Exploring Oman

FYI for those of you who have viewed our Oman photos on Facebook, this post will be pretty much the same. (There's another Oman post to come, we were able to take Dave's sister Carrie there a couple weeks ago!!)

We had a long weekend to celebrate the Prophet's birthday here so we took advantage of it and went to Oman for the weekend. We were excited as we had heard lots of great things about it and it did not disappoint. It was fun just to get out of Bahrain, but it also was great because it felt like a real vacation. In fact, it's the first vacation we've taken since having kids that wasn't taken to meet up with other family. I was a little nervous about how it would go, but the kids were great.

A quick side-note before moving on to actually talk about Oman... Bahrainis are either fiercely patriotic or there is a campaign going on here trying to instill it. Either way, there are lots of interesting billboards with the national flag depicted in various ways. The flag is white on the left with the zig-zag pattern connecting about 1/3 the way in with the red color, a la the girl's face below...

Here is an example, taken in the airport (hence the placement of the picture :)

They are all very attractive billboards and signs. Nice, huh?

Okay, now we arrive in Oman...

Everything in Oman looks clean and well-kept. This was our first view, walking out of the airport. I know, not much to look at really, but looks quite clean for an airport exit and is representative of the care taken of all the public roadways and areas.

First we drive to our hotel and pass...

The Grand Mosque. Due to poor planning (and difficult hours) we didn't get inside. Next time!

After checking in, we head to the beach...

Qurm Beach near our hotel. The Intercon has a great location here, but make sure to stay on the Club levels.

Then we take a little driving tour of the area...

Driving into Muscat. The view on one side of the freeway...

...the view on the other. Everything was beautiful.

The Portuguese captured Oman's ports in the 16th century and built thier forts on the site of the Omanis'. Oman has a very interesting history as a main trade route for copper, then incense and spices. Its many ports also made it attractive to conquering civilizations.

And make a kid-friendly stop...

Charlie enjoying a park near the base of the incense burner hill (picture below). He loved playing with the rocks.

Cute little Charlie.

Davey enjoying the park.

Happy Davey.

A giant incense burner replica. Frankincense comes from the south of Oman.

Friday morning, we catch Sacrament meeting (there were so many young kids Davey didn't want to leave) and then head up into the mountains...

Driving up to Nizwa. Writing on the hills/mountains a la the western US

The mountainous scenery was beautiful. Dave and I were craving getting out and going for a hike, but that wasn't going to happen spur-of-the-moment with the kids, these mountains were pretty intimidating. It was incredible to see the geologic history of the area written all over the landscape. The mountains were nothing like those I've seen before - without an identifiable range with the peaks having some sense of uniformity - just high, intense peaks with the layers going every which way, showing the upheaval of the region breaking off the continents and the plates colliding.

Lookouts like these dotted the mountains.

A view of the city center at Nizwa. The fort, mosque and souq. Nizwa was once the capital of Oman.

In the Nizwa souq.

Nizwa mosque. A very conservative area. We arrived during prayer time and the mosque was thronged.

Fort at Nizwa. Didn't get to go in here either. Still interesting to see from the outside.

Souq/Fort at Nizwa.

After we returned, it was time to enjoy the nice hotel pools...

The coolest part of our trip; it was a sweaty one!

Then dinner...

A gorgeous night for a dinner at Trader Vic's overlooking the ocean.

Saturday morning we went exploring in the Souq and bought some fun souvenirs, including some Omani silver (a bracelet for me :) ...

The Muttrah Souq

It was a very nice feeling souq. I love the little hats the men wear here, different from the white flowing headdress of the Saudis and Bahrainis

The shopkeepers in the souqs always want to dress up Dave in the local headdress. Didn't see many of this one though. He and Davey both bought one of the other hats.

Then another little driving trip to give Charlie a short snoozer in the car. So many beautiful views...

The Sultan's Palace.

One of the many gorgeous views of the ports with Davey claiming to strike a pose.

Looking back to the Muttrah port.

Dhow boats in the harbor. This is the one thing Davey wanted in the souq - a Dhow replica - he loved them.

Then it was off to the airport for the trip home...

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After we landed back in Bahrain the kids were zonked out witin minutes of getting in the car. They were so good for getting no naps and in bed late the whole time!

Oman was awesome and we can't wait to go explore some more!!