wanderingquilter

What a lucky person I am to be living here!  Snoopy and I finally went for a walk on the beach again… it was so good to be by the water and the ocean breezes. The humidity is up now, and the sun was shining after 2 days of clouds.  The beach is very bare and stoney, with lots of shells scattered around.

Snoopy and I met friends we only see on the beach…. Claudia and her lovely dogs Bailey and Smurf, who had blotted their copy books this morning by finding something wonderful to eat and roll in.  Susan came along with Sohar and Baxter.  Susan was saying that her friends had been finding paper nautilus shells, and she was searching for one… she has always wanted to find one. We part company, and she walks about 10 steps….. and what does she see but a small octopus… and a paper nautilus another 5 steps away… and it’s in perfect condition.  I went running to see, and would you believe it…. I DIDN’T take any photos!  Now, when have you ever heard of me NOT taking photos?  Well, I’ve seen it now, and know they can be found on our beach, so guess what!  I’ll really be on the lookout.

I didn’t realize that the paper nautilus is not really a shell, but an egg sack of sorts, and the owner and resident is an octopus, the Argonaut.  Here is a photo of some shells, and a link to a video and great description, for any who are interested.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/05/18/the-argonaut-%E2%80%93-an-octopus-that-creates-its-own-ballast-tank/

Back to walking… searching high and low for  shell Susan might have missed.  I was almost ready to turn back, when a pack of wild dogs came down to the beach. We turned around, but they caught up with us… a young black female and 5 pups.  They were lovely dogs, and the mother was very friendly.  She had a chain around her neck, and she was licking my hand when I was trying to see if I could get it off.  Snoopy wasn’t so impressed with them, and they surrounded him and the young ones were barking and trying to sniff him.  Now, he is very good at sniffing at others, but he doesn’t want to be sniffed back. Not good when surrounded either, be it animals or people. They wouldn’t leave us, so we finally left the beach, walking in very soft sand (good for the calf muscles, you say), following us all the way to the sidewalk.

We walked along the main street that follows the shoreline, and the houses there are amazing, especially the ones along the beach.  Lovely, huge gardens….. one had a mango tree with fruit hanging on it.

I’ve included a few photos of some of them.

How would you like to have a driveway like this up to your beach-front property.  Lots of parking for a party.

Guess it just sucks to be rich, eh?

Now, I need to get busy… laundry, cleaning, sewing, I hope.  David is out in the filed and won’t be back until Saturday now, so at least I don’t have any meals to prepare, except when I feel like eating.  Good time for girls’ night out tonight.

About 50 km south-east of Sur, is the Ras al Jinz nature reserve.  It is a nice drive, past blue, blue ocean and interesting mountains, and also an acacia forest, with trees about 100 meters apart! The reserve was established in 1996 when the Ras al Jinz national nature reserve and the Ras al Hadd national scenic reserve were merged into one order to better protect the sea turtles and their natural environment. The protected area stretches over 120 square kilometers with a 45 kilometer coastline, extending for one kilometer into territorial waters. As well as the turtle beaches, the reserve houses numerous six thousand-year- old archaeological sites of fishermen villages and tombstones. Excavations, too have unearthed several important relics- most notably Oman’s first wooden boat and the peninsula’s oldest incense burner. They are not open to the public right now, but hopefully one day we will be able to see them as well.
There is a hotel right there on the beach, with simple clean rooms, a good dining room (buffet) and you are right there when it’s time to see the turtles nesting.  This is a real bonus, because the times they go out are 9 pm and 3:45 am!  When you stay there, you get both tours free.

We were ready with bells on when it came time for the tour.  There was no moon, so it was quite dark as we made our way to the beach. I was lucky to have just downloaded a “flashlight” app on my phone, so Sue and I could see the dips and rocks along the path on the 10 minute walk to the beach. No flashlights are allowed on the beach itself except for the guides’, as the light may disturb the turtles and scare them away without laying eggs.

It was a slow night for turtles…… we waited while one dug her hole, but then, instead of laying her eggs, she just covered it in again.  We were allowed to come close when she was finishing covering, and expected to watch her head back into the water. Imagine our surprise when she started right toward us.  It seems that she just decided to lay a bit farther from the shore.

