Nizwa

Nizwa fort in the early light





It had been a very busy second half of the year as my project in Riyadh went into over drive with a lot of weekend work.  Although I was travelling a lot, it was only for work and this takes much of the fun out of the experience.

















The Souq in the evening





Once the proposal was submitted, I suddenly had time on my hands over Christmas and some great plans with the family. My Mum joined us from Australia for Christmas and we were travelling to Sri Lanka for the Christmas/New Year period.  Before we left I had a little time so I decided to take Mum on a quick trip to Nizwa, the historic mountain capital of Oman, to see the sights. 



















Most agriculture consisted of terraces fields and date
palms in the Wadis





I had wanted to check out Nizwa and the surrounding mountains for some time but the opportunity had not presented.  There seems to be a lot of potential for walking, biking and climbing - although these activities would be for a later time.
The drive was easy and the Border crossing near Jebel Harfeet was uncomplicated.  Omani roads have a reputation for being dangerous but I found the roads to be of good quality and the drivers reasonably restrained which was a comfort for my Mum.


















Goaost are grazed on the high plateau below the summit
of Jebel Shams




We checked into the Golden Tulip, which is well reviewed but a 15 minute drive from the central Souq in Nizwa.  After dropping our bags, Mum and I headed to the Souq for a meal and a look around.  The Souq was a little deserted but it was evening prayer time so that didn’t help.  We had a great Omani meal and headed to the hotel.




















The next day we were up early for a better look at the Souq.  It was well restored but still had a working market place.  While aimed at tourists, the Souq had a great covered vegetable market as well as a livestock market although there was no livestock for sale that day.  Mum and I picked up some dates and honey and had a good look around.  The morning light was perfect and highlighted Nizwa Fort.  We only had the morning before we drove back to Dubai so we were not able to wait for the opening of the Fort.


Tectonic forces were clearly responsible for the Al Hajar range with broad sweeps of











Wadi Nakhur Gorgre









After some time in Nizwa we headed back to Dubai via Jebel Shams a 3009 metre peak overlooking the “Grand Canyon” of the Arabian Peninsula.  It was a spectacular mountain environment, stark with massive slabs of tilted rock driven up by the collision of the Arabic and Asian plates.



























The Gorge again







Before the climb up the peak from the base of the mountain, small villages are located in the Wadis.  They have terraced fields and dates palms and they draw their water from the intermittent flows through the Wadis. It would have been good to explore some more but we needed to get back on the road to Dubai.





























Large slabs of rock on the plateau







There seems to be looks of potential for some mountain biking and it would be great to go back with a few people and some bikes and explore the area. Hopefully this trip will just be a reconnaissance.









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