Adventure Photography
Adventure Photography
Girls go strong
Girls go strong
Being alone is better
Being alone is better
Landscape Photography
Landscape Photography
Relax Time
Relax Time
Black & White
Black & White
Self Portrait
Self Portrait
Give Me Flowers
Give Me Flowers
Big Moutain
Big Moutain
Her Beauty
Her Beauty
The Right Steps
The Right Steps
Just another path
Just another path
  • Home
  • About
  • Galleries
  • Rates
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
  • Galleries
    • Weddings
    • Engagements
    • Portraits
  • Rates
  • Contact
Oman Photographer: Snapshots + Stories//Part 1
April 21, 2014 By  sarahdobsin With  0 Comment
In  Personal  /  Travel

Muscat, Oman is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited it. The city is rich in character and history. By far my favourite portion of the trip.What made it even more appealing to me is that Muscat is a more unconventional place for tourists to visit compared to areas like Europe; I felt like I was experiencing the city without any preconceived notions of what to expect, which made it even more of an adventure!

020muscat2014

Muscat//Day 1

Day 1 was the hardest. Dad was in meetings, and I wasn’t familiar enough with the city (or the safety of the city) to know where to go on my own. We were staying in a beachfront hotel, so I explored the beach and the local cafes along the water. Early March is considered the end of the Arabian “winter” (their winter is almost the equivalent of a Vancouver summer), so you’ll find many people enjoying coffee or tea on the waterfront terraces; come a few weeks later when the heat increases and everyone will have migrated to the air-conditioned indoors. My favourite advertisement I saw was in Starbucks, it said, “Winter will pass slowly… let’s hope so.” You wouldn’t see that in Vancouver.

That evening we visited a restaurant that my friend back home had recommended, Kargeen. The food was delicious. Oh, and since Oman is a Muslim country and you can only be licensed to serve alcohol if your restaurant is connected to a hotel (which Kargeen wasn’t), the juices and smoothies are amazing!

002muscat2014 003muscat2014 001muscat2014 004muscat2014 005muscat2014 006muscat2014 007muscat2014 008muscat2014 009muscat2014 010muscat2014 011muscat2014 012muscat2014 013muscat2014

 

Muscat//Day 2

My second day in Muscat was marked by extensive exploration (hence so many photos). I learned about the Big Bus hop-on-hop-off tour around the city, and decided to give it a try since dad was in meetings again all day. The tour also included a shuttle to the Grand Mosque in the morning. I was on the first shuttle, only myself and two other couples. As we were driving I realized, I can understand the language that these two couples are speaking to each other. They’re speaking Italian – and a dialect I can understand! So I worked up the courage to speak to them in broken Italian. They were surprised and delighted that I could converse a little bit in their language. They were the sweetest people, and it was fun to not have to tour the Mosque by myself.

The Grand Mosque is kept very pristine. The architecture and the intricate designs are beautiful. Since Muslims will not fashion any graven images, you won’t find stained glass of Mohammed or anything like that. Instead you have these beautiful patterns and designs everywhere you turn.014muscat2014 015muscat2014 016muscat2014 018muscat2014 019muscat2014 021muscat2014 022muscat2014 023muscat2014 024muscat2014 025muscat2014 026muscat2014

Two of my Italian friends – Michele and Anita.027muscat2014 028muscat2014 029muscat2014 030muscat2014
My Italian friends only did the Grand Mosque shuttle, so I ventured the rest of the day alone. The first place I hopped off was Parliament. There wasn’t a ton to see since you couldn’t go passed the gates, but I did happen to find a gate leading up the RitzCarlton hotel, and this gate had stairs to the top and some beautiful views of the mountainous area.

The next stop I took was in Old Muscat. Here is where you find many of the old guard towers on the mountaintops, as well as a couple forts. The Sultan’s palace is also here (you’ll notice it’s the only building that isn’t white or beige). I took my time walking around, especially because I wanted to see the fort, which was a further ways away.

031muscat2014 032muscat2014 033muscat2014 034muscat2014 035muscat2014 036muscat2014 037muscat2014 038muscat2014 039muscat2014 040muscat2014 041muscat2014 042muscat2014 043muscat2014 044muscat2014 045muscat2014 046muscat2014 047muscat2014

Heading to the bus stop after being in Old Muscat for almost an hour and a half, I was almost there when another tourist saw me and said, “Oh no, you just missed the bus!” I was choked; I didn’t want to wait another 40 minutes for the next bus when there was so much else to see. In my frustration I prayed, Lord, would you let this be an opportunity for a divine appointment. And was it ever!

In Oman you don’t hail a cab, cabs hail you. They can tell very easily who is a tourist, so they always honk at you to ask if you need a ride. I got a cab and pointed to the next spot on the tour map, asking if he could take me there. We settled of a flat rate and he agreed.

On our way I notice this beautiful historic tower overlooking the ocean. Most of the towers don’t have stairs and you’re not supposed to climb them. I’m guessing it’s because they’re not structurally sound anymore. But this one had stairs leading up to it! The cab driver, whose name was Nasser, asked me if I would like to stop there. Not wanting to pay more, I politely declined. But then he insisted. He offered to wait for me while I climbed and took pictures, and he reassured me that he would not charge extra.

I began the climb, what a beautiful spot! Part way up Nasser decided to join me. By law all the cab drivers in Oman have to be Omani citizens, so they are very proud of their nation. I enjoyed chatting with him about his culture. It was also really nice to have someone to pose in a couple photos for me. As much as I love landscape photography, people are still my favourite.

After that Nasser asked if he could should me a couple more places and once again insisted the he would not charge extra. So he showed me some more beautiful views of the mountains & oceans – places I would never have known about otherwise. What a blessing. Meeting him was truly a divine appointment.048muscat2014 049muscat2014 050muscat2014 051muscat2014 052muscat2014 053muscat2014 054muscat2014 055muscat2014

The last leg of the big bus tour was at Corniche, a beautiful harbour surrounded by the rugged mountains. This is where the Souq (market) is. 056muscat2014 057muscat2014 058muscat2014 059muscat2014 060muscat2014 061muscat2014 062muscat2014 063muscat2014 064muscat2014 065muscat2014 066muscat2014 067muscat2014

Day 2 concluded with a lovely stroll along the beach. Watch for Part 2 of the Muscat adventures coming very soon!068muscat2014 069muscat2014

Post Views: 1,873
1.9K Views
0 Shares
  • Facebook
  • Tweet it
  • Pin tt
  • Google+
  • Share by Email



Leave a reply


Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *





© Copyright Alba Photography