Back to Oman

Piet drew a short straw again: he was invited for a workshop/course on carbonates, the type of rock he is working on in his current South Africa project. This workshop was held in Oman, where we lived in the early 90-ies, got married, and where Paula was born. Since 1996 none of us had been back.

The workshop consisted of a few days in the training centre of PDO (the local Shell JV company) and 4 days in the field, looking at rocks in outcrops. Piet arrived a day early, and took the chance to take a sightseeing bus tour through the capital area of Muscat, hoping to recognise some sights. This proved to be quite a challenge, as many roads and buildings were added in 18 years of absence. Especially the very busy traffic was a change; many, many more cars are on the road now. The look and feel of Oman and its people, however, hadn’t altered much.

After a day of lectures the group moved to the field, visiting a typical wadi (Muaidin) near the interior town of Nizwa. This was followed by a long drive south to the Barr al Hikman peninsula, on the eastern coast of Oman. This is a very flat area, with white beaches consisting of coral sands (our destination for the day), but unfortunately the local fishermen have used this area as their rubbish dump. This was quite a shock, and with some difficulty a somewhat clean camping place was found. After the fieldwork the camp was made and food was prepared. Most slept on a stretcher under the stars, like we used to do in our Oman times. Unspoiled by artificial light the whole Milky Way was visible. The following day we drove west (and also stopped to look at rocks), through the desert to Qarn Alam, where a salt dome is piercing the surface, and a natural crater is formed. This formed an ideal camping spot, and another good place for star gazing, whilst lying down on a stretcher. After a fourth day of rocks we drove back to Muscat, for some classroom sessions. Piet took the opportunity to meet up with some old friends, and see the changes in the PDO Camp. And after a week of perfect Omani autumn weather it was time to return to cold and dark The Hague.

And some real good news: Paula passed her driving test!

Street scene in Ruwi


The palace of Sultan Qaboos in Muscat


Between Muscat and Muttrah


Muttrah harbour


Playing football on Qurm beach


Wadi Muaidin

A stop on the way to Barr al Hikman

Checking coral sands on Barr al Hikman

Walking back to the camp in late afternoon

Preparing camp at Barr al Hikman

The camp in Qarn Alam