Sea turtles are very interesting creatures.  There are 4 species of sea turtle that nest in Oman…. we were out to see the green turtle… so named because they eat algae and their fat is a green colour. A female will begin laying between 37 and 45 years of age….. she always goes to the beach she was born on. Turtles tagged at Ral Al Jinz have been seen as far away as Australia, so that is no mean feat!  They lay eggs every three years, making 203 nests of 100 eggs about 2 weeks apart.  Then it is off into the sea for three years. The males never return to land.

It was about 11 pm when we turned out the lights…… and the alarm got us up again at 3:20 am. Still bleary-eyed, we made out way down the stairs…. and sat in the lobby.  Not too many people go on the 3:45 tour… just the ones staying at the centre.  We waited and waited….. and waited… Finally, they came and said they were still looking for turtles to take us to see.Finally, about 4:30 we headed out.  It was still really dark… again my trust iPhone came to the rescue.

This time, we watched a turtle finish covering her nest, as, by the light of the guide’s flashlight, we were allowed to take a few photos.  Then we watched as she made her way to the ocean at the end of a long night.  She was really tired… taking a few steps and then resting, even when she was within a few feet of the water.  A turtle digs a large hole, and then a smaller tube-shaped nest deep into the sand with her back flippers, into which she will lay the eggs.  When she is done laying, she covers it up with a meter of sand, and goes one for about 2 meters this way.  She then digs another hole, a dummy hole, to fool foxes and other predators before she is finished.  We had to be careful in the dark not to fall into these holes Just the digging alone can take about 1 1/2 hours… no wonder she is tired. Everyone cheered in their hearts (we had to keep quite so as not to disturb her or any others) when the water finally floated her away.  She came up for one last breath of air, and then was gone.  She can stay underwater for up to 5 hours before having to surface.

We were lucky enough to watch three other turtles make their journeys to the water…… by the end it was getting quite light so the photos are a lot better.

It is interesting that when the eggs are layed, the sex is not yet determined.  It all depends on the temperature of the sand they incubate in.  Sand near the water is cooler – below 28C – and only male babies are produced – they are often washed away by the tides as they move the sand around. Far away, the sand is warmer – over 29C, and only females hatch there. The best hatch rates are in the middle beach area, where the sand temperature is between 28C and 29C, and a mixture of male and female are produced.

We were also able to watch a handful of newly-hatched turtle babies make their way to the ocean.  They are about palm-sized, and can really move. They go toward the light…. there is a phosphorescence in the water that attracts them during the night.  If you turn on a flashlight, they will follow the beam.  It is quite funny to watch.  The staff at the turtle reserve comb the beaches for babies that emerge during the daytime, and keep them safe until dark, as they would just wander all over, and be easy pickings for gulls and foxes.  One of the ones we watched scamper into the ocean was picked out by a gull… very sad, but that’s a turtle’s life.  That’s why they have to lay 300 eggs each.

We made our way back to the hotel, and had a good nap before heading out on the trip back to Muscat.

Some of these photos are by Dawn Ewen, taken during our visit in February… others I took last week.  Enjoy.

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Last week, my friend Sue and I went down to Ral Al Jinz to see the nesting turtles.  She was visiting from Kuwait during Spring break, and had never been there.

Leaving poor David all alone with the cat and dog, we set off Tuesday morning.  The GPS in the Jeep insisted that we had to go through Ibra to get to Sur….. about double the distance going on the new coast road.  When I finally asked her to take us to Tiwi, she figured it out. Once you are out of Ruwi you can’t really get lost, but I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss the turn, and besides, it’s kind of nice to see how far you have left, and on the mountain roads, to watch the elevation change.

Not far past Qurayyat is Hawiyat Najm Park, home to a 400 year-old sink hole.  It is quite close to the shore, and about 40 meters wide and 20 meters deep. Geologists say that this interesting site was created when limestone collapsed but the locals say that a piece of the moon fell to the earth and made this hole.

There are a lot of trees (this is a Mother’s Tongue in bloom) planted now in the park, washrooms, picnic shelters….. everything to make it a place to come and enjoy.  A 3 foot wall surrounds the sink hole…… in February when we were there, Snoopy leaped right over it.  You see that “tiny” wall at the top, the narrow ledge of dirt at the top, and how deep the hole is?Wow – it was good there was a ledge or we would have just had to let go of the leash and hope he could swim. I wonder what flashed through his mind when he saw that huge hole in front of him!

The water is an incredible green: possibly due to the mixing of ocean and fresh water, but it is the colour of oxidized copper.  There is copper in Oman, so this could well be the reason.

