Oman Adventure Flash Back
May 9, 2019 was Ramadan month and a hot summer time. Lynn and I went to Nizwa with a travel guide. Lynn was visiting us (oh well, I delayed to post this travel note for a year, but the information is still relevant).
We waited in Holiday Inn Muscat early morning, to be picked up and then departed to Nizwa. The city is about 2 hours from Muscat. We stopped in different places along the way (my husband was working at that time, so he could not join our trip).
Our first stop was in an area near a little town called Fanja which is about 25 km from Muscat. We did not visit Fanja but we enjoyed staring at that town through the distance.
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| A view of an empty wadi (river) |
Our second stop was Birkat Al Mawz, a small village in Nizwa. It is surrounded by palm dates. Lynn and I walked to the ruins at the Birkat Al Mawz. The ruins used to be a traditional village with houses made of mud mixed with stones and straws. I went inside a house that was partially intact and it felt cool, interesting. I really wish that this place could be better preserved and appreciated as it is so unique to Oman.
The ruins has clean water supply from Falaj (traditional irrigation system). It is so amazing that in the middle of the ruins, there is a stream of clean and cool water flowing. We spent some time walking inside the ruins, pretended to be a time traveller and lived the past at the present time.
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| Falaj in Birkat Al Mawz |
In in Birkat Al Mawz, we managed to see Falaj Al Khatmeen, a 2450 meter long unique water system and listed as UNESCO world heritage site.
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| Falaj Al Khatmeen |
After enjoying the flowing water, we visited Nizwa Souk it was unfortunate that a lot of shops were closed during that time but we did enjoy our time there looking around and buying some souvenirs. I got natural soaps and small pouches made of Omani textile style.
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| Different types of dates |
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| Most of the shops in the souk are closed during this time |
We spent most of our time in Nizwa Fort. The view from the top of the fort is beautiful but it was so hot at that time.
We had a short visit to Bahla. We did not manage to get into Bahla Fort but we managed to visit Jabreen Castle near the fort. Our travel guide forgot that during Ramadan, most of the tourist destinations are closed early. However, we had a good time enjoying the view from outside of the fort. We could see a small village surrounded by palm dates. I like that view, I think it is a unique place that can only be found in the dessert environment. I am from a tropical country covered with rain forests, so a small village with palm dates and spring water supply in the middle of nowhere is so appealing to me. I knew about "Oasis" from the school text book when I was young but never really imagine that one day I would had a chance to be in such place. Indeed, live works in a mysterious ways.
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| Time traveller wannabe (pic taken by Lynn) |
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After spending some time in Bahla Fort, we stopped at Tanoof old village ruins. The ruins in Tanoof were made of mud mixed with stones and straws, similar to the one in Birkat Al Mawz. I enjoyed the time in the village and being in the ruins, wondering the good old time when people used to stay in their traditional houses and had simple life, far from "the disturbed modern life".
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| Lynn in Tanoof ruins |
We went back home after visiting Tanoof. It was raining a bit on our way home. I hope we will have another opportunities in the future to explore different places in Oman.
