Discovering the Hidden Gem of the Middle East
While our time in Oman was short, it was a wonderful trip. We love Middle Eastern culture. From the history, to the food, to the architecture, we are enthralled by it all. Unfortunately, as you know, many Middle Eastern countries have a bad rep, sometimes due to unstable governments and sometimes for no reason at all. We won’t delve into it here. 😊 But, when we had the chance to visit Oman, we eagerly embraced the opportunity. Many aren’t aware (we weren’t either), but Oman is kind of like the Switzerland of the Middle East. It has a foreign policy of neutrality and a very stable government. The sultanate ensures the wellbeing of its citizens through generous social programs and the quality of life is high. Oman was a little oasis of serenity and peace, tucked away on the Arabian Peninsula between the neighboring glitz and glam of the UAE and the civil unrest of Yemen.
Our time in Oman was tranquil, quiet, and VERY hot. The daily high was 100+. We were constantly sweating and trying to find places with A/C. It is so hot during the day that things shut down in the afternoon, typically between the hours of 1-4pm. Kind of like the Spanish siesta, but largely because it’s way too hot to be outside. And in classic Britt and Justin fashion, we found ourselves out and about exploring during these times on a couple of days. It truly was a ghost town wherever we went. One day when visiting a nearby city, we just had to sit in the car and wait for the souq (local market) to open at 4pm because there was not a single place that was open.
One thing we loved about Oman was that it was a great melting pot of many Middle Eastern cultures. We learned that half of Oman’s population is Omani, while the other half is a mix of many other groups, largely Iranian, Pakistani, and Indian. We also met Egyptians, Iraqis, Turkish, and even a Canadian who lived there. The mix of cultures created for a really tasty variety of food options, many with an Omani twist. Omani cuisine was full of goat, shawarma, and many, many dates!
One of the highlights of our time in Oman was visiting Wadi Shab. In Arabic, wadi means river, so this was the River Shab. We arrived at the underpass of a highway and hopped on a boat to cross the small river. Once we crossed, we began our 45 minute hike that consisted of climbing over boulders, very slippery rocks, and the constant search for faded spray painted arrows directing us. After asking, “Is this the right way?”, roughly 100 times, we arrived at the swimming part of the hike. There were no signs that indicated we had arrived, but we saw many belongings left behind and quickly followed suit. We ditched our stuff, hopped in the water, and proceeded to the first of four pools. As we swam from pool to pool, each one was progressively deeper and larger.
The water was cool and felt amazing after hiking in the heat. When we reached the end of the last pool, we were met by a giant rock sitting ever so slightly above the water with a very narrow gap. From what we had researched, we were supposed to swim through this tiny gap, squeezing our heads through, and at the end we would find a stunning waterfall. And that’s exactly what happened. It was stunning. The swimming hole was surrounded by rocks and a beautiful waterfall rushing down the middle. Justin quickly found the rope to climb up the waterfall and scaled it with ease. At the top there were more nooks and crannies and of course a great spot to jump back down into the swimming hole. We spent about 20 minutes splashing around with a bunch of strangers before making our way back.
After Wadi Shab, we headed to a sinkhole that claimed to be a “must see” in the area. As our research tells us, there was a giant meteor that crashed into Oman leaving a crater that so close to the sea that it filled with water, which is not very common as far as sinkholes go… apparently. It was cool to see, but we didn’t spend a lot of time there.
The most memorable part of our time in Oman was our Airbnb host, Ahmed. As with many of our Airbnbs, we again chose to stay in a guest room of someone’s home and it was the best decision we could have made. Ahmed is originally from Egypt and has been living in Oman for a number of years. Ahmed’s wife and three daughters still live in Egypt, and he travels back and forth to visit them a few times a year. Ahmed was such a hospitable host. He spent two of our five nights showing us around Oman, teaching us about Omani culture, and preparing us for Egyptian culture. While our stay was short, we felt like we quickly became friends. On our first night, Ahmed took us for traditional Omani tea and then we spent the remainder of the evening exploring the local shopping area, visiting a city lookout point, and visiting a beautiful mosque at the top of a hill. At the end of the night, he took us out for traditional Omani street food, Mishkak, which is essentially meat on a stick dipped in a sweet and savory sauce. We will always remember Ahmed’s generosity fondly and we hope to return the favor in the future.
Overall, Oman was quite different than we expected, but for the better. We found what felt like a secret sliver of paradise tucked away in the middle of the Middle East, and we learned that this is by design. To preserve the peace and quiet, Oman prefers to stay under the radar and does not promote or market tourism to the country. With the exception of one or two properties, the big hotel chains have yet to take over the beautiful coastline that would normally attract the biggest resorts. We enjoyed our short stay, but we don’t think we would necessarily need to go back to Oman. However, we are very glad it was a late add to our itinerary and that we could experience the Switzerland of the Middle East!
