Six countries in four days

Six countries in four days sounds impressive but when five are the emirates of Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Dubai, Sharjah and Ras al-Khaimah with no border restrictions and often no obvious sign that you have entered a new area then it becomes less significant. The sixth was genuinely a different country – Oman. The borders of Oman are crazy. Parts of it are totally enclosed by the UAE, Musandam, the northern tip of the UAE is Oman territory, while the main part of Oman is to the south and borders Yemen. To give an idea of distances, the return trip from Hatta took about two and a half hours.

Fortuitous timing of two national holidays gave us a week off work. Eid Ul-Adha is the second Eid celebration and marks the end of the Haj and this was closely followed by the United Arab Emirates National Day. We celebrated both occasions by leaving Abu Dhabi and heading for Fujairah on the east coast. Traveling with Manda and Mark we saw some spectacular mountain scenery, visited fabulous old forts which are being restored, took a boat trip with a local fisherman and did more four wheel driving down steep sided wadis.

The Friday Market

The Friday Market actually operates on every day of the week. It seemed to be mostly carpets and fruit shops lining both sides of the road. The fresh coconuts had a straw stuck through a small hole to give a refreshing drink.

Bithnah Fort

Restoration is still taking place on this 300 year old fort. High mountains make an impressive backdrop. Without the restoration the fort would crumble away.

From the group of four, two are completely unimpressed with heights. The view was worth it though.

Hayle Fort

We arrived just before sunset and managed a quick tour of the fort before the sun went down. The watchtower stands about 100m above the fort.

Dibba

The following day we travelled further north into Oman to the port of Dibba. Lots of tourist trips on dhows but still a working fishing port. Mark negotiated a private trip with this fisherman who also operated a small dhow.

The trip was primarily to visit this cave where Mark believes he has spotted dinosaur footprints.

Al Bidya Mosque

The return trip took us to Al Bidya Mosque. This is the watchtower above it.

The Mosque is the oldest in the UAE. Ladies are expected to cover their heads.

Khor Khalba

Fish drying in the sun

Ain Al Qamoor

These were supposed to be refreshing hot springs. Apparently we arrived at the end of a long, dry period.

National Day fever meant that no opportunity was lost to drape or fly a flag.

Wadi Ghali Abadilah

Wadi Ghali Abadilah was the most adventurous part of the trip. This used to be the main road and parts even have tar seal visible.

In places vegetables are grown in irrigated terraces. Wherever there is water there seem to be date palms.

We climbed up one ravine and discovered circular stone structures. We still don’t know what they are for but once again the view made the climb worthwhile.