(previously published on 9/3/2023 on vickystravelinthemiddleeastandbeyond.wordpress.com)

Hasik is a fishing port and also an access point, via Dhow to the Hallaniyat islands, also known as the Khuriya Muria islands. I’ve not visited, on my bucket list!

Along the coastline just north of Hasik, the cliffs tower above the road and water running off the escarpment has formed immense stalactites hanging down from the contours of the rock. It’s quite a sight to behold…

Onwards towards Mirbat, the road is cut along the base of the escarpment bordered by the sea.It’s a wonderful drive, there is very little traffic and any budding geologist would be awed by the strata and rock formations.

A few stops at favorite beaches along the way…

We added in a new little off road trip after Sadah. Sadah is a small coastal town and I just managed to spot two traditional old houses and caught them as we drove past…

We had been recommended to visit a part of the coastline we hadn’t explored before. The track takes you through wadis, some incredible strata and after much switchbacking up and over the small hills, to a beautiful remote bay…

As we had arrived a day early in Dhofar, we had the option to stay in Salalah and as we needed the car air conditioning re-gassing and a fix on the angle of the headlights, so we headed off to the Nile Hotel in Salalah to see if they had a room for us.

We have stayed at the Nile a few times, a range of different rooms and suites at very reasonable prices. If you have use of a car in Salalah it’s a great place to stay if you want to explore the area.Just room only, but plenty of restaurants to choose from in Salalah and our favorite, The Oasis club…

Air conditioning fixed , new headlights bought and fitted for a lot less than it would have cost in Dubai, we headed off to the Oasis club for dinner and drinks.

The Oasis club is located at Raysut next to the Port of Salalah.It’s a lovely restaurant to head to at sunset as the outside terrace overlooks the beach and sunset with a glass of wine is always enjoyable!

Salalah and the surrounding towns along the edge of the escarpment and on the coastal plains have a unique climate. From May to September the area has its own Monsoon season or Khareef as it is known locally. The land turns a lush green, mists and rains abound and people from other areas of the Middle East flock to Salalah for holidays and to take advantage of the cool climate during the months of their hot summers.

But in February the landscape looks very different. Parched of water from September to April, with only occasional storms the greenery disappears and a barren, stony vista appears. I’ve been here at both times of the year and the contrast is huge…some shots from Dhofar from last October and from this trip…

We always visit Taqah, a small town on the outskirts of Salalah.It is on a beautiful sweep of coastline and fishing, as always on this Oman coastline is part of life…. on this beach we find some unusual bivalves, so it’s always worth a visit and it’s a lovely walk along the beach…

We spent a couple of nights in Mirbat. This historic old town is a favorite destination of mine. Mirbat was a involved in the export of Frankincense in ancient times, as far away as China. It was also the site of the 1972 Battle of Mirbat between Communist guerrillas on one side and the armed forces of the Sultan of Oman and their Special Air Services advisers.

In the centre of Mirbat is the historic old town. I have been coming here for many years and it’s sad to see the deterioration but now it’s a morbid fascination to see what buildings have collapsed and are beyond repairs. Anyone who has read my Mirbat posts will remember I have a favorite door…pleased to say it’s still there, but it doesn’t look too good now! 

Mirbat was named after the horse stall. Apart from being famous for exporting Omani frankincense , it was famous in the 9th century AD for breeding and exporting horses. As you drive into town you are greeted by horses on plinths on either side of the road.

Route map…

(previously published 4/3/2023 on vickystravelinthemiddleeastandbeyond.wordpress.com)

The centre of Masirah island is dominated by a spine of small mountains, only accessed by tracks through the wadis.

The highest point of the hilly backbone is Jebel Humr at a height of 274metres, a table-topped small mountain, part of the Mesozoic ophiolite sequence of Masirah.

I have always wanted to reach the top of Jebel Humr and during past visits we have circled the Jebel by car, using little off-road tracks, but it always looked impossible as there is an upper cliff below the top, with overhang.

During the pandemic I made an online friend , a younger woman who lives on Masirah and who had joined our facebook group about shells relating to Eastern Arabia. On our first trip to Masirah post-pandemic, we met several times , it was refreshing to meet a young woman from the island , we forged a lovely friendship and I knew that we would meet up again. She told me she had been to the top of Jebel Humr and would organize the walk/climb on our next visit.

In the meantime , last May, I had my second hip replacement…Climbing up to the top of mountains seemed unattainable and on our visit to Masirah in October 2022, my friend was not on the island so the climbing plan was moved on to our next visit, probably it was best, I’m not sure I would have made it back in October 2022, looking back on it now…

So, here we were, at the bottom of the track leading part way up the mountain, it was 6.00am, pre-sunrise and a good time to go. Amal had brought Abdul along to show us the route, as climbing to the top of this lonely place was something he did fairly often.

However, recent rains had washed the tracks away that he normally, tumbled boulders and scree down the slopes.

Abdul was like a mountain goat, finding the best route through, so the haul up to the scree below the top was done on the fly, but with help from the OH and Abdul, I managed to make my way up.

The top didn’t seem to far away, but it looked unachievable , scree and loose rocks and an overhang and a bit of a long drop to my right.

I will say at this point, I’m not good with heights, I lost my balance after the second hip op and became quite shaky when confronted with a downwards climb without any rocks to cling on to to support me. I do use a stick in rough areas for stability.

Abdul advised that this was the difficult part and pointed across the scree and upwards showing the route. I had a momentary panic as I glanced down at the drop but actually then thought, right this is now a personal challenge, two replacement hips, I am doing this! Otherwise all of us would have to retreat back to the cars and I would have failed… no way, this was something I had wanted to do for years, and I was doing it, albeit very carefully…

With lots of encouragement and help from the OH and Abdul we made it to the top, my thoughts of “How on earth am I going to get down this “were firmly buried so as not to ruin the “being on the top of Masirah “experience and we edged out of a rock channel onto the summit.

The sheer exhilaration of being on the top and having got myself up just made the whole experience so enjoyable. The top of Jebel Humr that is visible from the roads around the island looks like a flat tabletop mountain, which it is, but sneakily, to the East the mountain has another peak…well, should we push on up? Hmm… I made a quick decision that it would be pushing my luck to get up and down that one , so decision made , we wandered around the top of our level..and didn’t push it to the very top…not sure I would have survived that actually! At the level we arrived on , there is a helicopter landing area and a very rusty anemometer, apparently the top is used for helicopter training, there is a Royal Oman airbase on the island, so it sounds likely but possibly not recently, given the state of the equipment.

We descended to a lower plateau of the summit and discovered fossilized bivalves and a coral reef , this area is ophiolite, which was once an ancient seabed. The views of the West coast are magnificent and the bonus was 8 to 10 Egyptian vultures using the air currents to soar and glide above our heads….one even let me get close for photos, the climb was worth every moment on the top…

Now we had to get back down, I know the OH and my friends were slightly nervous on my behalf but lots of positive encouragement was forthcoming and I did think it was something I had to do, I couldn’t just ring for a helicopter! 

I went down much of the scree slope on my backside, the angle was so steep that standing upright made me feel that I was going to plummet face forward down the drop so, when in doubt sit down! Abdul took great care with me and helped through some awkward spots and finally we were back at the cars….it was an awesome morning and having achieved the top I was very proud of myself, with help from some very dear friends…