In late winter, we travelled to Oman for 9 days. Such a fascinating and diverse country! This is going to be a long post, we took many good pictures with our Nikon Z6II and Z24-120 f/4 S, Nikon Z30 and Z40 f/2 and a Minolta X-500 with MD Rokkor 50mm f/2. As in previous posts, some scenes were captured with both an analogue and a digital camera to better understand the differences. This post was created day by day over the course of 6 months and if you look closely, you will notice how much my editing style has changed.
Day 1
It would be an understatement to say that we were extremely tired on day 1, considering we had an over-night flight, arrived at 5AM and got no sleep on the plane. We drove around in Muscat and did some minor sightseeing. The only picture of the day captures the view from our hotel room after loading a new roll of Kodak Ektar 100 film.
Day 2
After enjoying a delicious breakfast buffet (Omani cuisine is such a unique blend of Mediterranean, Arabic, Indian and African elements), we made our way south-east towards Sur. We made two stops on the way, the first one was somewhere along the coast, to capture the crystal clear waters and empty beaches.
The second stop we took on our way to Sur was Wadi Ash Shab. From a small parking area where the river enters the sea, visitors are taken by boat to the beginning of the trail inside the Wadi. Initially, the waters are quite muddy, but later they become crystal clear. At any point of the trail you are at risk of falling into the water and in many places to get forward you need to wade through the water (I am wondering if the similarity between the words “wade” and “Wadi” can be a coincedence). Since we did not bring appropriate shoes, we had to walk bare-foot, which was also not ideal as the rocks were very slippery. The Wadi does not have an end per-se, but at some point you hit a pool of water and in order to go further, you need to swim through it and continue on the other side. Maybe next time when we come prepared with water-proof bags and shoes! Thank you Wadi Ash Shab, you were amazing.
After another hour or so of driving, we arrived in Sur just in time for sunset and managed to capture the peaceful and quiet mood. What a day! Add some dinner, a shower and the cries of hundreds of seagulls – pure bliss.
Day 3
In the morning, we hiked up to a little defence tower strategically placed where the river meets the ocean. From there we were able to take in the breathtaking views of the old harbour and along the river inland. I even got to zoom into some colourful windows (although the image is still a heavy crop). The lone boat is an Omani Dhow, which once upon a time controlled the Persian Gulf and the trade routes to India and Africa.
Leaving Sur, we headed south towards Sharqiya Sands desert. At first, the roads were bad and driving was quite an adventure in itself, but after a while we entered a newly built highway and the rest of the journey was a breeze. In Al-Muntarib, we met a Beduin guide who drove us for 45 minutes through the desert to our desert camp. After settling in, we decided to hike up the dunes and enjoy the sunset and moonrise, which had a little surprise in store for Lena.
Day 4
The desert camp we stayed at had amazing cooks. Consequently, we just relaxed and enjoyed the desert and food for the first half of the day. In the afternoon, we hiked up the dunes again and watched several people surf. When the sun started to set, we once again took in the spectacular views. This was really unlike anything either of us had ever experienced before. Wish we could go back!
Day 5
In the morning of day 5 we said our goodbyes and promised ourselves that this would not be the last time we visited Sharqiya Sands. Next stop on our list was Nizwa, the former capital of Oman. Nizwa is surrounded by mountains and oases and must have served as inspiration to many stories in One Thousand and One Nights. The drive there was once again quite adventurous and at some point we nearly ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere. By this time I suspected that our navigation system was not calibrated well, which should prove to be true later when it suggested I drive through the Nizwa souk to get to our hotel… Needless to say, retrospectively I am glad we got away with a scratched bumper. Wake up call to always trust my instincts over the navigation system. After we arrived in our highly recommended accommodation, which greeted us with traditional rooms and lots of free dates, we went out to see Nizwa fort in the golden hour.
As the day slowly turned to dusk, we went to Nizwa souk to get some dinner, incense and other souvenirs. A group of men in their traditional garb was performing a dance/song, clearly showcasing one of Oman’s national symbols: the Khanjar dagger. The city was peaceful and I felt very safe in the souk, similar to Iran’s souks, but nothing like Maghrebi or Levantine souks, where I have had bad experiences in the past. So happy we decided to come to Nizwa!
Day 6
After much deliberation, we decided to hire a guide for day 6 who would take us to Jebel Shams, the highest mountain of Oman at >3000m above sea level. We had only rented a regular sedan and read contradictory opinions online as to whether or not such a car would be suitable to take us the starting point of Balcony Walk. In retrospect, it would have certainly been possible with a sedan (plenty of rental cars slowed down the locals in their 4x4s), but stressful. They are building new roads there, so maybe in a couple of years it will be easier.