Lots of people come to swim in the pool…. in February we saw  young man jump in from the top…… this time, they were just jumping from a ledge 1-2 meters above the water level.  It looked like fun.

The steps are very steep and tall, and we decided that with all the walking we would be doing on the beach, not to go down….. but it was a hard decision.  Next time…..

These are the mountains close by.We stopped at Wadi Shab… you have to drive all the way through the village to get to it.  The boats were waiting to give people a ride up into the wadi, but we didn’t have time… another “next time”, I guess.

A bit farther down the road is Qalhat. Five years ago, when there was only the old highway, David and I had stopped at some ancient ruins… Bibi Maryam’s tomb. I was determined to find it again, but it took a while.  When we finally found the road to the site, there was a “site closed” sign, but we went ahead.  They are rebuilding the stone walls around the site, (this is what they used to look like)but we stayed on the road and took photos from a distance. This is said to be one of the most photographed sites in Oman.This photo is from the trhip in 2007 – it’s not there now.

Here is an excerpt from”This Week”…. a free weekly paper, which gives you an idea of just how old this town is, and how important.

“Islamic, Persian, Indian and Ming empires, all connected by an umbilical cord of seaways to Qalhat, made it one of the most fantastic cities of its time. Ibn Batuta, that great Moroccan explorer, had walked its streets, marvelling at the city in the 14th century. “Were the world a ring,” he wrote, “this would be a jewel in it.” Qalhat grew fabulously rich on trade, with Arabian horses being its highest-value export. Marco Polo wondered at their sheer numbers in the late 13th century, when they were shipped to the sultans of Delhi, the Rajputs in Rajasthan and the kings of south India.
The tomb is, quite fantastically, the only standing structure in the city, and juts out of tons of rubble and the weight of centuries. Bibi Mariyam, a former Turkish slave who later became governor of the city, built it for her husband. It was made with corral, rock and plaster and finished with glazed tiles, the chipped remnants of which can still be found on the interior arch.

Although the port reached its zenith between the 13th and 16th centuries, its story goes back much further. On a bank that dips gently into the sea, Neolithic flints hint at human habitation 7,000 years ago. These settlements of Ichthyophagi, or fish eaters of the Indian Ocean, probably developed into the early maritime communities that were the crucial link between the Indus Valley and Mesopotamian civilizations. What is fascinating is that Stone Age man chose this spot for the same reasons that made Qalhat prime real estate thousands of years later: access to fresh mountain water, nearby fertile valley, a natural wall of mountain and that legendary deep sheltered harbour.”

If you want to know more about Maryam, check this link out.  http://www.nwnet.co.uk/qalhat/yaqub/qalhat.htm

You don’t often come across a place with so much history in such an out-of-the-way place.  We also saw the covered cistern, called a birka. The stones that make up the walls and covering are actually coral.

Soon we were back on the road and in Sur…. what a maze that city is to get through!  Not far from there to Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve.

But, that’s another story.

We went to a performance of the Muscat Symphony Orchestra Wednesday night.  First, here is what the official Facebook page says about the symphony and its history.  Then I’ll tell you my story.

“In 1985 His Majesty directed that a Royal Symphony Orchestra be formed under the aegis of the Royal Guard of Oman. The project was unique from the outset, because unlike every other venture where Western classical music was introduced for the first time to a country, only Omani nationals are employed as players. There has been no support from experienced expatriate performers except in a teaching capacity. Moreover it was decided that all training should take place in Oman rather than in a foreign country, in order that the young Omanis selected remain within familiar surroundings.

The ROSO gave its inaugural concert on 1st July 1987, only one year after the beginning of music training. The first public concert followed on 5th July 1988 and both concerts were attended by His Majesty the Sultan in the Oman Auditorium in Muscat.

Initially all players were boys, but in November 1988 girls joined for the first time. During the following years the standard of achievement has risen steadily and demand for the ROSO has grown considerably. As well as performing an important personal service for His Majesty, Oman is one of the few countries in the world where distinguished visitors are greeted by live performances of classical music. The ROSO has a lively series of public concerts each year. These events bring to Oman classical masterpieces, often for the first time, as well as distinguished international soloists and conductors.”

The concerts are held in the auditorium at the Al Bustan Palace Hotel, a beautiful 5-star  establishment with every amenity you can dream of.  It is situated on 200 acres of park-like gardens, pools and beaches (1 km long, private).  The hotel and auditorium have been recently renovated… I did a search but couldn’t find out  much about the old facilities.  it is the Sultan’s hotel… I’m told he has the top floor and official guest stay there.

