Goodbye, Oman

Muttrah Corniche - April 2010

One year ago we arrived at the Muscat airport for the very first time.  We deplaned around 1:00am with a sleep-deprived 3 year old and one year old, only to find that our university sponsor was NOT waiting for us with our visas as expected.  I can still picture Ethan jumping over men sleeping on the floor, and Claire being admired by a large group of Indonesian women while David tried to convince the indifferent man at the visa counter to let us into the country.  Finally, a nice Omani woman at the currency exchange counter gave Ethan a Galaxy chocolate bar and helped us through immigration.

Boarding the flight from Frankfurt to Muscat - August 1, 2009

 Two months ago we returned to the airport (with sleep-deprived children) and said goodbye to a beautiful country that had come to feel like home to us.  My throat became tight as soon as we entered the building.  We spent our first hour checking in our luggage (nice airport employees, primitive use of technology) and then we headed to the visa cancellation desk.  Even now I feel sad thinking about how we passed through a door that locked behind us after our visa paperwork was closed out.  Next, we raced to the gift shop to spend our last 20 rial and arrived at our departure gate just in time (camel stick and t-shirts in hand).

Boarding our flight from Muscat to Heathrow - June 1, 2010

 Deplaning in London.

Ethan was escorted off the plane by the captain... really sweet!

 

 Chillin' at Heathrow.  My friend Silvia gave the kids some toys for the trip... thank you!!!

We feel so blessed to have had this wonderful experience living in Oman.  It is a beautiful country with beautiful people and traditions.  I hope we can return to visit someday.  In the mean time, I enjoy looking at pictures with the kids, talking about our friends and experiences in Muscat, and watching videos like this from our weekend in Dubai:

Ethan sometimes reenacts this show in the bathtub, singing and throwing cupfuls of water into the air.

 

Salalah Part 4 - Camels

We saw a lot of Camels during our trip down south.

 Camels relaxing at the beach.

Camels in roundabouts

 

Camels in parks

 

Camels behind camel road signs

 

Camels with birds on their noses

 

Camels on cliffs

 

Camels who can't be bothered.  The van you see started out behind us.  The camels were not the slightest bit rushed by our Mazda 3 coming up behind them.  This van went around us, beeping its horn and agressively pushing its way through the crowd.  We tried to follow close behind, but...

 

...apparently we were not assertive enough.  It was like the story of Moses leading the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground.  We felt like Pharoah's chariots, being swallowed up by the sea.  

Salalah Part 3 - Nephi's Land of Bountiful

"The Book of Mormon tells of a land of "Bountiful," a fertile place on the Arabian Peninsula where Nephi built the ship that carried Lehi's group to the New World. In Joseph Smith's day, and for more than a century after, it seemed impossible that such a place could exist in seemingly barren Arabia. However, a beautiful, wooded valley that fits Nephi's description of the place in detail has recently been identified on the remote southern coast of the country of Oman."  (http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/jbms/?vol=7&num=1&id=165)

Researchers have proposed at least 4 different sites within the Dhofar region of Oman as possible matches for the land of Bountiful:

1.  Al Baleed (archaeological site within the city of Salalah)

 

 This picture reminds me of David's days as an aspiring Indiana Jones.

2.  Khor Rori (Sumhuram)

 

3. Wadi Sayq (it can only be reached by boat, but our Mazda 3 got us 

reasonably close here in Dalkut, right on the Yemen border)

 

The far cliffs are part of Yemen.

 

4.  Mughsayl (my favorite area in all of Salalah)

 

The blowholes--awesome!  

We returned here another day because it was so fun.

David sizes up his next climb.

He can't resist a big chunk of rock.

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We watched the blowholes until the cows came home.

(Um, what?  Where did these guys come from?)

 Mughsayl Beach

Here are a few more fun sights:

Driving the steep roads of Wadi Aful.  

Twiggy Frankincense trees dotted the mountainside.

 

Travertine Curtain

 

Wadi Darbat - Popular picnic spot.  This felt more like Georgia than Arabia.

 

The lush, green plateau reminded us of Scotland (except for the mosque)

Tawi Atayr - "Well of Birds" - one of the world's largest sinkholes.

 

Tomb of Muhammad Bin Ali

 

We stopped in the village Mirbat for a "car polish."

Left: Our brave Mazda 3 never broke down once!

 

Traditional sight of Job's tomb.

Driving in the highlands, looking down into the valley of Salalah.  

Notice the goats and herder.

 

3-yr-old Ethan on cliffs overlooking Salalah

My sentiments exactly!!!

Salalah Part 2 - In Town

We stayed 5 nights in Salalah's Arabian Sea Villas.  

Breakfast consisted of eggs, toast, dates, local papaya or bananas and mango juice. 

Mosque surrounded by fruit tree plantations.

 

Fruit stands selling bananas, papayas, and coconuts.

Old house and doorway.  Many Omanis still live in small village houses.

 

Modern meets traditional - love the goats!

The Dhofar region of Oman borders Yemen.  Here we are eating chicken, fish and lamb with rice at a traditional-style Yemeni restaurant.  There is an open seating area for men, and then there are curtained rooms like these where families can eat in privacy (helpful if you are a woman who wears a veil).

David ate with his hands.  I was glad I'd packed some plastic spoons in the diaper bag.

 

Shopping for frankincense at the souq.  Frankincense is placed on a piece of hot charcoal and the smoke fills the air with its scent. 

 

Frankincense (back row and front left) is typically burned, but can also be used in perfumes or as medicine.  

The larger, more opaque pieces are more highly valued.  

 

Traditional incense burner

Leather shops selling shoes and... bandoliers?

I've never seen an Omani wearing one of these, but we are quite close to Yemen...

 

Ethan snacking on corn, surrounded by Omani kids.  

Vendors often sell cups of hot corn, seasoned with lemon or chili powder. 

 

We had to stop for camels at this roundabout more than once.  

There must have been 60 of them with a young camel herder leading them across the street.

 

Nice park and playground -- more green grass than we'd seen in awhile.

Ethan and Claire played with these kids while David chatted with their dad on a nearby park bench (just what his father would have been doing, I'm sure).

 

TYPICAL RESTAURANT SCENE

Indian cooks and waiters are luring 1-yr-old Claire with ketchup packets.  

She was pretty much adored wherever we went.