December 26 saw us leave Abu Dhabi behind and head for the border post at Mezdan to cross over to Oman. The road down to Nizwa is a dual carriage way, good surface, well signposted and with very little traffic. This all added up to good driving!
First stop was Al Sulaif to see the first of many forts over the next 6 days.
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| Al Sulaif tower in foreground |
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| Al Sulaif Fort under restoration. |
As mentioned earlier there are over one thousands forts in Oman in various stages of repair. Many of these have been or are being restored. Al Sulaif is one where the scaffolding has been erected and work has just started whereas others have been very well restored and well worth visiting.
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| Jars used for storing dates, Al Sulaif |
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| Jabreen Castle |
A very well restored castle, a little off the main road to Nizwa but well sign-posted. Inside you get a very good look at how the inhabitants lived in the past. Rooms have been set up with all sorts of items essential to Omani life and often there are signs indicating what the room was used for. They all had prison cells too! Separate cells for men and woman of course.
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| Notice the low window which is part of the natural air conditioning system. |
Looking across the courtyard at Jabreen.
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| A modern version of a traditional pot. |
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| A nice line up in the sun at Jabreen |
After Jabreen we moved on towards Bahla. A quick stop to find the souk which was closed and visit the fort which is under reconstruction. I had to be content with a distant shot of the fort overlooking the town.
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| Bahla |
This shot was taken some distance from the fort using a new EF 70-300mm L series Canon lens.
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| Bahla Fort in the late afternoon |
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| Late afternoon Nizwa towards the sun. |
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| Downtown Nizwa |
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| The fort is right in the middle of town |
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| Along the barrel, Nizwa |
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| The fort from the souk |
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| A view from the top of the fort, Nizwa |
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| Nizwa souk shop. |
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| The main square, Nizwa souk |
After a couple of days here it was time to head down the road to Muscat, around 180 km away.
Muscat blog.
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