Anyways, I’ll show more of the hotel another time…. just setting the stage.

We drove with friends, and after picking up our tickets at the box office, we went to the piano bar for a pre-concert drink.  We met two other couples there, and had a very enjoyable hour with interesting people.  Alister is working his way down the martini list…. that night her ordered a “dirty” martini…… and was less than impressed… it is made with the juice the olives are preserved in, and looks a bit like engine oil.  He knows now he won’t order that one again, and the rest of us have learned by his experience.

Now, before we go any farther, I want to make sure you understand that I am a music LOVER, not critic or connoisseur. I like to let the notes wash over me, the melodies float around me….. I do not like to pick a performance apart, be it good, bad, or mediocre.  I can listen to a beginner band stamp their way through “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and enjoy it, because I know that in another 6 months you will be able to hear the music in their playing.

It was so nice to see an orchestra not ALL dressed in black and white.  The men wore the requisite tuxedos, but the ladies were very colourful.  The wore tunics of jade green with leggings of fuchsia.  On their heads, they had scarves of fuchsia with gold trim, and wide gold bands over their foreheads. This is from their FB page… I took photos, but my iPhone was confounded by the bright stage lights and they didn’t turn out.

The auditorium is quite large, and the acoustics are very good.  comfortable seats.  Unfortunately, David is still coughing from his cold, so he snuck out before the end of the Holst “Beni Mora”.  It sounds like quite a challenging piece, but they handled it well. 

Next, the young Italian violin tutor for the orchestra, Luca Blacio, treated us to “The Lark Ascending” bu Vaughan Williams.  Lyric and very lovely, it was very well done, and he took several bows to the enthusiastic audience.  Then, the brasses returned to finish the half with “Matinees Musicales” by Benjamin Britten.  This featured the harp as well as quite a lot of percussion… very melodic an enjoyable.

Intermission found us congregated in the lobby, with free drinks (wine, beer, juice) and abundant conversation among friends.  David decided to remain down there rather than risk having to walk out on the main feature in the second half.

British cellist, Richard Harwood, gave a star performance of Elgar’s concerto in E Minor.  The sweet lyricism of the high notes… the growling resonance and drive of the darker passages…. both made this a performance to remember. Harwood is quite young, and has an impressive list of performances, awards and recordings to his name already. 

It has been a long time since I have been able to attend a symphony concert.  I enjoy bands and winds, but, gosh, I do love the strings, and especially the deep, throaty voice of the cellos.  Two of my children took Suzuki cello lessons, and I had the opportunity to play a bit myself…. I was not that good and didn’t have the time I wished to practice, but I loved it.  I like to sit fairly high in the auditorium so that I can see the whole orchestra, and watch the melodies being thrown from one section to another.

This was an incredible evening, and I can’t wait for the next performance.

runs for a month (mostly February) in two locations…. Qurum Park and Naseem Park which is just out of Muscat.  We finally made it there one night near the end of it’s run… and I wished we’d made it sooner so there was time to go again and see and taste more.

Think State Fair if you are American……Canadian National Exhibition if Canadian… or just imagine the biggest and most extravagant show you can….. you’ll come close… sort of.  There is everything, good food, fashion shows, shopping, singers and dancers and acrobats and an incredible sound and light show to wind up the evening.

But there is more…… the Omani Heritage village, for example, where traditional crafts are demonstrated – like how to weave baskets of date palm leaves, used in most Omani villages both to store and collect dates.  (The lady didn’t want her face photographed)There are displays of traditional Omani dresses, a souq, silversmiths working on the creation of traditional coffeepots, weavers assembling goat hair cloaks or grass mats and experts in Bahla pottery. There are scenes from the past (and not so distant past in the more remote areas) of grinding grain for flour,the old water wells where the water was lifted in goat skins by cattle or donkeys.  There singing and dancing, bagpipes, children playing age-old games, a “bride” being transported to her wedding in a very shaky enclosure on the back of a camel.

And did I mention the sound and light show?  It lasted for over half an hour, beginning with a parade of electrically lit floats and dancers that went around the lake in the middle of the park, and then culminated in laser pictures, lights, fountains and an impressive fireworks display.  Just when you thought it must be the end, it got even more incredible.  The thought kept running through my mind…”they do this every night for a month!!!”.

I sure hope I’m here next February to see it again… I’d love to go every other night, just to be able to take it all in.