Having been in Oman since 1986, I have combined my love of photography with my second great passion, exploring.
Get off the beaten track and find out what this country has to offer…..!
Until Google Earth opened, the only way of finding places of interest was to pick a route and find out where it goes or word of mouth.
But with the help of old Ordinance Survey maps (if you can find them, because they give footpaths used prior to the tarmac road) along with such publications as ‘The Journal of Oman Studies’ it was easy building up a list of places worth a visit. Then it was down to a good 4×4 and two legs!
The Journal of Oman Studies was launched in 1975 by the then Ministry of Information and Culture. It is a publication for archaeologists and historians to present academic articles about the Sultanate (but do not let that put you off). The Journal includes such diverse subjects as the porcelain trade with China, mangrove lagoons, the Kuria Muria (Halaaniyaat Islands) a very important breeding site for seabirds, as well as archaeology and architecture; it has now expanded to cover natural history.
All are available from the bookshop at the Ministry of Heritage and Culture in Muscat.
David A Lockwood 