From Muscat, we drove closer to the mountains, where at Nakhal, a spring and a green oasis with palm trees were protected by a fort. It is located at the foot of the Hajar mountain range, which make an impressive backdrop. The gateway and towers seen now were extensions built in 1834 attributed to imam …
We had reached Muscat, the capital of Oman, looking forward to experiencing this city known for its long trading history. As an important port between the west and the east, Muscat was ruled by various indigenous tribes as well as foreign powers such as the Persians, the Portuguese Empire and the Ottoman Empire at various points in its history. A regional military power …
We had decided against trying to cross Wahiba Sands, not too keen to challenge our camper that much. We had passed the entrance in the south-east, where we already saw nice sand dunes. The entrance from the north is at Al Mintirib, where we decided to drive a bit into the sand as the tracks …
First we visited Jalan Bani Bu Ali, then Jalan Bani Bu Hassan and finally drove into the Wadi Bani Khalid. We think bani means sons. At least in this area, everything had a bani in its name. Jalan Bani Bu Ali has some old watchtowers, old mud houses crumbling away and a castle with the …
From Shannah, we took the ferry to get to the island of Masirah, which lies about 15 km from the mainland. The desert island has lovely sand beaches, which are great for snorkelling, something we were looking forward to. There is the national ferry which we thought we would take, just that they were not …
From Ash Shuwaymiyah to Duqm, the route was quite boring, taking us through endless plains with not much to see. Later, we were closer to the coast again but the landscape was mostly monotonous. For the night, we found a lovely spot at the lagoon of Wadi Tarif. Like all this lagoons, many birds were …
We drove into the wadi of Ash Shuwaymiyyah, a broad valley, with impressive sandstone walls to both sides. Of course we couldn’t resist and took a dip in the cool water of the spring. With the spray coming from the rocks above and the clouds moving past in the blue sky, a magical place to …
We had found a great spot for the night not far from Khor Rori, were a herd of camels greeted us in the morning. From there, it was a short drive along the coast to Mirbat, where we first stopped at Bin Ali’s Tomb. Bin Ali was a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and the …
We’ve had noises coming from the brake system since Kenya, but the situation has gotten worse since we arrived in Oman. When Edi checked the rear axle, it turned out that one brake disc on one side was worn out. Carelessly, he had only ever checked the front brake discs in Kenya. We were lucky …
We had already explored a little the west and north of Dhofar, now we were on the way up the coast, checking out all the springs along the mountains and an ancient town at the coast. We visited Ayn Razat, Ayn Tabraq and the waterfall at Ayn Athum. Even during the dry season, there is …
