An abstract frame…..
Frame
Skywatch Friday: 26/8/16
No, it’s a Cypus sunset, no-where near Italy…
Before sunset, from Mirage, Paphos, Cyprus…….
Linking with Skywatch Friday, pop over and check out the sky today……
Thursday Doors: 25/8/16
Come and walk with me around Mirbat, a fishing town on the South Oman, around 70km from Salalah . Last week we entered the old town, this week join me as we head on around the corner.
There are many old towns in Oman but in this one, I felt I was recording for posterity. Towns are abandoned and slowly fall to the ground, the history is gone. Continue reading
Wordless Wednesday: 24/8/16
Monday Window: 22/8/16
Windows in Mirbat, Southern Oman.
These windows in the walls of the house are unique, so many tales to tell, but we will never know… Continue reading
Weekly Photo Challenge: Rare #3
A rare sight- A live Conus textile (Linnaeus, 1758) on the prowl, siphon extended.
Cone snails are one of the most venomous creatures on earth. Among the most toxic are the textile, geographic, and tulip snails and there is a higher risk of death if the geographic and textile snails are involved. All capture their prey by means of harpoon-like hollow teeth (radula) that are rapidly jabbed into their prey to inject the toxic venom. Attacks on humans usually occur when a cone snail is either stepped on in the ocean or picked up from the water or the beach.There are known human fatalities from this species.
Their geographical distribution is throughout the Indo-Pacific region, Australia, and the Indian Ocean from eastern Africa to Hawaii and French Polynesia.
The textile cone lives in the sand beneath coral and rocks in shallow waters. If you do come across one, admire quickly and walk away. Do not pick one up…..
Weekly Photo Challenge: Rare #2
A white carpet anemone (Stichodactyla sp.), a rare find in the inter-tidal zone at an extremely low tide on a lonely beach near Shannah, Oman. An Indo-Pacific occupant, living on reefs or on the sandy bottom, these anemones can attain a size of two and a half feet in diameter. Potentially harmful to humans ( a potent sting) they act as a host for many types of clownfish.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Rare….
As a seashell collector, this beautiful shell was a rare beach find for me.
This Lambis truncata sebae (Kiener, 1843) was found washed up on a rock shelf at low tide just south of Dibba in the United Arab Emirates. Imagine my pleasure to spot this virtually intact sub-adult lying in a rock pool after a storm.
More on my Lambis finds at the link.
Skywatch Friday: 19/8/16….
Above Hilvan, Sanliurfa, Turkey heading home to Cyprus….just a little bank of wispy cloud in an endless blue sky…..
Linking with Skywatch Friday There are always some beautiful skies to be seen all over the world, pop over and take a look.
Thursday Doors: 18/8/16
It’s Thursday again..where did the week go? The” full of good intention” head plan for this week’s doors post ran out of time.
So here’s a little taster and next week I’ll take you around an eclectic collection of Arabian doors and windows from this old city. Continue reading
Wordless Wednesday….
Weekly Photo Challenge : Fun #2…..
Weekly Photo Challenge: Fun….
Monday Window: 15/8/16
August the fifteenth is a Bank holiday in Cyprus. The Eastern Orthodox church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption. This day, dedicated to the Virgin Mary or Panayia as she is known here, is not a day of mourning for her loss, but a celebration of joy for the union of the mother with her beloved son, the blossoming of nature, the flood of emotions, and the return of people to their native land. Continue reading
Skywatch Friday: 12/8/16
After sunset at Coral Bay, Paphos, Cyprus…..
Am apricot sunset at Coral Bay….
Linking to Skywatch Friday a weekly challenge for sky lovers…..
Thursday Doors: 11/8/16
The ancient settlement of Khor Rori in the Dhofar region of Southern Oman stands above a natural harbour on this wild and dangerous coast. The town in the settlement is known as Sumhuram. This small town was founded as an outpost for the kingdom of Hadramawt around the first century CE. The Dhofar region was the main exporter of Frankincense in ancient times and maritime contacts were discovered during the excavations in the 1900’s to both India and the Mediterranean. Continue reading
Weekly Photo Challenge: Morning #5
Morning light from the rising sun casts shadows across the dunes, giving a surreal effect. Shot at the edge of the Empty Quarter, just before the Saudi border.
Wordless Wednesday….
Praying?
Weekly Photo Challenge: Morning #4
Monday Window: 8/8/16
Windows on my worlds….. Continue reading
Weekly Photo Challenge: Morning #3
Sunrise at sabkha plains in Oman…the morning mist makes for an eerie atmosphere in the half light…..
Doing Dubai…. Deira Fish market.
The areas of Deira, Naif, Shindaga, Bur Dubai and Dubai Creek make up historical Dubai. Dhows ply the seas from Dubai to Iran, Pakistan and India. This is the hub from where the original sea-faring entrepreneur’s found their trading niche in this region. Continue reading
Weekly Photo Challenge : Morning #2
Morning all… Fresh figs picked from the tree for my breakfast….
Breakfast figs from my tree…
Weekly Photo Challenge: Morning
Skywatch Friday: 5/8/16
Heading home, morning mists over the Zagros range in western Iran. High above, clear blue skies stretching forever. From the hot dusty range on the ground, I expect it looked a lot different, another misty start to another hot day.
I had the perfect view…
Linking with Skywatch Friday, a site for sky lovers….pop over and check out some sky today…
Weekly Photo Challenge: Narrow
A narrow alley in Muscat’s Muttrah souk area.
Narrow windows and a narrow balcony with a tantalising glimpse of the end through the narrow arch…
Thursday Doors: 4/8/16
Returning to Omodos in Cyprus, a small village in the Troodos foothills, the narrow cobbled streets of the traditional village are perfect for a door hunter….. Continue reading
Wordless Wednesday…..
Frangipani…
Monday Window: 1/8/16
From the city of Salalah in Southern Oman to the Yemen border, the road twists and turns through a series of hairpin bends, eventually climbing to the top of the escarpment, with towering cliffs plummeting down to the Indian ocean.
During monsoon a pervading mist hangs over the escarpment but every so often, when the road gets to about 1000 metres high, you pop out of the mist into bright, brilliant sunshine with incredible views and on this particular release into sunlight, even a small pink shelter perched on top of the mountain, with rather striking brickwork for the windows.
Such buildings and design are typical in Oman, used as shelters from the sun (sometimes rain, as this area receives a fair amount) with the air bricks allowing for cool air in the heat of the day, although it’s the first pink one I’ve ever seen….
Heading up through the mist….
To find brilliant sunshine above the clouds and a small pink house….
The pink house providing a nice window shot….
Sideways on, air brick windows, all different….
Stunning view through the bricks….
The ubiquitous stunted trees,so typical of this region, precariously growing out of the mountain-side….
and the very long drop down outside the window…..
The finishing touch provided by some little pink flowers, growing through the rock outside the pink house…..
Taking part in Monday Window, a weekly event, pop over and join in the challenge….
Monday Window Home
Travels in the Middle East and beyond 