The JABRIN FORT.

Probably our favourite Fort in Oman.

It houses 55 rooms.

Impressive Doors.

The IMAM'S TOMB.

Great restoration of painted cellings.

The fort was originally built as a palace.

Large Rooms for relaxation.

Its construction was ordered in 1671 by Imam Bal'arab bin Sultan al-Ya'ruba.

This fort gives us a glimps into what it used to look like.

Large courtyards.

Surrounding Plains.

Omani Flag.

View of the surrounding area.

A view from the tower above to the entrance (cannons).

A high-walled courtyard.

Looking down into the Courtyard.

Dates Storage Room.

Kitchen with various household items.

More household items.

Jabrin Fort an impressive sight.

Main Entrance to the Fort in the courtyard.

As always we are the only ones in the parking lot.

Mar. 07, 2006. Only 1.5 km outside of IBRI ...

... the ancient city in ruins called AL SULAYF (A'SLAIF).

The entrance ... an amazing picture.

We spent a good couple of hours exploring.

In another 20 years there will be not much left of this place.

The walls are build out of mud and are washed away by rain.

UNESCO World Heritage Site. Close to the village of BAT.

Excavation of ancient BEEHIVE TOMBS...

...dating back 4000 to 5000 years.

Reconstruction of a tomb from original stones...

...by a German Archeologial team.

The precision and smoothness of the stones is amazing.

Another abandoned village in ruins on our way to Jebel Shams.

Spectacular deep Wadi Ghul.

Known locally as the grand canyon.

JEBEL SHAM (Mountain of the Sun) is Oman's highest mountain at 3075m.

The road allows frighteningly close views over the edge.

Camping on the summit.

March 08, 2006. Decending Jebel Shams.

One last look over the edge.

Riding the bikes close to the rim.

No safe guards here.

1000m vertical drop.

The ruins of the old town of FANJA...

...located between Nizwa and Muscat.

Here people actually still live.

We are fazinated by these ruins of Oman.

Typical ladders in Oman. Climbing up the inside of the tower.

View from the tower.

Hard to explain how it felt like to be walking along ancient road ways.

Camping in a Wadi near NAKHAL.

March 09, 2006. The NAKHAL FORT.

Built upon 200m of rock.

Another beautiful restored Fort.

Mike does take excellent photos.

One heavy door.

View of the Hajar Mountains and Batinah Plains.

View of the village of Nakhal and the souq.

Another Omani ladder construction.

The RUSTAQ FORT. Located about 175km from Muscat.

Entrance into the Fort.

This Fort just opened to the public...

...and still has not been fully restored.

A great place to explore...

...secret passages and rooms.

Rustaq used to be the capital of Oman.

Welcome to MUSCAT.

Captial of Oman.

The MUTRAH FORTand CORNICHE STREET.

Another funny sign. Sale of Life Chicken.

We are interviewed by the Omani Tribune Newspaper.

March 10, 2006. The MUSCAT GRAND MOSQUE.

Camping in Daghmar & being observed by the local kids.

A Omani Girl.

The local kids.

Our wild campsite in Daghmar

The BIMMAH SINKHOLE.

The Sinkhole is located about 6km from Dibab along the coast graded road from Muscat to Sur.

We couldn't resist a swim.

It was formed when underground water discolved the limestone rock above, causing it to collapse.

Snorkelling in the blue water.

Don't ask.

Amazing underwater life and clear water, a mixture of salt water from the sea and fresh water.

Mike sinking to the bottom of the 40m x 20m sinkhole.

Wild Camping on the TIWI BEACH (White Beach).

Can't get any closer to paradise.

Our own secluded bay.

Located approx. 9 kms before Tiwi.

The water was amazingly clear.

We saw Dolphins and sea lions.

Keeping the Sun at bay with a traditional mushadda.

A caravan of 4WD's for the tourists.

March 12, 2006. WADI SHAB.

We decide to hike up Wadi Shab.

A working Falaj (irrigation channel)

Falaj

Unfortunately the picture do this beautiful wadi not justice.

It is said to be the most gorgeous destination in Oman.

The hike took us over man-made bridges.

Some scarier than others.

We scrambled along the cliff edges.

QALHAT. Built around 2nd Century AD.

Water cistern.

Remains of the city walls.

TOMB OF BIBI MIRIAM.

RAS AL-JINZ. Female Turtle Nesting. Up to 13,000 turtles come to nest on the beach annually. It is also the easttern-most point of the Arabian peninsula.

Mike giving a helping hand to the locals.

Seems like he was the only one having some kind of clue.

UNESCO World Heritage site for the FRANKINCENSE TRAIL in the Dhofar area.

Our 780km ride from Adam to Salalah.

The occasional oasis.

Hours and hours of nothingness.

No people, no cars, no trees.

March 15, 2006. UNESCO World Heritage Site in SALALAH.

KHOR ROURI. UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Located 5km outside of Taqah.

The trading post of the Frankincense Route.

Dating back 2000 years.

Is stated as one of the most important ports on earth.

Ancient inscriptions are exposed.

A view of the port entrance.

We wonder what it looked like 2000 years ago.

There are hundreds of Camels...

...in the surrounding area of Salalah.

View from the mountain range of the town of Salalah. Unfortunately very hazy.