Oman 2023

First day in Muscat: in the pool of the Royal Tulip

The Royal Opera House in Muscat

Rox and the Opera House

Modern architecture and shiny marble floors

Posing in the hall

Without direct sunset light, the marble looks whiter

The sultan&#x27;s palace in Old Muscat

A small mosque at dusk near the palace

Looking at vintage stuff in the souq of Old Muscat

No souq without colorful lights

Tourist stuff and incense smell

And on to the gold souq

Side entrance of the Grand Mosque in Muscat

The Moon caught in the crescent of the dome

One of the many detailed niches

The large prayer hall for men in the Sultan Qaboos Mosque

Looking into the dome of the hall

The chandelier weighs 8,5 tons and is 14m tall

Roxanne and a toddler

Plenty of space when there is no service going on

Arches in arches

The Islamic engravings remind me of the Taj Mahal in India

Belgian tourist in Muscat

Every niche seems to be different

Roxanne in a pink abaya

Selfie with the main prayer hall

Roxanne with the arches

The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque was finished in 2001

Last view on the dome

First stop on our way to the mountains: Birkat Al Mouz at the foot of the Jebel Akhdar

Birkat Al Mouz is a mud brick village in ruins

Matching with the palm trees

Excellent tourist pose

The walls will eventually crumble away

The highest point of the village

Another spectacular village: Al Ain on Jebel Akhdar

This village is inhabited and they grow crops on the terraces

It is located on a steep cliff

We found the perfect selfie spot

Local business on the move

Seen from a higher viewpoint

The mosque of Al Ain

Sunset in Nizwa from the roof of the Antique Inn

An abandoned mud brick village on Jebel Shams

Switching the 4x4 on to drive on Jebel Shams

Start of the W6 Balcony Walk

Still fresh, let&#x27;s take a selfie

The deep gorge in Jebel Shams, the Grand Canyon of Oman

Natural arches form after the rocks collapse

Local wildlife in the mountains

That&#x27;s why they call it the balcony

A big lizard announces the presence of water

Two tree goats, or one goat tree?

The spring at the end of the hike

Some greenery survives here

Woolly goats on the mountain

Posing on Jebel Shams, the highest mountain in Oman

Jabreen Castle (17th C) seen from the road

Open window in the castle

There are many rooms and vaults

The castle wall with view on the surroundings

Roxy in style on a staircase

The Imam&#x27;s room of Jabreen Castle

Inner court yard with balconies

There are no other tourists around here, we own the place

The Al Ayn Beehive Tombs

Large tombs made of stacked stones

Al Ayn is an archeological site without a fence

These tombs are the remains from an ancient civilization

On a spectacular setting with Jebel Misht on the horizon

Desert flowers

These are not Omani, they do the hard work

Starting the hike through Wadi Damm

The brute force of water is visible in the rock

There is not much water in the wadi in December

We have to find a way through these obstacles

We stay high on the right hand side to avoid these boulders

We reach a nice pool on the end of Wadi Damm

Time for a dip

Behind the pool, the wadi makes a sharp turn

Walking back on the eroded bedrock

Checking out the Pottery Souq in Nizwa

Local families in Nizwa

The mosque of Nizwa by night

In our hotel the Antique Inn

View on Nizwa Fort

An old watch tower in Misfat al Abriyeen

A brand new coffee shop in a very old building

The famous irrigation system of Misfat: the falaj

The village hides in a palm plantation

A rare spot of bright colors

Decorated steel doors are common here

Four Omani tourists in Misfat

Another falaj in a garden terrace

Cute little square with a water well

View from a distance on Misfat al Abriyeen

The huge mud brick fort of Bahla (14th C)

Roxy on a canon

We&#x27;re welcomed by more canons, right after the entrance

Greetings from Bahla

One of the few decorated rooms in the fort

Roxy on a staircase

One last view of Bahla Fort

The huge round tower of Nizwa Fort

There are many buildings in the fort

Roxy on a staircase

View on the mosque of Nizwa from the tower

17th Century architecture in Nizwa

Posing in a matching dress

Happy to be here

Feeling at home in Nizwa Fort

Watching the sun go down from the tower

Last light behind the mountains of Nizwa

Early Friday morning, everybody is getting ready for the goat market in Nizwa

The audience is ready

I declare the goat market open!

And the madness starts

Sellers and buyers start shouting

This one wants a lot of money for his big goat

The animals run around the arena

The young dudes are learning the business

The chaos is complete now

If the goats don&#x27;t walk, pick em up

All Omani wear the same dress from a young age

Old man, young goat

This one stands out in a pink dress

The after market

One green tree in a brown landscape and we spot our first camel

Arrived at the Wahiba Sands desert, ready for a 40km drive

The loose sand requires flattened tires, and an offline GPS map

And there is a local

More locals as we drive towards the 1000 Nights Camp

Quick stop for a picture

We made to our sheikh tent in 1000 Nights Camp

Climbing up the dunes for the sunset

We approach the other side of the dune, where no 4x4 comes

Nicely designed by the wind

The desert seems endless

First visitor of the day

Sunset in style

Thanks for the pictures!

Last rays of light in Wahiba Sands

Heading back to 1000 Nights Camp

The reception building by night

Ready to drive back in our 4x4

Wadi Bani Khalid is perfect to cool down after the desert adventure

The typical green water of every wadi in Oman

We are going to swim along this part

Taking a rest on a stone

You have to be properly dressed to swim here

Wadi Bani Khalid is a popular place, but not too busy today

We did a quick stop in Sur to see the watchtowers change color at sunset

And the lighthouse

Sur has a ship yard that produces these boats

Sunset on Sur suspension bridge

On to the next wadi: Wadi Tiwi

The steps down to the waterfall

And there is the highest part of Wadi Tiwi

This water is pretty cold

The Little Mermaid

With the waterfall in Wadi Tiwi

Another one is cooling down rapidly

A quick selfie before exploring the lower parts

This is where you can go down, but we don&#x27;t

We crossed the orchard and went down on the other side

This is the most beautiful part of Wadi Tiwi, and there is nobody around

Crossing the rocks

Down into the next pool

Wading towards the higher part

There are the rocks from the upper part

Back in the large pool for some pictures

View to downstream Wadi Tiwi

Climbing back up on the chain, out of the wadi

Back at the pool of the Nomad Inn

The next day, we drive to the next wadi: Wadi Shab

We take a small ferry to cross the creek

The hike goes along the falaj in Wadi Shab

View on the wadi from above

We put our stuff in a dry bag and start exploring

This where it seems to end, but there is a narrow opening in the rock

In the cave at the end of the wadi

We made it back out of Wadi Shab

Bimmah Sinkhole was closed, so we went to the beach

We arrive at the Ad Dimaniyat Islands

Snorkeling with 7 turtles

This one is going up to breathe

Back to his mates on the bottom

And there is a sea snake

To the pretty beach on the next island

Selfie on Ad Dimaniyat

More snorkeling on the second island

Pointing the GoPro between schools of fish

Snorkeling Roxy

Back on the sea towards Muscat

Last view on Muscat before flying to Salalah

First beer in a week at the Juweirah Boutique hotel

On the beach of Salalah

Sunset in Salalah

This is entertainment for tourist kids, but there are no customers

Camels in the hills of Salalah

Blue dragonfly in a falaj

One sole remaining pool

Higher in Wadi Darbat is water

Thousands of tourist come here in the season, but now it&#x27;s quiet

Checking out the temperature: perfect

You don&#x27;t see that in Belgium

Last sunset in Salalah

The palm trees at our swimming pool

Last day before returning to cold Europe

Map of Oman