Travels and Trails of Sangeetha

DAY 1 PROGRAM Start from Seeb (1pm after lunch) – carry tea coffee and sandwiches so as to not to lose time at pit stops Optional Pit stop – Drive towards Haima on the Salalah route – Via Bidbid, Sumail, Nizwa, Adam, Al Ghaba – Asphalt roads Salt mountain and Cave Qarat Al Kibrit (reach before 5:30 and do carry torches) - 8.7 Kms before Ghaba Rest Area – Graded road – (N21 27 01.8 E57 16 40.4)    Reach Al Ghaba (Via Nizwa, Izki, Sinaw ) – 2.45 hrs drive from Seeb CAMP- DAY1 near Ghaba Rest Area (Side road - drive towards the hills that can be seen 3kms) Look out for fossils (Stromatolites) DAY 2 PROGRAM Gypsum quarry (N21 15 05.5 E57 25 46.0) and Flint factory with Flint stones to collect Ghaba – 1 Oil Well (N21 19 40.6 E57 18 46.9) (abandoned in 1959 after drilling to a depth of 3455mts. One of the 1st oil exploration wells to be drilled in Oman along with the Douka 1, in 1955 and Fuhud 1 in 1956) Haushi – ex...

 Collecting shells at the Whitesand Beach 'Kohl' is the eye-liner used commonly by women, kids and even older men in the MENA region. Do you remember those sketchy eyes and arched eye-lashes of the people of the Nile from ancient Egypt? Yes, they are sported Kohl liners as cosmetics way back in 1200 BC. It stems from the Arabic word - Kuhl which is normally made from a powder carbon / sulphide along with some essentail oils such as the olive oil. In Oman, a study of Kohl samples revealed that they contained powdered Galena (Lead Sulphide) ( http://isebindia.com/05_08/07-07-1.html ) and some mollusk shell powders. Another common recipe is to brun the fragnant gum 'Luban' from the Frankincense tree (Boswelia Sacra) and collect the soot from an inverted bowl to mix with herbal oils. Historically the Murex mollusks were used to make the famous Tyrian Purple dye and the colour 'purple' is still considered a royal colour. ( http://pffc-onli...

2009 New Year’s Eve at Masirah Islands The drive through the plain terrain can be very straightforward and boring. But drive carefully as God forbid, over-speeding drivers (anywhere between 140 – 200kms) on these roads can run into your lane inadvertently. Keep your vehicles filled with fuel and staff at these points can give you directions for your next land mark. Planning to celebrate the New Year’s Eve differently, say by watching the first sunrise of 2009 from the eastern most part of Oman, we took a 3days trip to the Masirah Islands. We are a family of 3 members Sridhar, Sangeetha (Author) and Aswath (Award winning photographer). This trip was planned in just 3hrs thanks to Mr. Senthilkumar for his guidance it turned both comfortable and entertaining. Masirah can be hot and windy in summer, but it cool and calm in winter. Here is a simple blog to record our experience and serve as a guide to other visitors to Masirah. Starting on 31st Dec 2008, we reached...