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Mountains Of Travel Photos

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Muscat Photo Gallery - 3. Nizwa and Jebel Shams

In July and August 2006, we traveled to Dubai, Mount Kailash and Guge Kingdom in Tibet, Muscat, Iceland and a brief stop in London.

Muscat 06 Nizwa 01 Long View of Fort We took a private full day-tour to Jebel Shams via Nizwa and Misfah. Taxi drivers in Muscat later old us that they would have done the tour for about half of the amount the formal tour company charged. While coastal Oman was involved in a lucrative sea trade with Zanzibar, India and China in medieval times, inland Nizwa (174km from Muscat) was the seat of the imams who ruled much of the interior. Nizwa is famous as the headquarters of Sinbad the Sailor, and the city is also blessed with an imposing 17C fort, recently restored.

Muscat 06 Nizwa 01 Long View of Fort

Muscat 06 Nizwa 02 Old Market Pottery We stopped at Nizwa’s old market with lots of pottery on display. Most of the pottery comes from Bahla, where it is finely crafted.

Muscat 06 Nizwa 02 Old Market Pottery

Muscat 06 Nizwa 03 Old Market Typical Stall We walked through the old Nizwa souq, glancing at the old men displaying their wares.

Muscat 06 Nizwa 03 Old Market Typical Stall

Muscat 06 Nizwa 04 Round Tower Outside The 17C Nizwa Fort served for 300 years as a palace, prison and seat of government. Its great, round, golden tower, the biggest in Oman, dates from 1649.

Muscat 06 Nizwa 04 Round Tower Outside

Muscat 06 Nizwa 05 Round Tower Entrance The entrance to the Round Tower is guarded by a couple of cannons. The Nizwa round tower is huge, about 35m high and 45m in diameter. The strong foundations of the fort go 30m into the ground.

Muscat 06 Nizwa 05 Round Tower Entrance

Muscat 06 Nizwa 06 Round Tower Entrance Door The original door was made especially thick to help stop attempts to break into the Round Tower.

Muscat 06 Nizwa 06 Round Tower Entrance Door

Muscat 06 Nizwa 07 Round Tower View of Top The upper area of the Round Tower is about 15m high and 45m in diameter.

Muscat 06 Nizwa 07 Round Tower View of Top

Muscat 06 Nizwa 08 Round Tower Cannon The Round Tower was designed for the new era of the cannon, with gun ports commanding a 360-degree field of fire. There are 24 openings all around the top of the tower for mortar fire.

Muscat 06 Nizwa 08 Round Tower Cannon

Muscat 06 Nizwa 09 Round Tower View Of Palm Trees In one direction the Round Tower offers a view of the town’s mud brick homes, surrounded by a thick palm oasis.

Muscat 06 Nizwa 09 Round Tower View Of Palm Trees

Muscat 06 Nizwa 10 Round Tower View Of Mosque In another direction the Round Tower offers a view of the town's chief landmark, an exquisite blue and gold domed Sultan Qaboos Mosque.

Muscat 06 Nizwa 10 Round Tower View Of Mosque

Muscat 06 Nizwa 11 Fort Typical Room With Cushions The Nizwa Fort is huge with a jumble of corridors and staircases. Several of the rooms have been restored, including this one with colourful cushions to sit on the floor.

Muscat 06 Nizwa 11 Fort Typical Room With Cushions

Muscat 06 Nizwa 12 Book Roundabout The book roundabout symbolizes that Nizwa was renowned as a centre of learning and was sometimes called the ‘Pearl of Islam’.

Muscat 06 Nizwa 12 Book Roundabout

Muscat 07 01 Misfah View From Across Valley Misfah is an incredible village of ancient houses and narrow streets perched in a valley amidst the mountains and date palms, 10km from Al Hamra.

Muscat 07 01 Misfah View From Across Valley

Muscat 07 02 Misfah Village Entrance A village has been at Mizfah in one form or other for thousands of years and the buildings are made by simply stacking rocks on top of each other. Here is the entrance to the village.

Muscat 07 02 Misfah Village Entrance

Muscat 07 03 Misfah Our Tour Guide Here we are at the entrance to the village of Misfah, with our knowledgeable local guide.

Muscat 07 03 Misfah Our Tour Guide

Muscat 07 04 Misfah Narow Lane Here is one of the narrow lanes through Misfah, with stone houses all around.

Muscat 07 04 Misfah Narow Lane

Muscat 07 05 Misfah Irrigation System Misfah abounds in greenery and date palms. The falaj system in Misfah is fascinating since the water weaves its way in a snakelike fashion along the mountain side and special channels in turn redirect the water down to different levels of the mountain side.

Muscat 07 05 Misfah Irrigation System

Muscat 07 06 Al Hamra With Palm Trees Al-Hamra is one of the oldest Oman villages, sitting at the foot of the Hajar Mountains. There are several 400 year-old two- and three-story mud brick houses still standing and occupied to this day.

Muscat 07 06 Al Hamra With Palm Trees

Muscat 07 07 Deserted Ghul Village The road from A-Hamra to Jebel Shams passes the deserted village of Ghul perched on the sides of a steep cliff at the entrance of the Wadi Ghul canyon.

Muscat 07 07 Deserted Ghul Village

Muscat 07 08 Driving Into Hajar Mountains The Western Hajar Mountains rise over 2000m above the surrounding countryside. Within these mountains, rugged networks of wadi channels have carved networks of dramatic canyons and caves. The most fertile of these have been cultivated by the hardy shuwawis, mountain people, who have adapted to this harsh lifestyle under the tropic sun.

Muscat 07 08 Driving Into Hajar Mountains

Muscat 07 09 Driving On A Dirt Road Into Hajar Mountains The last 15km to reach the plateau of Jebel Shams (about 2000m above sea level) is on a good gravel road.

Muscat 07 09 Driving On A Dirt Road Into Hajar Mountains

Muscat 07 10 Jebel Shams Canyon Wide View Jebel Shams is Oman’s highest mountain (3075m) and means ‘Mountain of the Sun’. It is best known for its spectacularly deep Wadi Ghul lying alongside it, making it the Grand Canyon of Oman.

Muscat 07 10 Jebel Shams Canyon Wide View

Muscat 07 11 Jebel Shams Canyon Looking Down Jebel Shams is the second deepest canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon in the USA. We walked to the canyon rim and stared over the 2km vertical drop to the bottom of the canyon.

Muscat 07 11 Jebel Shams Canyon Looking Down

Muscat 07 12 Jebel Shams Campground And Our SUV