Finally, appropriate headgear. A small museum. Deep into the sand desert. Fun on dunes, on foot, gliding and in a jeep.
Travelogue Oman 2019 Al Kamil and Wahiba Sands
The morning started with a delicious breakfast and with Talal giving me a proper headgear. Maybe some of you remember that I bought one of those red and white Arab head scarves, a kufiya, in Jordan. I had taken it with me and lo and behold, exactly this type was also worn in Oman. How to wear the headscarf, however, varies greatly from region to region or country to country. And so our host showed me how the Omanis do it.
Talal ties me the kufiya as it is worn in Oman.This is what it looked like. As noted in Jordan, this is a chic and functional headgear.
We then visited the small Old Castle Museum in Al-Kamil wa al-Wafi, which displays a wild and rich conglomeration of relics from the country’s past, from weapons to cooking utensils.
The Old Castle Museum in Al-Kamil wa al-WafiHere you can see the daggers, which are an integral part of traditional clothing in Oman.
Next, Talal had helped us arrange an overnight stay in the famous Wahiba Sands, a classic sand desert. We were taken to the accommodation, then our new friend said goodbye, because one of his nephews was getting married on this day. As an aside, we learned that at an Arabic or at least traditional Omani wedding, the bride is not present! Father and groom make a contract and then the men celebrate among themselves. Just as almost all social life in Oman is segregated by gender.
The “Golden Palm Oasis” is more of a hotel than a camp. One is accommodated in quite comfortable bungalows. The complex is situated on the edge of large dunes.
Most tourists visit Wahiba Sands a little further west, turning off highway 23 at Bidiyyah. That puts them even deeper in the desert than we were. For us, the Golden Palm Oasis was convenient as it was much closer to Al Kamil. And even there, the camps are not as idyllic as I experienced in Wadi Rum. However, the drive there and possibly further to the ocean must be adventurous and normal tourists should not attempt this on their own.
Anyway, we spent a bit of time on the big dune, up and down, on foot or with some kind of sandboard, photos … It was pretty hot, though. And so we were looking forward to our desert jeep tour that we had booked for the afternoon.
The tour took us deeper into the desert, endless dunes (also much higher than seen here) and also camels. These ones even let me pet them briefly.our driver Of course, the kufiya looks even better with these white dresses.This is what a modern well looks like in the desert.The water is then stored here.The water we drink here probably comes from ancient fossil deposits beneath the desert. The use of this water is strictly limited by various decisions of the Sultan.But here the little bit of water is enough to do a little cattle breeding. Why didn’t the Little Prince actually meet any goats? A goat would probably have been easier to find than a sheep.
In the end, however, it is especially fun to drive across the dunes in a jeep with a professional driver. For me, this was an important preparation for riding off paved roads myself.I don’t know if it rides particularly well on sand with no tread at all, or if they’re just saving money here. In the desert, surely no one comes and checks the tread depth.desert just before sunset
We spent a fairly quiet evening and morning at our lodging.
The desert lives. At night Malina discovered this insect. It could be some kind of cricket after a quick search for similar images.
This spider was also very funny, apparently digging for prey here in the morning hours.
Last action here in the desert: Trying out for myself how to drive on sand. Of course I didn’t just go up the dunes (I wouldn’t have been allowed to, see organization), nevertheless this was an important intermediate step for what I would need in the further course of the vacation: confidence in the car and myself in off-road situations.
