Trip to Barka

Friday: After an early breakfast I left my hotel and headed north along the Muscat Expressway towards the coastal town on Barka to visit its Fort. Friday morning is equivilant to Sunday in the UK and the roads were quiet.

The route to Barka is not particularly striking; the Expressway is lined with construction sites and the mountains on the left slowly fade away into the distant brown haze giving way to a featureless plain dotted with shrubs, farms and small townships.

Barka is a sprawling town of about 20000 people located about 60km north west of Muscat. Despite the lack of clear roadsigns and a flood diversion the Fort was easy to find - apart from a few minarets it was the tallest building. Sadly the Fort, which dates back to the 17th century, was closed. From the outside it is an imposing structure; the walls and ramparts were in good condition, the highest turret rising about 20 metres and adorned with the national flag.

Between the Fort and the beach there was a bustling Friday market. Fishermen were selling last
nights catch - their boats lined up on the beach nearby, and local farmers were selling fodder and fruits out of the back of their trucks. As the only European in town I attracted some attention but the people were friendly: "Good Morning, Hello, How Are You," accompanied with warm smiles. "Es Salaam Alaykum," I replied back. "Wa Alaykum es Salaam." This is about the limit of my Arabic at present.

I left Barka mid morning as I was due to meet a colleague for lunch back in Muscat. Driving back I spotted my first camel peering curiously over some scrub at my car.

What you lookin at??

On Saturday I travelled in other direction, driving south to As Sifah. I will write about this in the next day or so. The rest of my evening will be spent ironing and learning arabic. Ashuufak Badayn