Nakhal

A bit of a schedule change because I felt it was a bit too impossible to go straight to Jebel Shams when I have barely settled into Oman. I decided to do a little fort-hopping trip instead.

Driving out of Oman and seeing the colorful valleys and desert simply made getting a car so worth it. What an unbelievable, liberating feeling. I was in awe at the ease and beauty to cruise along such fine roads and exquisite views.

I found a random place called Hujrat Al Shaikh which had a lot of good reviews. I had no idea what it was but when I got there it was quite a pleasant surprise. It was a very rural village with kind people, it had some historic ruins as well as a developing tourist area. Not really sure what they were planning on doing here but it seems to be well underway. It was a short out and back trail.

I also got to see my first Omani fort, Nakhal. Extremely unique, never seen architecture like this before. Like giant sand castles, it had aesthetically pleasing geometry and soft color palettes. I could have spent the whole day just getting lost, exploring each nook and cranny. There was so much history and purpose to each area, whether it was for defense or hosting guests.

I then went to Al Hazm Fort next, another striking castle. The visible cannons sticking out were duly noted. Much like Nakhal, Al Hazm also proved to be a formidable fortress. It felt bigger or perhaps it was because of the labyrinthine corridors. The geometry and symmetry here were much better, in my opinion. The play of light and shadows made it even more contrasting. I also liked the locals here, I got to learn more about the culture, the djinn, and they fed me a lot of dates and veggies too. I haven't had lunch, and it looked like it was going to be another long day without food anytime soon.

I made the journey towards Al Suwayq Castle as well, not really sure what more I was expecting. It was a smaller and not so popular castle, plus it was closed. So I just walked around the perimeter and continued on to Al Sawadi Beach.

Here, there was a tiny island reachable by boat where the Burj Shati Al Suwadi stood on top. I was satisfied with the shot but I had time and this guy offered me a ride. We negotiated the price from 10 down to 8 rial. He dropped me off the other side and I had to hike up. I took my sweet time because we were meeting almost an hour later. It was distinct in its architecture and materials used. It felt almost dream-like considering the location. They were even having a photoshoot for jewelry. Got a whole model dressed in highly glamorous traditional attire to go along with it. I went back down and after waiting for a bit, my boatman came back and asked me a much lower price than agreed, 7 rial without me even asking for it. I thought he had made a mistake at first, but I was also in a generous mood and planned to give him the full 10 anyway. So when we got back, I paid him in full and in return he gave me a hug with his thanks.

Getting hungrier and hungrier, I started to head back into Muscat, stopping by the Zulfa Mosque over at Seeb. It was empty and I didn't dare enter but it looked amazing nevertheless as it was golden hour already.

I decided to have my lunch/dinner at the Rozna Restaurant. As if I didn't have enough forts for the day. Another high-end restaurant built inside a fort, might as well splurge a bit on the meal since I was only getting 1 meal a day at this rate. The service was horrible though, waiters ignored me even when they saw I was wanting to order. It went for a long time, it didn't seem to be a race thing because I made eye-contact with an Omani who was also getting the same treatment. He gave me that exasperated look and I gave him an understanding one. The whole thing was made much more bearable due to the kindness of locals once again. There was a girl group sitting right across me and they seemed to have a good relationship with their waitress. They pointed and asked her to actually take my order as they noticed everyone had been ignoring me. My gratitude to them. Food was alright, and desert was also good. I wanted to take out some for breakfast but I wasn't waiting for another half hour for nothing so I paid my bill went back to my hotel.Read more