Where to go for a trip when you have less than three days off? When my salsa dancing friends call me for a trip to Oman offering a private room in house of their friend, I can’t resist! So at 2:35, I am already fasting my seatbelt and taking off to the sky, towards the capital of Oman – Muscat. I love Oman. Not as luxurious and fancy as Dubai or Abu Dhabi, but unlike the Emirates, Oman is neither so sterile nor so fake. Here you can really meet the true Arabic culture. Omani people don’t stay in their posh houses like Emiratis, but together with foreign immigrants they form the city’s atmosphere. They enjoy sunny days, smoke shisha and talk about life. If you know Arab culture, as I do, you would certainly love it. It is a pity that the media cast a bad light on Arabic world. In real life, it has nothing to do with what is being washed on TV.

 

Wadi Shab

The next morning we start early, planning a trip to the beautiful rocky valley of Wadi Shab, which is about two hours drive from Muscat. As we don’t have a time for breakfast, we just pick some snack on the way. Later in the car, we enjoy Man’oushe bread (something like pizza) with Zaatar (mix of oregano, basil, olive oil and thyme) and Leban (sour cream). It’s six of us: Me, my Jordanian friend Moe and our host Anas, then another Jordanian – Mohammed with his Romanian wife Lucia and a charming Hajar from Syria. Girls can’t swim, so first we need to get some life jackets for them. When we finally reach the majestic rocks surrounding the lake with the incredibly emerald water, I am amazed. Live scenery looks even more beautiful than in photos. We park our car, take caps, scarves and bottles of water and go hiking. The sun is shining like crazy. First we have to take a small shuttle boat which takes us to the other side of the lake, then long walk in the rocky desert follows. After about half an hour of hiking under the sun we get to high cliffs below which the emerald water is. The young brave Omani guys jump into the water from the top of the highest rock. The bottom is said to be sandy and deep, so I’m the only girl around who joined the guys and jumped into the water from the cliff. Fantastic experience! The guys say I jumped from a height of about 16 meters, but I don’t really believe them. I think they added like six meters. But still, it was pretty high.

Secret Cave

After an adrenaline experience, we continue hiking. We climb the rocks till we can walk dry. Furthermore, the rocks are so impassable that we have to pack our backpacks, phones and towels and hide them in a hole in the rocks and continue walking in the water. Water is getting deeper, the last section we have to swim. Exactly where the path seems to end, the most interesting place is unfolding. We swim through the narrow slot in between the rocks, which leads into a beautiful hidden cave with a waterfall that flows down from a small hole in the ceiling. This place is unreal! At the moment I regret that I don’t have a GoPro camera with me to take pictures in the water! However, the location will remain in my memory forever…

Depke and Whales

In the evening, after an all-day trip, we all meet at Anas’s home, order a dinner from an Iranian restaurant and play Arabic songs. Guys will even teach me to dance traditional Arabian (originally Palestinian / Lebanese) dance Depke. Music itself its full of energy. Before we all go to bed, Anas shows us the videos of his last fishing in the Oman seas. On the shots we see jumping dolphins and even whale tails! I’m telling the guys that for the next fishing they cannot go without me! But the dolphins and whales have to wait now, next morning I have to fly back to Abu Dhabi, work calls…

I’m glad I managed to swap an 18-hour layover in Brussels for a triple sector to Oman with a layover in Muscat (Abu Dhabi -> Muscat -> Abu Dhabi -> Muscat). At least I will have a chance to know better another Middle East country. In my country Oman is becoming more and more popular vacation destination and I want to know why…

 

 

Shisha with the sea view

All three sectors pass very fast (the flight itself takes about 50 minutes) and for the second time this day we are landing in the capital city of Oman. But this time we leave the airport gates and head to hotel for overnight stay. The city is slowly falling in the evening. A shower, clean dress, and in less than an hour, we meet with the captain and the first officer in the hotel lobby. The captain takes us to the city for a dinner. We choose the terrace of the beautiful Shakespeare Restaurant in the Waves Mall in Marina. After a delicious dinner, we enjoy the tranquil atmosphere of the city, the salty air and the aromatic shisha. So far I have not seen much, but I like Oman already…

Wandering around

The next day I get up early to explore the city. Since we are staying at the airport, far away from the city gates, I seek for advice at the reception desk what my options are. Very nice receptionist advises me to rent a taxi for three or four hours. It’s not expensive and the taxi driver will take you around all main sights. I am in! Either I’m just lucky with a very kind driver, or all people in Oman are very willing and hospitable. First of all, we stop at the beautiful Great Mosque of Sultan Qaboosa. From there we continue to the shiny building of the Royal Opera. If it’s not showing any show, the willing staff will take you to backstage. Expensive wood, polished marble, crystal chandeliers. I am amazed how much Oman rulers have been able to invest in art to override ancient buildings in Europe. Next stop is the beautiful Qurum beach, from where we continue to Muttrah Corniche. From the windows of the car, I watch the sharp sandstone rocks, the hidden white houses, eagles in the wind, how the wild waves of the turquoise sea hit the rocky coast. I feel like in Oriental stories of 1000 and 1 nights. And it becomes even more excited when I visit the old oriental bazaar – Muttrah Souq – with colorful lamps, silk and cashmere scarves, mosaics and heavy jewelry. Just like the Aladin and Magic Lamp! On our way back we still have a bit of time to visit Sultan’s palaces and from there we go back to the hotel and the airport. Three magic hours passed…