"Further snapshots of Old Oman" Oman Travelogue by Geoff_Wright

This is a shot of Oman's 'Grand Canyon', although this is only a small part of it. This is Wadi Nakr, which runs into Ghul village

This is the face of Jabal Sham (or one of them as it is basically three-sided). You can see the low cloud obscuring the top of the jebal, below the summit, which is out of camera shot on the right. This was the last photo I took until coming back down, owing to a terrific thunderstorm (it was the day before Christmas!). When we reached the summit it was almost dark and so windy and cold. There was no chance of any photos! We stayed the night huddled up in a small cave just down from the top, and it was cold!

This is (was) the main road near Al-Hamra, on the way back to Nizwa, where the nearest tarmac road was.

This is the same road. Can't you tell it had been raining? That was the first rain of the winter. Just our luck.

The Wadi Sahtan, south of Rustaq.

Probably the same wadi. There were no roads here, only boulder strewn tracks. The roof of our Landrover is just visible at the bottom of the picture.

This is one I remember very well. It is on the way to Sur. I was amazed at the rock formation. Look closely and you can see the large boulder is balancing on the edge of the cliff. (See the shadow in the centre).

The main road into the Ghubrah Bowl, with the Jabal Mahil in the distance. No doubt this has a tarmac surface now.

I think this one is taken somewhere between Nizwa and Muscat, but I can't be sure quite where. I'll let you know after my return visit!! There is a village down there somewhere, amongst the date palms in the middle distance.

Again, I remember more or less where this was taken, but not the name of the village. Although it looks to be in ruins, people did still live there then.

s3Here are some more snapshots of varying quality, for which I apologise. I have added them to a travelogue following my reading of Diana Darke's fascinating book 'Discovery Guide to Oman'. It is just unbelievable how the country has changed in less than the 25 years since I was there. I remember all of the photos but not all of the place names. However, they may be of interest to other travellers - virtual or real!

This picture is of the fort in Muttrah (1976).

I remember it well, but not the name of the place!!
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I have recently found a photo similar, if not the same as this, and it is of Bahla. I'll have to return to check it out, haha!

And so back to Muttrah. No doubt about this shot.

I used to walk in the desert to get away from the construction noise at the camp. One afternoon I walked over the very wide wadi near the camp and up the low jabal (hills). There are no signposts here, no roads, tracks or buildings, so at first I used to build little cairns along the tops of the hills so that, on looking back, I could always see one. It is surprising how the desert all looks the same when you try to find your way back. I expect they are still there! At the top of one range I discovered some very large fossils, and lost track of time. Realising the sun was going down, I thought I would try to get a picture of the sunset. Well, by the time the sun had set low enough to be able to aim my camera at it, it was almost too dark. Then I realised that I had a 3 mile hike back down the hills and over the wadi. I don't think I've run so fast in all my life!

Ma'asalaama!

I think this picture is part of the fort at Bahla (1976).

Bahla Fort in the early 1970's, before restoration.

Not at all sure of this one, but it could be Rustaq. When I last visited Rustaq it was at the end of a very bumpy, dusty graded road. Now my new book tells of roundabouts and traffic lights!

No idea at all on this poor photo, but no doubt there's a tarmac highway running through there now.

Now this one I do remember. It is at Al-Kamil which was the turning off to Sur in the 'old' days. I remember driving the Landrover along the old track towards Sur, and on seeing the new road that was being built turned onto the graded surface. What heaven to be speeding along on a straight, flat surface. What I failed to see was a trench across the 'road'. What a bang, but no damage to the vehicle although we were all rather shaken up. I did think the radiator had gone due to the rusty water thrown up onto the windscreen from the cooling system!! Just near here I stopped to help a local who was having trouble with his donkey. He had two large hessian sacks on its back and they were slipping off. The donkey would not stand still, so I gave the elderly man a hand. I should have known better, the sacks were full of rather ripe dates, and you can imagine the state I got myself into.

Another sad story for me. This photo is of Ghul, at the foot of the Jabal Sham (Mountain of the Sun). I had hoped to return to meet the locals, but, again, the village is now abandoned, and the local population live in a newly constructed town nearby. This was the start of our trek up to the summit of Jabal Sham.

A very long hike to the summit of Jabal Sham meant an early start, hence the quality of this shot. We are just preparing to leave at first light, for our 12 hour trip. No 4x4's up to the top in those days!