First Weekend

It is the first day of the week here.  Just finished Saturday classes after a long weekend.  On Thursday we spent the day at Wadi Shab, widely considered to be the most beautify wadi in Oman.  It was beautiful and we were able to get in some great hiking and some good swimming and cliff jumping.  We were also able to swim under a cave wall and into a cave that is open only at the very tope more than 30 feet over the water.  We were able to relax and swim around for a while and then started the hour and a half hike back to the entrance of the Wadi.  On the way we got in some more really good cliff jumping and some more swimming.  The water was amazing.  Not too cold and not too hot.  After Wadi Shab on Thursday, we went to Nizwa on Saturday to visit its famous Soukh, especially the animal Soukh.  We watched as Bedouin women bought and traded goats, oxen, cattle, and camels.  It was an interesting experience because the Bedouin women check the vitality of the animals by grabbing their testicles.  To be honest it looked really uncomfortable and they just went right in and grabbed.  We also visited Nizwa fort, the oldest fort in Oman which has existed since before Islam even existed.  We also visited Bahlya, the oldest town in Oman, more than four thousand years old.  Then we ate a huge Yemeni meal of roasted lamb and rice which was eaten with our right hands and only our right hands (the left hand is never used as it has been traditionally used for wiping yourself when you go to the bathroom).  After lunch we went to the Al Hoota Cave which was discovered in the '60s and is over 5 kilometers long with an enormous underground lake.  It was interesting but I think many of our group were exhausted by this point in the day.  Then we drove the 2 hours back to Muscat. 

Also during the day, Raymond and I tried our first cups of Turkish coffee.  I have never had such thick coffee in my life.  We were forewarned not to drink all the coffee as the bottom of the cup is filled with a thick layer of coffee grounds.  I think we both drank a little too much from the cups as both of our mouths were stained brown for a time afterward. 

Now we are starting another week of school and trying to get all of our homework done.

Until next time,

Sam