Salalah, the capital of the Dhofar region, is a colorful, subtropical city that owes much of its character to Oman’s former territories in East Africa. Our first stop was the newly completed Sultan Qaboos Mosque. This single-dome mosque with two minarets was a gift from His Majesty...
We drove through the dramatic Al-Hajar Mountains Range from Nizwa to Jabal Akhdar, located on the Sayyaq Plateau. It is the highest mountain range within the eastern Arabian Peninsula, above 2,000 meters in elevation. Al-Ḥajar reaches its most significant height at Mount Shams (2,980...
Just a few kilometers out of Nizwa, you can do an easy and short off-roading side trip that offers some imposing cliffs, much dust, and the chance to explore the ruins of Tanuf village. We drove around a dusty winding track dotted with acacia trees while goats roam amongst the rocks. Wadi...
The historic town of Nizwa, with its giant fort and high-walled souq, lies on a plain surrounded by a thick palm oasis and some of Oman’s highest mountains. It was the seat of factional imams until the 1950s. Nizwa, or the ‘Pearl of Islam’ as it’s sometimes called, is still a conservative...
From Misfat, we drove down the steep hill to the 400-year-old town of Al Hamra, located on the southern slopes of the Hajar Mountains. This venerable village, one of the oldest in Oman, was settled in the late 17th century by the Al Abri tribes during the rule of Imam Saif bin Sultan, the...
We drove up a 6-kilometer-long sneaky road from Al Hamra to a unique mountainous village located 1,000 m above sea level on the mountain foothills of the Hajar Mountains. We parked near the campground before the village and walked around ancient stone buildings, half buried in a thick...
We arrived in Bahla late in the afternoon and parked just in the middle of town next to one of the oldest fortresses in the country, the 13th-century Bahla Fort. It is located 40 km away from Nizwa in the Hajar Mountains. It was built by the Bani Nebhan tribe, who dominated the area from...
Today, we drove to a highly atmospheric site of “beehive tombs” in Al Ayn village. This string of tombs is arranged along a low, russet-colored ridge against Jebel Misht that towers behind. Little is known about the tombs except that they were constructed between 2000 and 3000...
After crossing the border, our first stop was a little sleepy town on Ibri. We parked near the Old Souq and wandered in the heart of town, around the imposing building of Ibri Castle, to explore the ruins of the old town. Then we moved to the enormous Sulaif castle on the edge of Ibri. It...
Our first, and for some time, last destination in UAE was Al Ain. We stopped here for a day on the way to Oman. Fed by natural springs and set amid date palm plantations, Al Ain was once a vital pit-stop on the caravan route between Oman and the Gulf and is the birthplace of the United...