on top of the fort. 

The area immediately surrounding the fort (behind the walls to the main entrance from the car park) was also interesting to look around. The older buildings and narrow roads are fascinating to wonder around and so different to back home. There is also a fish and veg souq held within the castle/fort grounds. At some 7,600sq m (I think!) in size, it is one of the largest however it wasn't open when we visited unfortunately!

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Sand Storm

Muscat has seen no blue skies for the last couple of days due to a very persistent sand storm blowing over Muscat and places of the Gulf further north, apparently from Saudi Arabia. If it weren't for all the dust in the air I would be tempted to say that it is a refreshing break from the heat and bright sun. However breathing in dust isn't a comforting thought, nor a comforting experience and asthma sufferers are probably better off staying in doors! Apparently a number of flights have been cancelled. Lets hope the forecasters are right and it'll all be cleared by the weekend!

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Scorpions

I never thought I would come across a scorpion whilst living here but I have! and I can definitely add them to my list of hated bugs. I have seen 2 (although it may have been the same one) in the house in the last 2 days, thankfully they are not huge or life threatening! Living close to mountains is not good idea if you don't like bugs and I eagerly await a move to the more concreted up areas of Muscat. The scorpion I saw was a couple of inches long and cream/yellow/red-brown colour and has left me walking around the house on tip-toes, obsessively checking shoes and clothing just in case one has crawled up and made home in my stuff. erg. As far as I am aware scorpions are mostly found in the mountainous or sandy desert areas of Oman. I have heard of a man who eats scorpions (each to their own!) and apparently scorpion bites aren't as rare as I thought. I did consider uploading a photo of one onto here but, as would be the same with spiders, I would probably get put off looking at my own blog so decided against it!

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Extreme Sports Festival, The Wave

Today we went along to the extreme sports festival held on the beach at The Wave. The Wave is prestigious resort and residential development that is half way to completion. It will have around 4000 homes, a marina, beach, shops, restaurants and will have a couple of hotels and a golf course when complete. The festival was held on the beach and included a boat/sailing race, music and lots of family events.  It was not necessarily an "extreme" event in reality but it was fun and nice to see people of all ages and nationalities mingling together.

And it always makes me giggle when I see things like this:

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Dubai Tennis

After some time at home I am back in the Middle East. I spent my first couple of days back here up in Dubai and went to see the Dubai Master's Tennis, which was amazing! We saw 3 matches, M. Djokovic (Djokovic's younger brother) v's  Golubev, Fish v's Beck, and lastly N. Djokovic v's Stebe, the latter being by far the best match with loads of rallies, Djokovitch beat Stebe after about an hour and a half. Watching tennis in Dubai is so much more relaxed than Wimbledon and we were lucky enough to get some great seats.  Here are some photo's of the day:

The stadium before it filled up.

 Fish serving.

Stebe and Djokovic.

We also visited the Dubai Marina, which is beautiful and peaceful. It was funny to see everyone relaxing with shisha pipes (fancy water pipes used for smoking flavoured tobacco) in the middle of the afternoon, hard life!

Its a lot cooler in Dubai than Muscat at this time of year and come the evening I was actually a bit cold! On our last day before leaving we went to see the fountains outside the Dubai Mall. In the evenings they are switched on every half an hour and 'dance' to music. It is almost like watching fireworks in the water.

Fountains outside the Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa.

The Burj Khalifa in the evening.

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Happy Ramadan

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As Sifah Beach

The drive to As Sifah beach takes you around 90km south of Muscat past the rugged terrain and small villages that are typical of this part of the world. The first half of our jouney was easy enough, with a decent road system taking us to a place called Yiti. Following Yiti however the roads become less easy to negotiate and a 4x4 is a must - as a relative novice to off-road driving I was slightly nervous at some points! You really feel like you are experiencing the real Oman when you venture out of Muscat and passing through small villages along the way adds to the feeling of authenticity. The villages are as you would imagine: small houses and lots of goats.

