catching up.....

My apologies, I have neglected the blog these past few weeks because we have been off exploring the wonderful scenery that this world of ours has to offer us.

Let's start with my own backyard...... a few hours drive down south near the coast of Oman is a wadi, actually lots and lots of wadis. A wadi is a river or river bed that is used when it rains for runoff waters...... truth be told around here it's also know as an oasis. :)

Wadi ash Shab... it's runoff waters empty into the ocean directly from this little creek (I mean wadi)

below is a scene about a mile or so into the mountains - it is as gorgeous as it looks.

the waters are so inviting - they are refreshing too. The boys left mom at this pool and went on to search for treasure...... every walk/hike must some how come back to an Indiana Jones adventure.... It's how we get them excited! ;)

Then you get back in the car and head away from the coast into the DESERT!!! Deep into the desert and you come across a place where sands are king. Some smart person decide to set up camp here......

It's called Wahiba Sands - Desert Nights Camp. It's pretty much 5 star camping for those a little nervous about getting sand in their ears..... The tents are concrete walls and the tent part is the top canvas cone shaped teepee - it's air conditioned and simply fabulous. sneak peak:

They took us up the hill a wee bit to watch the sun set.....

He had as much fun as his smile says he did..... and he got sand in his ears.... ok - and his pants, too. In fact, there still is sand in his pants, even though they have been through the wash about 5 times!!

Dad is in the far background - kids are rolling down the hill

and the sun did set..... then we walked back down for a lovely traditional Omani dinner - barbecue chicken, beef and lamb. Traditional Omani food is pretty much hummus, tabouli, kebobs, curries, labneh (cheese). It's a mixture of Lebanese and Indian foods - and I am all for it. Yum yum!

There was also Omani music, a guitar (of some sort), a clay drum and a clapper (that's a person clapping his hands). There was a singer, too, but it was not this camel.... The music was very mesmerizing and I wish our boys did not fall into such a trance (aka slumber) we might have stayed longer to enjoy it.

In the morning before check out...... Camel rides!!! Only one of our monkeys went for it.... the other one showed no interest.

Usually, I just post my own pictures.... but someone who likes to go unnamed got really artsy with the camera and I had to share them with you!!

Stunning views......

Thanks for tuning it for this episode of my new big backyard :)

I need a few days to sort through the pics of our most recent trip, I'll be back soon.

Maa Salama,

amt

it's a wrap

A couple of cheeky little monkeys turned a year older these past 2 months... and in my best MUMMY form, we settled on a joint celebration involving my favorite holiday.......(3 birds one stone) Being as the cheeky monkeys are two boys who love all things creepy and slimy - they convinced me we could have a mummy party.... so off the "net" I flew..... I had to figure out how in the dickens I was going to pull off a halloween themed party in the middle east where no such holiday is heard of ?????

I was not as hard as I thought.... thank you martha stewart!!! Again, I did mentioned MUMMY and Middle East..... (bahhhh - who needs halloween anyways?) I created digital invites (going against my love of handmade papyrus invites.....) but I had NO supplies, as they were off floating their way toward us somewhere in the Indian ocean...... and there is no such thing as Michael's here.... so digital wins the show....

I focused on the menu - spider sandwiches - "finger" food (literally), eyeballs (yuck), mummy cookies, and a mummy cake.... How in the world was I going to have a MUMMY cake made? Thank goodness for european expat-entrepreneurs - A finnish woman who loves baking - opened le Pasterrie (30 years ago) would custom make any cake to your liking..... She told me - this was a first in her 30 years in Muscat.

squint hard..... there is a 2 foot mummy masterpiece in the center of that table..... and what I had to do to get him to the party on time..... (typical Middle Eastern drama - the cake was stuck in Traffic when I was to be home making spider sandwiches).

The party begins with an Egyptian goddess.... (ok - I have never referred to myself as a goddess before - but what the heck - I am in costume)

about 30 rambunctious 8 - 4 year olds - it was absolute mayhem !!!

I kid you not....

Thank goodness for the Goddess - she planned ahead. There were activities ....

our version of musical chairs - "Walk like an Eygptian..."

a mummy wrap - toilet paper to the rescue....

A treasure hunt through our compound.... the search for the MUMMY....

Oh - did I mention that 2 days before the party...... our boat shipment arrived!!! Yah! it cleared customs in record time..... (of course it did.....we had a party that weekend) SO Goddess went into robo-form (aka - NO sleep for the weary...) I unpacked what I could and just rolled with the punches - what could I do? We made a tomb for the mummy and stuffed him with the paper packing....

