Yes, this was my third trip to Oman in the year and a half I've lived in Dubai. No, I regret nothing. I've loved Oman, ever since my days studying Arabic and teaching English there more than a decade ago, and I'm always excited to go back. This time, we took a family road trip from Dubai to Muscat and did plenty of sightseeing and adventuring on the way!
First, we spent a day in Al Ain, stopping on the way to visit Emirates Bio Farm. Of the three of us, I enjoyed the farm the most. They had Damascus goats (the ones with the super long ears I didn't know existed until very recently) and sheep, but S decided the animals were scary and didn't like them as much as I thought he would. They had a lovely farm store and restaurant with a play area, and overall I thought it was a lovely excursion for a family.
Al Ain Oasis was even better, with plenty of long, winding roads in the shade of impressive date palm trees. It's the perfect outing for some unstructured time just walking and enjoying nature's beauty.
Al Ain Oasis was also an excellent example of the aflaj traditional irrigation system that's been used in Oman for thousands of years. We saw working aflaj still operational today!
After that, we went to Ibri where I couldn't believe how much the city had changed since I lived there briefly more than 10 years ago. They now have malls! Trendy hipster coffee shops! Definitely more hotels than I remember! The school where I used to teach is no longer there but has moved to the capital of Muscat, and I had a hard time finding the exact location where it was (since I'm a bit directionally challenged even for places I have seen more recently than a decade ago).
Then we went to Jabreen Castle, which I consider a must-see in Oman if you're passing anywhere near the area (and it's on the way between Ibri and Nizwa, another essential stop for those interested in culture and history)! The intricate and spacious rooms inside are a beautiful sample of old Islamic architecture.
Once we reached Nizwa, we visited Nizwa Fort, as well. Nizwa Fort and Jabreen Castle were both built in the 1600s, and Nizwa Fort is bigger but Jabreen Castle is more detailed inside. They're both great sites to visit even when it's scorching outside, because the thick walls (and in the case of Nizwa even some air conditioning in certain areas) keep the interiors cool enough for visitors.
After that, we visited a site that didn't exist when I used to live in Oman: the Oman Across Ages Museum, which just opened in 2023. This was such a fabulous museum for the whole family, with plenty of games for M and S and plenty of things for me to read! It covered a lot of history, culture, and science and had an impressive collection of artifacts (including this passport and ID cards from the former Sultan of Oman).
Once we reached Muscat, we stayed with my friend and colleague M, who is studying Arabic at the same school where I used to teach English back when it was in Ibri! What a small world! I even crashed one of her study sessions where we played a German-style card game called Bohnanza but in Arabic. It's also so fun to stay with families with kids now that we're a family with a kid. S loved playing with their kids and we all had a great time.
I was determined to get out and about while we were in Oman. I had heard about the Muttrah Geotrek as a recommended hike very close to the city of Muscat, so we all went there despite some mixed reviews about whether it was still open.
We had only just started the hike when we reached an ominous sign telling us not to continue because it was too dangerous! I wish they had put that sign at the beginning of the trail, but at least we got to enjoy some nice views before we had to turn back. Thankfully, there was a small park close to where we parked to start the hike, so we took S there and let him play and it was still a fun family outing.
We also decided to splurge on a one-day Shangri-La hotel day pass so we could enjoy the pool, the beach, a lazy river, and lunch as a family. S and I love to swim and play in the water together, so we had a blast!
The next day, we woke up early and drove a bit outside of Muscat for one of my favorite hikes in the world: Wadi Shab! It was just as stunning as I remembered it over a decade ago, except now it's even better because they have restrooms by the parking lot and guys who will rent life jackets, waterproof phone cases, water shoes, and other things at the entrance if you need them.
This is a fantastic hike that we did as a family on the solid ground and then I let M and S enjoy some father-son bonding time while I continued through the swimming-only part (from which I took the first photo of this post). At the end, you can even swim through a very narrow path between rocks and get inside a stunning cavern with a waterfall. There was almost nobody there, and I enjoyed every second of the beautiful nature around me. It healed my soul.
That night, we enjoyed an Omani iftar (the meal with which you break the fast during Muslims' holy month of Ramadan) at Ramsaa Omani Restaurant that included a dish I love, harees. (I looked up harees on Wikipedia and the description does not do this dish justice! It says, "a dish of boiled, cracked, or coarsely-ground cracked wheat or bulgur, mixed with meat and seasoned. Its consistency varies between a porridge and a gruel." It's better than it sounds.) This trip was right at the end of Ramadan, which was observed much more strictly in Oman than in most of the UAE. Restaurants including fast food places and cafes were completely closed during the day in Oman, whereas these days almost everything is open in Dubai all day and all night during Ramadan. To our surprise, a stranger came up to us since S was wearing a Virginia Tech shirt to say they were a VT alum! They and M (hubby M, not friend M) bonded over their time in Blacksburg.
Sadly, our week in Oman flew by and we had to return home. An Emirati friend asked me before I left, "Are you looking forward to the cooler weather there?" and I had forgotten how much cooler Oman feels than Dubai when we're so close but she was right. It did feel way less hot! When we came back to the UAE, we drove through Fujairah (one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates of the UAE) and did a few last hikes for the season (which I'll include in a separate UAE hiking post with more details).
We all had so much fun in Oman, and I will never not love visiting this amazing country. Unfortunately, I planned our trip too last minute and missed out on meeting up with my former boss and his family this time, but since my Oman visa is still valid maybe I can make it over there again before it expires... If I'm lucky!
