Arab Horses in Oman

One of my favourite images are of Oman’s Arab Horses decked out in traditional silver.  Marco Polo wrote about them in his book ‘The Travels’ -  “and the merchants take a great number of Arab horses to that market” (of India from Al Balid).

Arab Horses from the book ‘Walking Through History’

Book signing in Sohar

Penny’s Cafe in Sohar was a great venue for our book signing. We arrived after a drive from Muscat and enjoyed not only Penny’s fantastic cakes – but afterwards a dinner in the Butterfly Hotel near the beach.

Tony at Book Signing in Sohar

The Falcon Hospital Abu Dhabi

It was very interesting to visit the Falcon Hospital on the desert edge of Abu Dhabi where we could see Falcons getting high grade attention, including pedicures and beak trimming.

Falcon Pedicure

We took

Joining the Clipper Odyssey in Dubai

I arrived in Dubai to join the small cruise ship ‘Clipper Odyssey’ on which I would give lectures about this region to the passengers along with with Allan Langdale and Gary Wintz .  Remarkably Zegrahm’s (who run the Clipper Odyssey) had booked me into the very first hotel I slept in when visiting Dubai, the Hyatt Regency. The hotel must have been refurbished since 1986 but its essence remains, including the fantastic revolving restaurant with great views over the creek of Dubai and beyond.

Burj Khalifa

The next day we

Shawarma Sandwich in Oman

Shawarma Sandwichs in Oman are a staple snack. Made from a vast rotating stand of lamb or as here chicken they are ready to go in less than a minute.

Shawarma Sandwiches Oman