Omani Culture

So as you may have imagined, it has been a bit of a culture shock to live in the middle east for me. While Dubai feels very much like a big city in America, what with Dunkin Donuts and KFC everywhere, our local town of Dibba is quite a different story.

The average local here makes their living by fishing every day. The fishermen team up early in the day to begin the search for fish. Look outs will climb up on the mountain to where they can spot the schools of fish in the water then call down to the other men. Once the schools are located the fishermen align their net filled boats on the water with their trucks on the beach. The trucks that they use are old toyotas which are basically a pickup truck version of an old land cruiser. They have balloon tires and can maneuver anywhere on the beach easily. Once the boats and trucks are lined up they anchor the boat and attach a net line to the truck. By watching the fish and pulling the nets in with the trucks the men are able to bring in hundreds of fish. The fish market opens up at 4 o'clock every day where the fishermen can make their profit.

The fish market is located in the local harbor called Al Meena. This is a popular hangout for locals and there is a small grocery store there. There is also a small Indian style hole in the wall restaurant which is very popular among locals and our staff. They make egg rolls, falafel rolls, and chicken chilli rolls all on an Indian style flatbread called pratta. The rolls are amazing and only cost the equivalent on 75 cents USD. We end up eating there a lot on our days off. Best fast food I've ever had!

The harbor is also the launch point for larger fishing boats called dhows. The locals have traditionally used these double decked boats to fish but they have become popular cruize ships among tourists. A local diving outfitter called Sheesa Beach, also located in Al Meena, has 7 of these dhows which we use with our clients.

From Oman Adventure Season 2012

The local dress for men is a long robe called a Kandora. Kandoras can be a variety of different colors and have many different patterns. There are tailors all over the place who will make a fitted Kandora out of the fabric of your choice for very cheap. About 7 dollars US. The local dress also consists of Guttra which is worn on the head. This is basically a large checkered bandanna which is tied a certain way. The correct way to tie a guttra varies from village to village. The women wear long dresses which cover their whole body. Some women chose to show their face only but generally the women wear masks or veils over their face when they are in public. The traditional belief is that a woman's husband should be the only man to see her uncovered. Virtually all locals wear sandals year round, I don't believe I have seen anyone wear shoes.

The religion here plays a huge role in the culture. All of society is based around Islam and there are mosques everywhere. Muslims must pray at least 5 times each day but there is a call to prayer at the mosques every hour throughout the day. Call to prayer starts at 5:30 each morning. There is literally a mosque right next door to our house, so I picked up on this very quickly. On Friday everything shuts down and everyone goes to mosque together. This is essentially their version of Sunday for Christians. Prayer areas are designated everywhere you go including the large malls of Dubai, usually with lines on the floor to show the direction of Mecca. It is interesting to see Muslims face west to pray as they would always face east in the states.

The fishing culture here has been around for thousands of years. Many villages are still in use today but there are just as many old abandoned villages. You can still see the foundations of all the old houses and the smoke stains on the rocks where they built ovens out of small caves. Many petroglyphs can be found in these ruins depicting people and animals as well as trees and village maps. Bowls have been carved out of flat boulders for crushing grain and pieces of painted pottery can be found throughout. It is very cool to experience the ancient history of this culture so first hand. Honestly at times I feel like Indiana Jones. Some villages date back 8000 years to the stone age and the oldest petroglyphs that we are aware of are around 4000 years old. Can't quite get this feeling from the history channel.

Well that's all I have for now, more posts to come soon!

This Week - Camels, Dunes, and More

Greetings all! Another week has passed and we continue to be very busy with trips!

We held a benefit cycling challenge for eleven individuals this week. The group mountain biked a total of 200 killometers over the course of four days in honor of their friend who died in a motorcycle accident. The challenge began in the mountain wadis near Dibba and ended about 40 minutes outside of Dubai. A distance to be proud of by any standard! For this trip I drove a support vehicle with spare bikes, a repair kit, bike pump, and extra water. While driving at 20 km an hour for 8 hours a day is not exactly my idea of a fun time, I was still happy to be a part of the experience. Besides, this allowed me to get away from Dibba and experience a new area, the desert!

From Oman Adventure Season 2012

The second day of the ride took us from the mountains into the sandy desert of the UAE. It wasn't long before camels began to appear everywhere! At one point they became interested in the bikers and started running along side. They then lost interest and decided to cross the road right in front of the truck I was driving. I was reminded of how big these creatures are as they towered over the vehicle. I quickly granted the pack right of way. I can't wait to ride one! As we continued down the road we saw many more camels and the dunes proceeded to have less and less vegetation. We arrived to our camp site just as the sun began to set. The orange and purplish sky against the golden dunes made an unforgettable sight. Forgot my camera for this one though, sorry folks. The camp was set in the shadow of a tall limestone formation called fossil rock, adjacent to the barren dunes. On the final day of the trip we rode past the Dubai camel race track. The track literally parallels the road and we got to ride along side a group of camel trainers breaking young camels, also an interesting sight. The men smiled and waved as they bounced along on their camel humps. The challenge concluded at a resort just outside of Dubai. As we arrived a young boy was in the middle of a falconry demonstration. His control over the bird was very impressive.

We returned to Dibba to prepare for the school group arriving the next day. The group of 14-15 year olds stayed for three days and I instructed climbing for the whole program. We have a great top-rope site for the school groups called jacuzzi. The name is fitting because the ledge on top of the wall has a large bathtub-like hole carved out. The climbs can be set up while standing in the hole for protection. The site has some great slab routes for beginner to intermediate climbers.

On the topic of climbing, I will mention that I did get one day off to work on some first ascents. The route I am working on is not complete yet but I have put up two pitches so far. All ground up, mostly trad but I did place one bolt in a spot with some sketchy rock. It is a beautiful line. Many pictures and more detailed descriptions to come once I get a day off to complete it!

From Oman Adventure Season 2012

Most recently, I led a trek to smugglers bay from our adventure center with two clients. The eight kilometer trek leads to a secluded white beach and back through the mountains. The secluded bay is known as smugglers bay to us giudes. We call it this because it has historically been a popular location for Iranian refugees to be smuggled into Oman. The boats usually drop the refugees in the middle of the night and they must survive in the mountains until they attempt to cross the border into the UAE. One of the first things they do is change their clothes to look Omani. In many locations on the trek there are clothes scattered everywhere. On the return stretch of the trek there is a skeleton of a refugee who did not survive. Seeing a human skeleton really reminds you how harsh this terrain can be, especially without adequate water. Iranians continue to attempt the quest for a new life to this day. Last week one of our groups actually ran into a group of refugees on a trek. As they returned to camp the Omani military was seen rushing into the mountains, clearly they had gotten a tip from a local. Most refugees are put in jail and deported a few weeks later.

From Oman Adventure Season 2012

I bought a skim board and have been running over to the beach to skim every chance I get! There is not much surf here but the skim boarding is good fun. High winds made some large swells the other day and surfing would have been possible. The waves were especially large in smugglers bay where the wind and water is funneled in by the mountains.

The client groups continue to arrive and we are all guiding trips non-stop for the next 12 days. We have a school group staying at the camp right now for four days and I am leading the mountain biking. Hopefully will get some days off to climb and relax soon, but for now it's just non-stop adventure trips!

Hope everyone is having an awesome winter and I will be back with more posts soon!