Oman covers an area of a similar size to Britain or Italy. In the north the Musandam peninsula has, what have been called, the Fjords or Arabia. These are most inlets surrounded by mountains are most spectacular when seen from the sea, as we found out when we joined Island Sky ship and it visited them.

 

The chain of mountains that continue from the Musandam Peninsula to beyond Sur have helped create the flood plain of the Batina which ends at the Sea of Oman. Here we often visit Bee Keepers who specialize on Apis Florea (the Omani Little Bee) and enjoy travelling through the great wadis which are so characteristic of this region.

The Northern Mountain themselves are formed from Limestone and Ophiolite and rise to around 3,000meters. Here snow occasionally falls and the cool air make the region a great place to enjoy walks in. We especially enjoy the agricultural areas of Jebel Akhdar which offer spectacular views and a chance during late summer to buy fresh Pomegranates from the farmers.

Below the mountain peaks are some of the oldest settlements in Oman. The towns of Nizwa and Bahla with its great UNESCO fort are well known. Though the fort at Bahla is closed to the public we have visited it on a few occasions and really hope that visitors to Oman will be able to gain entrance, especially as the restoration is so interesting and painstaking.

Beyond the mountains stretch the two deserts of Oman, the vast Empty Quarter which is a key element in Wilfred Thesiger's book Arabian Sands. We have traveled through many of the places he visited and in many cases they are still remote from any where. The other desert, the Wahiba Sands, with its undulating linear dunes is less austere and it is one of the most popular destinations we include on our tours.

The Wahiba Sands spill at their southern end into the Arabian Sea. The coast stretches north to reach the mountains around the town of Sur which has a history of ocean going trade. Many of the beaches are soft white sand. To the south the low coastline ends abruptly when it meets the cliffs of Dhofar's  Jebel Samhan.

Jebel Samhan forms the eastern extension of the Dhofar Mountains which arc around the town of Salalah and continue on to the Yemen border which we feel, create one of the most spectacular ranges in Oman, as the cliffs drop hundreds of meters into the sea. In summer the central ranges are enveloped in the monsoon mists and enable a magical land of green to develop, which is quite different from the southern edge of the Empty Quarter only a hundred kilometers away.