All Time High

We ended our year in Arabia by driving up Oman's highest mountain, Jebel Shams.  Rising 3,075m (10,089ft) the Mountain of the Sun is best known not for its peak but for the view into the spectacularly deep Wadi Ghul lying alongside it.  The straight-sided wadi is known locally as the Grand Canyon of Arabia as it fissures abruptly between the flat canyon rims, exposing vertical cliffs of 1,000m and more.

Not Jebel Shams, just another impressive
mountain we saw on the drive up

Check out the new Christmas pressie...

In memory of the last Grand Canyon we visited

Before reaching the summit we passed the vacant village of Ghul at the entrance to the Wadi Ghul canyon. I do love a good wadi...

Returning from Jebel Shams we visited the village of Bahla where there is a remarkable set of battlements running impressively along the wadi.  These walls extend for several kilometres and are said to have been designed 600 years ago by a woman.

Part and parcel of the battlements is the impressive 12th-century fort, built by the Bani Nebhan tribe and one of the most extensive in Oman.  After many years of restoration it was opened to the public and was granted a Unesco World Heritage Site status in 1987.

We didn't actually go inside as Joey was once again sleeping, but walking all the way round certainly got us ready for the fantastic Turkish kebabs we enjoyed later.  Kebabs and shawarma every evening at next to nothing prices: what's not to like about Oman?