The Nizwa Suq was a very well organized, relatively new, and clean market with a vegetables section, a meat section, a fish section, a crafts section, a clothing section, a jewelry section, and others. Very different from suqs you would find in Fez or Marrakesh or Cairo.
We also visited the Nizwa Fort with a couple of women guides from the University … interesting to learn how life was in this area 500 years ago.
After a good cappuccino by the Fort, we headed up the mountain on the steepest, curviest road we have been to date on this trip all the way to a 7,000 ft of elevation ... with the temperature dropping as went higher. A great, invigorating, exciting ride with full lean angles all the way up.
The last 5 kilometers were on very steep and slippery dirt roads with big drop-offs and switchbacks all the way down to the historical village of Al-Sugra - Sayq.
When you first see the village down a ravine and built on the opposite wall of the canyon, you cannot stop wondering who lived here and why ... how they manage to make a living ... and more importantly, how we were going to get across the chasm.
When you first see the village down a ravine and built on the opposite wall of the canyon, you cannot stop wondering who lived here and why ... how they manage to make a living ... and more importantly, how we were going to get across the chasm.
We eventually stopped at the end of the road on the other side of the ravine to understand how things worked ... first, we sent our bags across on a small basket hooked up to questionable and very long zip line across the ravine ... then we walked down some steps all the way to the river and up the other side ... a long and invigorating walk.
Once in the village, the sense of awe continued ... the whole village had been turned into 11 guest rooms perched here and there by the family that has lived in the village for generations ... just a beautiful site. The pictures below do a better job of describing the area.
We sat in one of the many terraces to chill, take the views, and enjoy the peace and tranquility. Later in the afternoon we sat down with a group of 3 Omani guys visiting for the day to talk politics, art, music, religion, geography, and life in general while having coffee ... an incredible opportunity to learn more about the country, its people, its customs, its form of government, and the Arab world in general.
Temperatures dropped fast to around 45 degrees ... after dinner we buried ourselves under several blankets and went to sleep under an incredible dark sky full of stars. An overall very good day!
Tomorrow, we go to Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman.
Ahhhh! ... nothing like witnessing the world wake up on board a motorcycle
Out parking spots in the sidewalk next to the Nizwa Fort
The famous Nizwa Souq
Omani daggers
In side the central court at the Souq
One of the food halls at the Souq
Omani halwa - a great sweet delicacy
Traditional craft ladies inside the Nizwa Fort
The main room where the Imam received people in the Fort
The great Al Qala'a mosque in Nizwa
The imam's bathroom
A school day trip
At the top of the fort's tower
The view of Nizwa from the tower at the fort
Just chilling in the shade
A hungry visitor
Loading our luggage to a cable basket to cross the chasm to our stay for the night
We made it ... scary dirt steep hills to get here
The old Al-Sugra Sayq village perched on the stone wall across this canyon ... our hotel for the night
Another view of the Al-Sugra Sayq village
In the receiving area of the village now a hotel with 8 rooms
Derek on the terrace of his room
My room against the canyon wall
A view of the passageways inside the village
So this is how pomegranates are grown ... it is a vine!
Whaaaat?!?!? A barista inside the village
A nice evening of conversation with a group of Omani professionals visiting the village for the day
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