A smooth part of road on the way to As Sifah.

Passing through a village. 

The views of the mountains are really spectacular, despite the arid-ness of the surroundings. On arrival at As Sifah beach the soft sands really captured my attention, they are so uninterrupted compared to those within Muscat. Unfortunately some rather selfish people had parked cars in such a way that they blocked off entry to the most expansive stretch of beach, however we still nabbed ourselves a stunning spot and were able to enjoy the setting just as much. 

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Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque

We visited the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque a while ago now but its beauty is still etched in my mind and it is definitely worthy of a post! The Mosque sits beside a main road cutting through Muscat and so cannot be missed. Its car park is huge, providing plenty of parking for the 20,000 worshipers the mosque can accommodate. On entering you are reminded of the conservative dress of the Islamic faith and it is vital that men are covered down the the wrists and ankles and ladies from head to toe. The Mosque really is spectacular. Its marble floors and clean cut lines sparkle in the sun.

The mosque is formed of a main prayer hall, or musalla, a women's musalla and a number of courtyards and passageways. The main musalla can accommodate around 6,500 worshipers and the women's around 750. The rest worship in the surrounding areas. The main musalla is beautiful and houses the worlds second largest hand woven prayer carpet (the largest I believe is in Abu Dhabi). Apparently it weighs 21 tonnes (!) and took around 4 years to make. (Shoes aren't allowed to be worn in the main hall and are left outside in specially designated pigeon holes.)

Additionally the main hall has the most spectacular chandelier, which I think is also up there in terms of largest chandeliers in the world. The carved patterns on the wooden doors and pretty designs on the tiled walls are proof of the level of care and detailing put into the design of the mosque. The women's musalla is less impressive and detailed as the main hall but fits its purpose all the same.

It is worth walking all around the passageways as you come across small study areas, wash areas and pretty garden areas.

 

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Driving in Oman

Driving here is a crazy, stressful experience that provides entertainment if nothing else. Luckily for me I haven't had to drive yet (yet being the optimum word as my time will come I am sure) and have only had the pleasure of experiencing Omani driving as a passenger...worse than being the driver in some ways! Obviously they drive on the right hand side of the road and everyone (almost) drives an automatic. The issue is that there seems to be an apparent lack of awareness or commonsense when it comes to maneuvering the vehicles between cars and lanes. Its not that the drivers can't control the vehicles, its everything else that is so dodgy! Theory tests here don't exist. They drive at ridiculously high speeds (or far too slow), don't use indicators and some even sit in the car as though they are on a sofa at home, with one leg tucked up under the other and one hand constantly on their mobile phones...its insane. If I didn't find it all entertaining I would be scared to sit in a car at times! I am definitely going to get myself a big 4x4 when I can!!

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DUBAI!

Oli and I visited Dubai for the first time earlier this week, staying over for one night. We flew out of Muscat at 8am and landed 50mins later in the UAE giving us two full days to explore. Dubai is nothing like I have experienced before - a strange mix of so many different places all coming together to form something I can't quite categorise. The city doesn't seem to have a set identity but rather feels like a combination of Muscat, L.A., Spain and Shanghai, a bizarre mix enhanced by the presence of so many different nationalities (80% of the population are expatriates). The airport is clean, modern and impressive and its exterior is akin to that of Heathrow T5. Travelling only with hand luggage we could bypass luggage claim and exit the airport quickly. Travelling to Dubai is made even easier by the added bonus of free visa's for British citizens.

The Metro became our most frequented form of transport and cheaply and conveniently got us from A-B with little hassle. It was a dream to use the transport system after having had to rely solely on the use of a car in Oman. That said, it became apparent that Dubai would be far easier to explore with our own transport.

Picture of the a Metro Station Stop.

