Of goats and men

Musandam, Oman – November 2021

Today we continue the story of an unforgettable weekend in Musandam. We left off when my Dubai roomies and I enjoy the last minutes of our boat tour to the fjords outside Khasab. Back in Khasab, we go on another quick shopping spree to Lulu Hypermarket for some more dates and crisps. After a quick nap at the hotel, we head for the Old Town. We drive past Khasab castle and the colourful old port in the town centre, where old men and goats are chilling by the water. Convinced that we know where we’re going, we turn right and are suddenly driving down a tiny road lined with brick walls on either side, behind which lots of palm trees are growing. With the sandy air and some 80 music playing, we feel like we‘ve travelled back in time and are the main cast of some indie film.

After another detour, we finally arrive at our destination. A restaurant that trusty Google Maps hooked us up with. Unfortunately, it does not live up to our expectations the previous night set. The only thing I remember is the cockroaches running up and down the tables. This says a lot, as I‘m usually (unconsciously & through pictures on my phone) keeping tabs on what I eat on a trip. To recover from this debacle, we head to the hotel bar. After ordering some fancy-sounding cocktails, we sit down at one of the 4 tables in the small room. There are a couple of local, old men spread around different tables in each corner, as well as 1 group of French men sitting at the bar. All three of us girls are dressed modestly (as we always do in any Muslim country we visit).

However, this does not stop the creepy local guys from looking back and forth between us and each other. Nodding every time their gaze crosses one of their countrymen. This is one of the few incidences of this kind I recall during my time in the Middle East, but I still think it‘s important to mention. At first, we joke about it and laugh it off, but all of us don‘t feel like ordering another drink, and we soon head back to our room. After a good night’s sleep and another delicious breakfast, it‘s already time for us to check out. Before making the journey south to Dubai, we want to have a look at a few spots mentioned on Mohammed Ali‘s flyer from yesterday. So, with all of our luggage packed into the boot of our small Nissan Sunny, we drive to the east and leave Khasab behind us.

Singing along to Liana‘s funky playlist, we drive through the rocky desert. There are only a few settlements spread out over the vast space. Their buildings are weirdly placed wall to wall, and we can‘t help but wonder why they build their homes like that. Maybe all the people living in the immediate surroundings are close family anyway. But even lesser than the buildings are the trees. When we spot some every few kilometres or so, there are always some goats stretching their necks along the bark, trying to nibble on the low branches. With all of us marvelling at the scenery, we almost miss the beginning of the dirt road we‘re supposed to take. Maps.me leads us off the main street and past some power plant. And then we see the real dirt road.

Liana stops the car and with the memory of getting stuck in the desert sand still fresh, we contemplate if our car can do this. We finally decide she can and slowly climb up the hill. The street is non-asphalted and narrow. We can only hope that no other car will come down the mountain at the same time as we‘re going up. Or that we upset the locals with our speed of 10 km in order to not stir up too much of the gravel with our wheels, which might damage the car. When we finally arrive at the top of the pass, we park the car on the side of the road before continuing to the other side. The view is magnificent. Only now we can see the way the road is cut into the steep rocky mountain and the sheer vastness of the no man’s land surrounding us. I eat the yoghurt I brought as a snack, and then we get back into the car for the last few hundred meters to our actual destination.

And the view only gets better. We‘re now overlooking the fjord we were boating on yesterday and the curvy road leading down to a very small port called Khor Najd. This HAS to be the birthplace of “one moment you’re on the road looking at the scenery, the next you’re in the scenery looking at the road”. We sit down next to the “I love Oman” sign and silently take in the serene scenery. After a while, Alina (goat fan #1) hears the bleating of a goat. Liana and I listen carefully, and then we hear it too. But none of us can actually see the wild animal. It’s only when I try to take a picture with Liana’s camera, and we zoom into the steep mountain’s north face, that we spot the lonely mountain goat on a small cliff. Wondering how she got there and what she was looking for on this rocky wall, we get back to marvelling at the deep blue water of the fjord.

We sit there for a good hour before getting back into the car and slowly driving down the gravel road we came up. Back at the main street at the bottom of the mountains, we turn left and continue to drive to the end of the valley, where we hope to find Musandam Forest Park. Once we arrive at the end of the road, we’re met by a fenced area with a bunch of small trees and a dirt road leading down a small hill next to it. We take the obvious decision to drive down said road. We then realize that we’re now inside the park we were looking for, which is basically a tiny forest (in Oman terms) of pine trees. A little underwhelmed, we take a commemorative selfie, get back into the car and return to Khasab for the last shopping spree at Lulu Hypermarket.

For the drive back to Dubai we first consider the tempting route across mountains and the UAE’s highest peak: Jebel Jais. However, we aren’t sure we’d actually be able to cross the border there. So we opt for the scenic drive along the coast, which we came from, instead. To look at the gorgeous cliffs diving into the blue ocean and the secluded beaches for a little longer doesn’t hurt, and we safely arrive at the border 2 hours later. Here we’re met by the same officers who stamped us into the country 2 days before. The guy in Omani dress is here again too and kindly welcomes us back with the interesting sentence: “You were at Lulu Hypermarket yesterday, right? I saw you there.” We confirm, a little bewildered, and smile, just hoping for a smooth passing. (A few days later, both Alina and I notice a comment on our respective social media posts about Khasab by no other than the border guy..).

From the border to Dubai, it’s still quite a way to go, and we don’t really want this beautiful weekend to end yet. So we decide to stop at a nice sunset spot on the way. We drive into Ras’ al-Khaima just as the sky starts to turn different shades of orange and quickly take the decision to head to the beach. Liana is giving it her all, and we speed down the highway to Flamingo beach, while I am again leaning out the window with her camera in place to capture this magical moment. We arrive just before the deep red ball of fire hits the blue line of the horizon. With the car parked, we stroll down to the sandy beach and join the Emirati families admiring mother nature. There are families picnicking, old couples sitting in beach chairs and kids playing soccer. What a blissful evening.

With the darkening of the sky, our stomachs begin to grumble. It’s time for dinner. So we look up Emirati restaurants on Google Maps (once again). We strike gold (once again) with Madfoon Al Sadda. Located at the side of the highway, next to an Abaya shop, it can easily be missed. But we make it and enter the restaurant, which is covered in carpets – except for the tiled floor. The helpful waiters show us to a booth closed off by yet another set of carpet curtains. We order a couple of delicious-looking rice platters with various toppings to share. Fortunately, the food is just as tasty as we expected it to be. And even though we’re already full, we simply cannot forget about the Kunafa we saw on the dessert page. We decide to go all in and get a chocolate-covered piece of heaven for the three of us to share. More than satisfied, we leave the restaurant and Liana safely drives us home.