Croatian President Stjepan Mesić visits Sultan Qaboos in Muscat

After all the rain – the flags are out.

Flags are out for the Croatian President's Visit

However there is no connection with the weather; they are out for the visit of the Croatian President Stjepan Mesić . He hopefully will enjoy the fresh sunny weather .

Flags of Croatia on The Mall in front of the Palace in Muscat

Rain in Oman’s Mountains

We spent a wonderful day up in the cool of Oman’s northern mountains. For much of the time we were under cloud cover which, as the day wore on, increased .

Shafts of Sunlight in Omans Mountains

Its unusual to have extensive cloud cover here, but on the drive home we drove through about 150kms of intermittent rain – arriving in Muscat to find that the rain probably arrived in Muscat first, before covering the mountain peaks inland.

Rain soaked steets in Muttrah an unusual sight

A stormy few days are forecast as all schools in Muscat are advised to close on Sunday by the Education Ministry

Wilfred Thesiger and Sheikh Zayed

Sheikh Zayed Mosque

It was interesting to visit Abu Dhabi and walk around the Sheikh Zayed Mosque. While its exterior is a brilliant white –its interior, in contrast,  is an equally brilliant poly-chrome . Almost overflowing with floral designs the mosque sits opposite the old tower at Maqta which, some 50 years ago, guarded the ford to the island of Abu Dhabi .

Wilfred Thesiger sitting in his Arabian Sands

Images of Maqta tower and the ford are included in an atmospheric galley in Al Ain of photos by Wilfred Thesiger.

The visits he made to Oman, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain in the late 1940s were recorded with ‘black and white’ photography. His travelling guides and companions bin Kabina and bin Gabisha are a focus of the images in the galley along with Sheikh Zayed. The gallery, with its natural earth tones and simple design, reflect Thesiger’s own yearning for austerity and focuses the visitor’s attention on the evocative images of his travels.

Football in Oman

Al Taawn Football Team had a good win in the local league competition to celebrate Oman’s 39^th National Day . They won the first round 4:1 and went through to the final against Hai Aldhahir .

Omans Al Watan Newspapers article on the win by Al Taawn

In a very competitive game the single goal was scored by Yahya AlBusafi of Al Taawn . So it’s probably the only time Arabesque will overcome the might of Toyota – as we sponsor the winning team and they the losers.

Frankincense in Oman for Christmas

The Historical Association of Oman publishes a Calender each year .  Most images are usually of northern Oman, as thats where the Association is based . This year as a bit of balancing I was happy that a couple of my pictures of the Salalah area could be used.

Incising the Frankincense Tree for the Gum

Here is one,  a Frankincense Tree, appropriately the month is December, being cut for its Gum, by a friend of mine.