On holiday for a month.

Time to escape for a month – buy all the photography stuff I cannot get here in Oman…….. Film, chemicals, paper, a tow bar for my new LR2 (Freelander) a £ for Rial thing, not that it cannot be got! (It is proving to be very good off road)  after my Tdi 200 I was not sure but…

I must admit the thing is performing really well, still a little worried about the clearance, but I do go where others fear to tread! I will probably get larger tires when they need changing.

The new ‘Hill decent / terrain control’ works as it says on the box so have not missed the transfer gears.

It also looks better than the Bread van LR3.

Jimmy Hendrix on the stereo – now that ages me!

Camel riding & Rock Art.

Two things I find interesting about this image:

There is older art behind the legs of the Camel.

Several instances that I have seen depict the rider ‘standing’ on the camel’s back when riding. Not being familiar with the finer art of camel riding (I only got on one for the first time a few months back – they are not my favourite animal. Especially as one stole newly purchased fruit from my Landrover at Masirah; anyway Horses are far more comfortable to ride) A good excuse to educate myself on the development of camel riding.

Tower Tomb.

This was taken while going across the mountain from Qalhat, Kabda, Sayma and ending in Ibra.

Interesting drive and only possible with a 4×4 not to mention a full tank of fuel before leaving Qalhat: that is unless one has a diesel Discovery! which I had when I made this trip. No longer with me I am afraid as it was getting long in the tooth for this sort of journey (1994 Tdi 200) Try and get spare parts for a vehicle that old here in Oman………

Rock art research.

The Origin & Evolution of Ancient Arabian Scripts  – by Dr Majeed Khan.

This is a link to another ‘downloadable book’ on the subject of rock art research: this time with emphasis on Proto – Arabic script.

He puts forward the idea that rock art was a precursor of Arabic script, considered a somewhat polemic conclusion by some: but if the Arab Bedouin used rock art as an eventual form of communication, then it is not unreasonable to conclude that it could develop into a proto – Arabic script.

If you do not have a Facebook account (I certainly don’t – Life style!) it can still be read on line.

Books on Rock Art in Oman.

Two new books I am reading at the moment – both on Rock Art.

The Rock Art of Arabia Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, the Emirates and Yemen

By Muhammed Abdul Nayeem.

This one came from India at R2000.00 (Good price thanks Page, he got a friend to bring it back for me)

Introduction to Rock Art Research, Second Edition.

By David S. Whitley. – thank you for the link Freyja.

I knew that if I kept looking,  eventually I would find some.

Rock Art site near Al Wishal & llya.

The weather is not going to beat me! So an early morning start tomorrow in search of a possible Rock Art site. I mean early 0430 start.

A good friend has given me this location so with luck and some judgement (GPS & map) I should find it.

The site is near Al Wishal & llya.

Update:-

3 1/2 Klicks  from the site and the road/track was blocked with no way round – very frustrating, but some times this  happens when looking for a new place. So another visit and boots on the ground this time if necessary.

If these sites were easy then everyone would know about them and where would the fun be then…….

What to do when the weather is bad!

Summer and its hot, so what to do when the humidity and temperature become unbearable – stay in doors. That though, is an anathema……  as days away from work should be spent out of doors when at all possible (comes of spending far more time in an office than I really care for)

So I set about some TLC on my photographic equipment, cleaning, checking battery contacts, blowing out the film chambers / backs then selecting every single switch and button that I could find on all the cameras, at least two or three times. That includes all shutter speeds: it helps clean the contacts of any oxidisation that may have built up through lack of use or in some cases no use at all, as in the AF switch on my F4 for instance.

Clean the bags and in the case of my Billingham bags, leather wax on all the straps and fittings. I have two of their bags and the old saying ‘you get what you pay for’ has held true, they are as good as the day I got them: just look a little lived in….

I have a UNILOC tripod that has water proof legs due to the design: great in sand as well. But it is an item that can get forgotten in the cleaning regime. So a little! WD40 after wiping with a damp cloth has kept it in excellent condition for 18 or more years. These tripods are very hard to find now and the ones of a similar design do not have the same quality of finish, so I must make it last as long as I can.