RoadTrip to As Sifah

I left early again on Saturday this time heading immediately east from Al Khuwair towards Ruwi. The roads were quiet again but markedly busier than Friday. Until last year weekends began on Thursday before it was changed to Friday to be more aligned with Western calenders. The UAE and Qatar were the first in 2006, and after Oman made the switch Saudi Arabia soon followed.

I stopped just before Ruwi for petrol. It cost just 7 Omani Rials or about £12 to fill the tank of my Kia Sorrento from near empty to full. I found my way through the bustling shopping streets in Ruwi to the As Sifah bypass road, although getting through Ruwi puts alot of people off using it. On the plus side I didn't see another car for about half an hour and there was a good view of the urban sprawl which has filled the valleys like water.

Al Kabir District, Muscat

From there the road cuts through the seemingly endless labyrinth jagged brown mountains, winding its away across ridge lines and valleys. It was the most fun I had driving in a long time negotiating one corner after another. About half way to As Sifah I took a detour to see Yiti beach, passing a couple of small townships and farms. All had seperate small mosques for men and women.

The beach at Yiti had been overtaken by a large resort development, although this has seemingly been put on hold for some time now. Much of the bay has already been filled in ready for construction. However the beach at the far east side remains untouched and the fishing village there continues to thrive. Tourism is part of the diversification strategy for most Gulf economies; oil and gas, or the demand for it, will not last forever unlike the sunshine. But part of the charm here is the continuation of a traditional way of life in many coastal and rural areas; the local fishermen have little need for change and seem content to live as they have always done.

I left Yiti and continued for another half hour east through the mountains. The road briefly meets the sea near a series of tidal bays called Bandar Al Khiran where you can hire small fishing boats and explore the waters. I arrived in As Sifah early afternoon and stopped for lunch at a small fish restaurant called As Sammak, literally the fisherman in Arabic. The fish was delicious, fresh caught the same morning. Also the restaurant sits on the edge of the beautiful sandy beach. With the afternoon sun beating down I stayed at As Sammak for a couple of hours, reading two more chapters of Travels in Dictionary Land before heading along to the beach to the fishing village, trying not to tread on the small purple jellyfish washed up on the sand.

As Sifah village sits at the north end of the beach. About 3 - 4km to the south is another resort, "Jebel Sifah", which unlike Yiti is partially complete and thankfully far enough away from the village not to notice. This was the reason why such a good road had been built between Muscat and here.

As Sifah Beach - the Jebel Sifah resort is in the distance.

As Sifah Fishing Village

The village is sizeable, perhaps 500 - 1000 occupants and has a couple of small stores and two sizeable mosques. It is dominated by a medieval Portuguese watchtower which nests on a small round hill at the south end. The Portuguese colonised Muscat and much of the coastline in the 14th Century, and numerous ruins can be found near the towns and harbours. I will write about this period later.

Watchtower on the left, mosque at the bottom of the hill on the right.

I arrived just before afternoon prayers so many of the villagers were slowly congrating around the main mosque situated below the watchtower. I attempted to find a way up to the watchtower but the only clear path was (I think) close to the mosque. I did not wish to disturb prayers so I walked back through the village, attracting the interest of the numerous goats and donkeys roaming freely on the empty streets. There were no vehicles or traffic, the only sounds being the calls to prayer, grunting of animals and waves beating on the sand.

As close as I could get.

Goats in boats.

A fishermen repairing his nets at dusk.

As the evening light drew in I walked back along the beach greeting the local fishermen as I went and always receiving a friendly smile back. En route back to Muscat numerous football pitches I failed to notice en route came alive near every town and village, small crowds gathering to watch their teams. Part of me wanted to stop and watch, however the light was closing fast and I was keen to get back to Muscat before dark. I drove back through Ruwi again, its streets alive with activity after more prayers, all the men wearing spotless dishdashas and embroided caps.

This will be my last post for a week or so as I will be busy moving into my house this weekend. I may also be deprived of internet for a few days. However I will hopefully be heading out again next weekend. Until next time.

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

Here it goes...

In late March 2014 I moved from the UK to Oman for 3 years. Before departing I floated the idea of keeping a diary / journal / blog of my time here. The friends and family I asked were enthusiastic about the idea; "you would be mad not to" said one.

I have never kept a diary, written a journal or started a blog before, and my experience of writing is limited. Creative writing was never my strong point at school although some history essays I recently uncovered did have a small degree of fluency in their arguments. At work I have to be matter of fact; short sentences, small words and punchy bullet points are the only way to guarantee readership. So I apologise in advance if my first few posts read like an Economist article.

My aim is to write about the history, geography, culture, language and people of Oman. I will focus on writing it as an informal diary, but for my friends and family as well as myself. I am taking some inspiration from Wilfred Thesinger, the eccentric British explorer who criss-crossed the Empty Quarter in the late 1940s and wrote a fine book about it. Another enjoyable read has been Travels in Dictionary Land by Tim Mackintosh-Smith.

In doing this I will try to stray from publishing long monologues (like this), they end up never being read and more time writing is less time exploring. I will attempt to keep my posts punchy but descriptive, and perhaps include a few photos along the way. Also I am here for work after all and cannot spend every day discovering forts, wadis, mountain villages, camel races, and writing about it. So I anticipate publishing two or three posts a month.

My first weekend begins tomorrow. It has been raining for the first few days, apparently a phenomenon for this time of year. The locals keep joking I brought the bad weather from England and I have to agree with them (although 20 degrees is really not cold). However the clouds are clearing so I may have the first opportunity of doing some proper exploring.

Setting my alarm for 6 in the hope I will see a sunrise over Muscat, so I will sign off for now. Hopefully I will be back on here in a week or so. In the meantime thank you for reading, and see you soon.

Jon