After a brief visit to Khalid Bin Al Waleed station (an area not dissimilar to Muscat) we headed in the direction of our Hotel - the Shangri-La! Last minute booking pays off sometimes and we were lucky enough to get a great deal on a room there. The hotel is located down Sheikh Zayad road - the huge, crazily busy highway that runs parallel to the beach. My first impression of the road was influenced by the hugely tall buildings lining the street. The architecture is impressive and super modern but feels almost as though it doesn't quite fit. Our hotel room was on the 21st floor, giving us a fab view of the city and excitingly the Burj Khalifa - the tallest building in the world!

View from our hotel room.

The summer heat meant that sightseeing was not as easy as in the winter months however we were able to visit the Dubai Mall, the Mall of the Emirates and the Burj Al Arab hotel. We also managed to take a water bus down the Creek (a stretch of water dividing Dubai in two). The Dubai Mall (a metro ride and short bus ride away) is amazing and heaven for those who love to shop. It has absolutely everything you could need and ranges from affordable shops such as H&M up to the beautiful but largely unaffordable designer shops. It was reassuring to see so many shops from back home including Debenhams, Boots, New Look etc. The food options are expansive and we ate lunch in a great value cafe which I will most definitely visit again when we are next in the city. The mall also has an ice rink, a cinema, water features and a Waitrose! Outside of the Mall is a great view of the Burj Khalifa.

A view of a water fall feature in the mall.

A view of the Burj Khalifa (what I could fit in the camera!).

The ice rink.

The Mall of the Emirates, though slightly smaller than the Dubai Mall, is large and beautifully decorated. The colouring and use of street lamps gives the mall a luxurious, French feel.

Inside the Mall of the Emirates.

We visited the Burj Al Arab hotel in the evening excited to see it all lit-up. Only guests can enter the hotel so we were limited to only enjoying the exterior of the hotel.

The Burj Al Arab at night.

Much of Dubai is beautifully designed and well maintained. Its buildings are wonderful and the green palm trees and park areas help make the city more attractive. There are however parts of Dubai that hint at the divide between the haves and have-nots and its is clear that the city is still developing. In my opinion Dubai has a way to go in terms of developing its unique identity, its Arabic traditions seem somewhat quashed from sight and becoming a fully developed place is a little way off. However, it is an exciting, young and vibrant place which is definitely worth a visit.

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Interior Design

All this moving we have been doing over the past week or so got me thinking about Omani interior design. We have visited a number of local curtain and furniture stores including a small curtain store in Al Ghubra, the Marina in Qurum, and Home Centre in Muscat City Centre. In traditional Arabic style much of the furniture is rich in colour and extravagant in design. Unless you were to visit Ikea up in Dubai its unlikely you will come across minimalist furnishings. Interior design here is impressive and luxurious and I love it (perhaps not to live with all the time mind you.) Wood is covered in intricately carved patterns and is all solid and somewhat overpowering. Gold, orange and red are really popular colours, particularly for curtains and bed linen. I adore the little ornaments you can find in the souks and shopping malls, especially if you spend some time looking around: small camels, elephants, kunja's and so on. Lanterns are popular too and in the evenings they really help create a magical atmosphere. 

(http://farm1.static.flickr.com/48/143296192_bf923173e0.jpg)

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The Chedi

I absolutely LOVE The Chedi. Its like stepping into a magical oasis of calm and beautiful architectural style. Its one of Muscats luxury hotels, located along the beach near Al Ghubrah / Al Khuwair, and really is worth a visit. The bar offers interesting fruity mocktails. I tried a refreshing one made with soda water, lime, lychees and blueberries. I've not eaten there or managed to use the gym/pool/spa but have wondered down to the private beach and walked around all the small turquoise pools/water features which just add to the zen-like sense of relaxation. The only down side of the hotel is the lack of air con in the bar (the fans aren't really enough when its 45 degrees outside) and walking around the water pools is potentially hazardous if you don't watch where you were going!

(http://www.ghmhotels.com/)

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