Cafe Ceremic

Cafe Ceramic is located in the AL Araimi Complex, Al Qurum area. You can't miss the building with the enormous picture of the Sultan above the door.

While the boys join a "little barista's" day camp, Hailey prepares herself for a few hours of work.

First we make pizza dough.

Then they prepared the pizzas.

Now the pizza is ready to bake.

After fun and games, the boys learned how to paint on tiles.

Al Alam Palace

A trip to Al Alam Palace located in Old Muscat.

Tourists can enter this palace through the Kebir Gate in the ancient city walls.

Guarded by rocky cliffs, The Al Alam Royal Palace overlooks the Muscat harbor. This royal palace is guarded between the Al Jalali and Al Mirani Forts.

Some pictures of the forts and watch towers on the mountains surrounding Al Alam Palace.

The Al Alam Palace in Muscat is the official estate of the ruler of Oman, Sultan Qaboos. Visitors are allowed around the courtyard of this grand building.

"Al Alam" means "The Flag" in Arabic.

Visitors are not allowed inside the gates of the palace.

Al Alam Royal Palace was built in 1972 after Sultan Qaboos took the throne in 1970.

The fairytale towers

Courtyard pictures.

The majesty of this palace is definitely breathtaking or maybe it's the humidity.

Upon leaving we found the local police station.

The new recruits were hard at work.

Wadi al Abyad

Heading out on another day trip to the Al Hajar area.

Again with the guide book directions - Wadi al Abyad, latitude 22.97 and longitude 57.55 is a hydrographic wadi. At the end of the paved road, head right and pick up the graded track You'll pass plantations on either side. You may encounter an old local guy who claims to own the wadi and won't let you pass. Be friendly, and you should be able to talk your way through.

Scary they have such poor directions and signs they give you coordinates.

Wadi - a valley or ravine, bounded by relatively steep banks, which in the rainy season becomes a watercourse; found primarily in North Africa and the Middle East.

Yep, looks like we found it!

The whitish pools, according to popular here-say, give wadi Abyad (meaning white in Arabic) its name.

Made it to the "end of the drivable track". There was a nice stream with a steady flow along the mountain. Now time to park the car, set up camp and explore.

The pools had a few feet of depth. Miniature fish and toads were plentiful. The kids used their shirts as nets and caught and released their trophies.

Catching the water critters was fun to do.

Tired of swimming...lets go on a hike!

Be careful! It is rocky terrain. Matt slide down on a sharp rock irreparably ripping his shorts.

This wadi always carries water and features 'blue & milky white' pools with white cabonate clouds precipitating from the water.

The Al Hajar range's sharp edged peaks and an impressive backdrop displaying golden brown hues in the afternoon. Well, it was a full, relaxing day. Time to pack out.

Now, the fun part. We were the last car to leave in our pack. You should always have at least two 4 wheel drives when off-roading. Matt decided to have some fun and drive in circles and into the water before we left. Upon entering this stream (he intended to drive up the hill), we went from one foot of water to about four!! The SUV was at a 40 degree angle with the left front tire off the ledge IN the water. Kids jumped at the side door as the car sank further in the ground. The water was one inch from the driver's window. Matt said "Oh, honey". Oh honey me!!! He wanted to keep the RPM up in the SUV so the engine wouldn't die. So yours truly, went to the front of the car to try to push it back. The water was up to my chest and I'm not short. After alot of prayers and wondering how long it would take to be rescued. God willing, the SUV slowly gained ground.

OH MY, what craziness.

After all was said and done, we doubled over with laughter. I guess mostly thankful we were able to get out and the SUV's engine was still running. Matt opened the car doors and ALOT of water gushed out. At that time, I remembered my camera and just have the reminisces of the water trickling out. Thank goodness it was in the car seat. My purse and maps in the floor had a bath. I wish I would have thought to take a picture when we were submerged in the water but shock had set in. Apparently, Matt was having an off day!

Qantab Beach

Qantab is a small, quiet village a few miles from Old Muscat. I think it takes us 30 minutes to get there, and the drive is made extra special with the spectacular scenery. BUT Oh how I love the directions to get here. Quoted from the Oman guide book " The drive from Al Bustan past the statues of the prancing horses. Turn right on the uphill climb to Qantab Beach" Interestingly enough, it worked.

Upon driving through the town, we see many goats roaming the city.

Goats stay in pens in the back yard of the owners at night and roam during the day. It is not uncommon to see the goats entering the houses and jumping on the furniture.

We are now entering the Qantab beach area.

The beach was serene and beautiful. Amazing crystal clear water gently lapped upon the shore making this area extremely quiet and peaceful.

There are a few Omanis sitting at the other end of the beach, close to their boats. I suppose they can take us for a ride if we asked, instead we choose to walk bare feet on the soft sand, breathe in the crisp air, snorkel, and take photographs.

A rocky lagoon where there are popular diving caves.

The boys getting ready to head out.

They have all their gear in tow.

The snorkeling begins.

No major disasters. All the kids are safe. Not too bad for the little boys first open water dive.

I was the make shift life guard most of the time. I did see about a two foot sting ray jump from the water but I am content with playing with the sand and my camera.

The area has several ruins which were once forts, along the beach.

It is sad to note, however, the horrible graffiti on the walls, the plastic bags scattered about, and cans of cola carelessly tossed in a corner. The beach is clean, but the fort is abused.

The ruins of a fort built high on the mountain top.