On our way to Jebel Shams, we stopped to have a look at ruins of the oasis village of Riwaygh as-Safil, also known as Valley Necrosis. Here, I took a picture with both the Nikon Z6II and the Minolta X-500. Of course the focal lengths differ, but see the differences for yourself. To be fair, the digital picture was edited, the analogue picture wasn’t.
Like so many other experiences on this trip, this was absolutely surreal. On the first picture you can get a glimpse of the road we later walked in the bottom right corner. Often this gorge is described as the Grand Canyon of Arabia and with vertical drops of more than 1000m you can see why. On the last picture you can see what happens when you forget the handbrake because you are too eager to get a new Instagram story out.
Here, I wanted to show the pictures from the Minolta X-500 separately, because they are so different to the digital ones. Needless to say, the colour rendition is much warmer, which is a feature of the Kodak Gold 200 film I used here. Considering these are entirely unedited, straight out of camera (or should I say straight off the film), I am starting to wonder why I am spending so much time sorting through pictures and editing. Of course, with film you get only one shot and if you don’t get that right, that’s it.
Day 7
This was our last full day in Nizwa and surroundings. After having gotten a taste of old Omani villages in the mountains surrounded by palm tree farms the day before, we decided we had to go back and visit Misfat al Abriyeen. This is a village in the mountains built around an oasis that has a sophisticated water management system more than 2000 years old. Many of the buildings are hundreds of years old and were built in a traditional architectural style. Walking the streets of Misfat al Abriyeen, the village felt very slow and quiet, even empty and oppressive at times, but at the same time the ever present water and palm trees, source of life and prosperity for millennia, created a sense of serenity.
Our next stop was Bahla Fort, built around 7 centuries ago by a tribe that controlled the frankincense trade in the region. The fort is beautifully surrounded by the harsh mountains and more palm trees. We were there in the late afternoon and the sun provided many opportunities to capture both architecture and atmosphere.
Again, I wanted to show the pictures from the Minolta X-500 separately, entirely unedited, straight out of camera (or should I say straight off the film), rendered in warm colors due to the Kodak Gold 200 film. I am really impressed how far you can get with proper composition and the nostalgic look of film. I think I have now finally decided to try bringing only my film camera to some future trips. With digital, you get more chances, more pictures, unlimited editing options, but also less deliberate photography and a big editing and curation burden, whereas with film you get one chance, very limited editing options, higher cost and the effort of having the film developed. I see pros and cons on both side and no clear winner for me. After years of chasing the perfect gear, I am starting to see more clearly that a camera is ultimately only a tool to tell a story. That is not to say that the camera and lenses don’t matter, they matter a lot, but there is no one-fits-all optimal camera and lens.
Day 8
One of the must-dos in Oman we hadn’t done so far was visiting the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. Most muslims in Oman follow Ibadi Islam, which I believe is not nearly as well-known in the Western world as Sunni and Shia Islam. Named after the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, who played a crucial role in modernising Oman and making it the safe, relatively liberal yet traditional country it is today, this mosque in Muscat, like most mosques, allow visitors in between prayer times and not on Fridays, effectively allowing visitors from 8-11AM Saturday-Thursday. We knew towards the end of our trip we would have 1.5 days left in Muscat and our plane back home was on a Saturday morning. As we sat down on the evening of Day 7, a Wednesday, we realised we only had the next morning available to visit the mosque, but still had to drive for 2 hours through morning traffic to get there. Getting up at 4:30AM during vacation is never something to strive for, but boy was it worth it! We had only about 5 minutes of sunshine and the rest was overcast, as a tropical storm was brewing.
After visiting the mosque, we fled the storm and drove to the Amouage factory, a luxury perfume brand that we had been interested in for a while. We got a tour there, smelled all the individual ingredients and each perfume in their current line-up, realised that we both loved the scent of Boundless and that we had to buy it and learned the Amouage was initially founded by the late Sultan Qaboos to have luxury gifts for state visitors. We waited a while for the storm to pass which had flooded half of the roads, meaning it took us 3 hours to get back to the hotel which was only a few miles away. After that, we took a nap and went for an expensive, but tasty Indian dinner in Muscat’s Al Mouj marina. Many of the service staff all throughout Oman are from the Indian subcontinent, and Oman historically had strong trade relationships with India and Africa, meaning the food is a unique blend of Mediterranean, Arabic, Indian and even hints of African. There are no food pictures from this trip, we were too busy enjoying, but believe us: It doesn’t get better than this!
As has become customary in this Oman post, here I separately show the pictures taken with my film camera.