An ancient land of ancient fortresses

Driving down the coast of Oman - heading for Muscat - the four-lane freeway or this ocean-side road.  Which would you choose?

300 year-old towers dot Oman

Invited inside to visit with the women

Then back down the road - 

Sometimes the highway winds through a village and sometimes it just ends

Sunset in Muscat - a soothing white city

Mountains as the backdrop

Morning at Indian Ocean

Serenity

Alone

In the next cove, the men are heading for the mosque - and yes, those are guns and yes, they were shooting up into the air and yes, I was nervous.

The most handsome men in the world are in Oman

All dressed up for Eid Al Fitr

Swept up with the parade

Invited into a home for Omani Eid breakfast - sitting on the floor

The future of Oman

My lovely hostess

The next cove - a ruined fortress

And yet another cove

Seafront promenade in old Muscat

The beach - a key draw for tourists

New style Arab architecture

Such a beatiful city

Umbarak's bad night - he was parked straight when I left him in the hotel parking lot.

He got a dinged fender but this is what the hit-and-run did to his neighbors.

So we headed out on the circle route back to Dubai through miles of mountains

Famous souq in Nizwa - the old capital of Oman

Coffee pots

Impossible to choose...

Traditional Omani knife

And lots of pots

Such a harsh countryside

Final stop at a fortress

Come back again, she said...

All photographs © KC Barker, GypsyChicken Productions 2007