The Great Outdoors of Oman: Nizwa!

This past weekend we finally got to experience Oman without air-conditioning!

Small update on this past week: Had lots of classes, learned lots of stuff, went to a gorgeous park in the city with our Omani friends, and had the privilege of shopping at Lu Lu's, Oman's most popular grocery store that looks like a casino from the outside because of its a neon light extravaganza. Most importantly, we went to a Mexican/Karaoke restaurant and bar and our group of seventeen owned the microphone practically the entire night. I even serenaded Hannah with 100 Years, and I think she was really touched by my voice. The most random karaoke-er of the night was this decent-looking, middle-aged guy in a dishdasha, sitting alone at a booth smoking shisha, singing some heartfelt love song to no one in particular. 

Anyway, we started off the journey Thursday morning when we were greeted outside the hotel by five 4x4 SUV's that each had an Omani driver/guide. My driver was so cool, and I named him Chief because he was the head guy and our vehicle always led the caravan (I think the name was actually catching on with the other guides by the end of our trip). 

We drove through Muscat and reached Nizwa after a couple of hours, the fourth largest city in Oman that lies west of Muscat. Nizwa is known for its handmade silver craft, so we went to the souq and I bought some pretty cool stuff. (Mother: I got something for you, so don't you worry!) When you drive in Nizwa and around the mountainous area, you can't help but notice all the ruins of ancient villages and towers along the side of the highway; Chief told us that some of the ruins were more than five thousand years old! These ruins used to be the homes of the tribes in the Al Hamra region. These tribes would war against each other, and some of those thousand-year-old grudges still exist today among the descendants of the tribes; so if Ahmed wants to marry Majda from a tribe that Ahmed's tribe isn't exactly cool with, his family might be like "Aw, hell nah!" and protest to the marriage. There are some things I will never understand...

We went in our 4x4's deep into the mountains after the souq. Some of the inclines we drove up were quite alarming--we're talking sixty to seventy degree gradients here. I must admit that I doubted Chief's mountain-driving aptitude on some of those inclines, but I shouldn't have, because Chief is a mountain-driving extraordinaire. 



Our first stop was in the oldest village in Oman known as Misfat Al Abreyeen. Even though Sultan Qaboos has made it a priority to bring Oman into the twenty-first century, he also said that if people want to stay put in their ancient villages, like Misfat, they have every right to, and he will bring them water and electricity. Misfat was... absolutely surreal; it's hard to describe because of how timeless it is there. It was so quiet except for the sound of water running though the entire village in the intricate mini-canal system. It was built on the side of a mountain, so no cars can go through-- we had to park outside and walk to the village. The only person I saw was this old man with a long, white beard perched on a wall by a waterfall. It's almost frustrating to attempt to describe Misfat because one really has to go there in order understand what it's like. The few hours we spent walking around the tiny village of Misfat Al Abreyeen are some of my favorite moments on the trip thus far. 

View of Misfat... Date trees are everywhere!

After Misfat, we made our way up more mountains and had lunch on top of a very high mountain in a camp (It was only twenty-seven degrees!) and saw a lot of mountain goats. Then we went to our hotel/campground (The tents were not really tents, and each tent had its own bathroom and running water) and chilled there for the rest of the night. There were these two donkeys that Steph and I kept trying to touch but they were weenies and would run away every time we made some progress. Some of us also stayed up till three in the morning playing cards with our Omani friend, Matasum. We played our American card games and then we played an Omani card game. 'Twas quite the night. 


The next day we went to a wadi (mountain pool) by Nizwa. It actually reminded me a lot of Tucson because it looked almost exactly like Sabino Canyon! I was as free as a bird. We got to swim in the wadi for hours, and I actually got a tan, which will probably be the only sun exposure my shoulders will ever receive during my stay in Oman because I'm always covered from neck to wrist to ankles, especially now that Ramadan has started.


Nizwa was incredible. I can't decide which was better, Salalah or Nizwa. Maybe I just won't make that decision. Oman continues to awe me with the diversity of its people, culture, and landscapes. Bring on more adventure, dear country!

Celine and I in our "tent" being hardcore "campers"

P.S. As aforementioned, Ramadan started today, so we're not allowed to eat or drink in front of anyone that is fasting. It's actually illegal to consume nourishment in public during Ramadan in Oman. We finally get to meet our host families on Thursday, and then I will spend the rest of my time in Oman with them, except for school of course. My stay at the Midan has been wonderful, but I'm ready to experience Omani culture in a more intimate manner. 


Ramadan Kareem, everyone!