Alas - the party was coming to close - stuff the rascals with some more sugar..... and set them free to their mummies and daddies..... (lock the doors and do NOT mention the word b-day party for at least another 9 months.....)

the party really was a big success and the kids managed to have fun but I think Mummy and Daddy are ready for their long slumbers......

here's to all the cool mummies out there, that can make due with what you are dealt ;)

xo , amt

fresh mountain air

We had a recent escape to the mountains, Jebel al Akhdar, it was lovely to leave behind hot, humid temps that October is still bringing us and get some refreshing almost cool breezes. I was REALLY hoping for my first camel sighting, during this trip but only ran into a few donkeys instead. :) better luck next time (aye)

We all enjoyed some new terrain to trek about in. As well as some SHADE!!!! This mountainous area has a lot of trees, pomegranate being one if it's most precious commodities.

We hiked out to an old abandoned village. WOW!

then we followed this rock........

to another abandoned village!

happy dance!

Nathalie - this reminded me of you.... if it was not locked shut, I would have swipped it for you (shhhh) and old european lock - locking absolutely nothing, as the old wood has rotted away.

check out these mountain goats....

I zoomed into these mountains....(below) the goats were being herded by local towns people. I'm not allowed to take their pictures.

the towns people live in a near by modern town now... but they come to this village and herd their cattle and plant crops. Below is some terraced agriculture. Mostly, pomegranate trees, but other fruits as well.

I love the splash of colour, surely - an artsy mama lived here.

after trying to check out one of the insides of the houses.... two of the kids were stung by wasps and DH was attacked by a mob of them (he got stung 5 times - opps). So, we pretty much called it a successful trip and headed back down the hill.....

the clouds were making majestic scenes.

It was a beautiful day spent away from the city, without hustle and bustle of traffic or hot, humid weather. A day well spent breathing fresh mountain air. I do suppose we will be frequenting these mountains.

xo,

amt

sunday at the park

One thing I am not sure I have shared with you..... our weekends are not on Saturday and Sunday!! They are Thursday and Friday. Friday is the Sabbath, most things other than malls and grocery stores are closed on Friday, the sabbath. It's also the BEST day to drive around town, not many folks are out. So, on our "virtual sunday" which is really a Friday, we met some friends at the park for a play date. It was HOT (suprised?) we all left wet, sticky and a little thirsty.

Before we moved here, my sister (in-law) asked if there were parks in Oman. Of course I had no clue.... I thought maybe I had read that there were some but was not sure..... so you'll be glad to know that we managed to find a few parks around town. I was pleasantly surprised at how extensive and beautiful this park is. It is called Qurm park. It's in an older more established neighborhood, centrally located for most of Muscat.

Here is the entrance.... it is lined with rose bushes and trees along the main promenade. There are large areas off to both sides of this walk way for picnicking and/or playing futbol or cricket.

the play structure is just like anywhere U.S.A!!! (minus any safety precautions)

I love the palm trees here..... so stately.

At the far end of this ginormous park is a man made lake with fountains and a HUGE rock water fall and an amusement park (just incase you get the urge to go on a faris wheel). Anyhow, I was captivated at how the sun was shining off the tile tops of these gazebos.... It was perfect and well I had to snap this shot, just for you.

Hope all is well with you and yours!

xo,

amt

beachy keen

seriously.... what do you think of this little get-a-way?

It's about 25-30 minutes from Villa Tremblay...... (depending on traffic :) It is out of a small sleepy fishing* village called Qantab. *I have not talked much about fish.... because I personally am not a fan of it...... but..... if one who might happen to be a fan of fish .... were to get stranded in Muscat..... it is safe to assume they would be a very happy camper. Lots of fish - here..... and quite a few fish souks.... yes - open aired fish markets..... like Pikes Peak Fish Market in Seattle but on an Omani standard of scale. I have stayed clear of all fish souks..... just an FYI..... I can hardly stand the smell in those HyperMarts....
I digress, sorry, you take a drive out to Qantab, south of Muscat, you hire a fisherman and hope to goodness someone can help translate, they load up their boats - 5 minute motor boat drive...... voila..... your own private paradise. You swim, snorkel, enjoy beautiful scenery, fantastic ocean tempatures (in the mid 20 degrees Celsius range)

Unless you happen upon a jellyfish.......

or an eel.... or sting ray..... (yup - we have those here....)

then you stick to the shell collecting and sand castles.....

We went with a big group (someone else organized it), Antonio from Venezuela, and our friend (who invited us) affectionally dubbed the beach name Omani playa de Antonio.

The men go off start the fires... bbq.... and talk guy talk..... the kids play in the sand and fill up on junk food, so that they are not actually hungry when the actual food is prepared.....
then the boat comes back..... for the pick-up....

we must return to real life after all. (wahhh) catch some scenery on the ride back......

and the day draws an end..... back to the sleepy town.....Qantab.... call to prayer goes off...... it's very peaceful.... very serene... a perfect end to perfect day..... I could go for more of this living :)

xo,
amt