Oman 2: The return hike to Muscat, The Grand mosque, and Jabal Ahkdar's first abandoned village

   From the museum, we took a winding road up to a view of Old Muscat.  We continued on to the trailhead of the Mutrah to Riyam Park, where we stopped at a coffee shop for drinks to bring with us.

  We passed two people who had just come down from the hike, but after that, we didn't see a single soul for the entirety.  It was steep at first, but then flattened out, before heading downward.  The views were fantastic.  We ended up down by a stream. I had to pack away my camera, so I can use handholds to avoid getting my feet wet.  I still ended up putting my foot into water once, but Miles avoided it.  He was a bit irritated with the heat and had not gone on a hike in a while, so was getting needlessly frustrated.  This was not helped, when, at the very end, we couldn't find the path that would have, in two minutes, finished the hike.  We doubled back, following the Alltrails map, but the path did not exist.  We returned to where we thought it should end and then I saw the final Oman flag marker for the trail.  Two minutes later we had completed the hike and the road followed directly into town.

  I outlined the path of our walking and hike of the day, with the dots where we stopped along the way.

  That night, I was absolutely exhausted, and my stomach was bothering me.  As a result, i brought Miles to the KFC two doors down and I picked up a plain sandwich at the coffee shop connected to our hotel.
  We woke up the next morning and our second checked bag was finally delivered.  This day was planned to be an easy day.  Around noon, we visit the Souq, which was not particularly impressive.  I tried a side alley to see how expansive it was, but once we diverted down another alley, we discovered mostly abandoned passages.  I had taken some pictures, but in my grogginess after a nap afterwards, I accidentally deleted them.  It was so unspectacular that I didn't go back to retake the pictures.

  On the other side of the Souq, we walked to a tailor that got good reviews for their dishdasha, the traditional male Omani clothing that I think looks fantastic.  It ended up being a tailor shop where you could see a bunch of workers through the window, but there were no premade outfits to buy.  I will have to try again later in the trip.

  We departed again in late afternoon to visit the Mutrah Fort.  It was a pleasant and easy walk, with beautiful views of the city.  Afterwards, just a short distance away was a takeout restaurant with rave reviews.  The place was clearly a non tourist destination, with prices merely a fraction of what we paid elsewhere.  I was so uncertain about the low prices, that I ordered us both two dishes, just in case I was accidentally ordering appetizers.  They were normal portions.

  The next day, we packed up and left early, to visit the Sultan Qaboos Grand Masjid, as Miles finally had appropriate clothes to wear.  They close at 11 AM on weekdays.  I was a beautiful set of buildings.  You had to take off your shoes and deposit them in cubbies before entering the two buildings.  Looking up at the large chandelier in the larger building, it made me think of a city in the sky.  The pictures do not do it justice.

City in the Sky

  From the Mosque, it was a little over a two hour drive to our next location, up a mountain to Jabal Ahkdar.  To drive up, you are required to pass through a government checkpoint and must have a vehicle with four wheel drive.  The process was smooth and up we went.  The road is well paved and I am not quite sure I understand why a four wheel drive was necessary.  They have two lanes on the way up, to allow for slower moving trucks to have their own lane.  The views were blocked for large portions of time, I assumed, because people might use that second lane to stop and take pictures.

  Our hotel here is magnificent, and we were upgraded to have our own chalet, with a massive living room and massive bedroom.  The internet is also extremely fast, which allowed for gaming.  There seem to be relatively few quests, as it is likely off season for them.  After unpacking, we drove fifteen minutes away, to Wadi Bani Habib.  This small hike brought us down to a small, abandoned village.  I followed a guide that I found online, but we ended up missing what I believe was a side path to a second village.  After exploring the first village, I took out my insect lens for a couple of lizards and some insects, who were making hives in the holes in the building walls.

  To complete the hike, we continued along the dry river bed, which became more and more littered with garbage, and over infested with thorny bushes.  We caught sight of a huge frog, but it escaped into the crevasse of a wall before I could photograph it.  Growing weary of the bushes, we climbed a small wall into an abandoned tiered garden, and then over a bent fence to a drainage system, which led us to the stepped ascent.

  One more point of note is the bathroom situation of Oman.  Two days before my trip, it popped into my head that they might not use toilet paper.  The internet seemed to confirm that this was the case, and they use a hose connected to the wall, as a form of a bidet.  This has not altogether been true so far.  The toilets use both options.  I have discovered, shockingly(to me), that I vastly prefer the hose system.  When the water pressure is strong enough, it is the fastest and easiest way to clean that I have ever experienced.  If I wouldn't get side glances, I would install the hose system for my bathrooms at home.  Yes, seriously.