The H3rmits Blog

Category: Oman Tourist Spots

Misfat Al Abriyeen, Bahla Fort and Al Hamra Village

Oman is full of ancient cultural and historical sites to see. For this weekend, we went on a trip to Nizwa to meet a friend and to explore some of the interesting sites around the city. We have been to Nizwa three years ago where we explored Nizwa Fort and Nizwa Souq. This time, we went to the outskirts of the city and we visited Bahla Fort, Al Hamra Village and Misfat Al Abriyeen.

Early Morning Trip to Nizwa

It’s a cool morning when we left our hometown of Ibra. We went northward via Route 23 where we bought our breakfast of sandwiches, kubos, and tea. We exited the highway and took Route 17 that took us to Izki via Route 17 and then we took Route 15 to meet our friend Grace who happened to be living near this beautiful and holy Sultan Qaboos Mosque in Nizwa.

Sultan Qaboos Mosque in Nizwa

After meeting with Grace, whom we met for the first time, we went on our way to our first destination: Bahla Fort.

Bahla Fort

To reach the fort, we went thru this elegant gate to the city of Bahla.

A few minutes more and we reached Bahla Fort. We headed to the entrance after parking the car to explore this historic fort. The fort is included in the UNESCO’s heritage list in 1987. It is believed to be built around the 12th and 15th century by the Banu Nabhan tribe.

After having our fill of taking in the relaxing and calming spirit of the Fort, we took our brunch in a restaurant nearby and then we searched the way to another famous tourist spot: Al Hamra Village.

You can view the video of our tour of Bahla Fort in YouTube on this link.

Al Hamra Village

From the restored fortress of Bahla, we went to the almost untouched Al Hamra village. The site is composed of abandoned old houses believed to be built about 500 years ago. There is no entrance gate so anyone can come and explore as desired. A word of caution: the buildings are so old and may possibly collapse so please explore carefully.

The buildings in Al Hamra, some of which were built up to four storeys are made of mudbricks, and dates trees and fronds. It is believed to have been built following the old style of houses from Yemen. The village is built by the Al Abri tribe.

At the foot of the old village, you can see the route of the falaj (irrigation channel) where crystal clears waters flow to give life to the plants and the farms nearby.

Another notable thing in the village is the alley ways which is made of smooth solid rock. Our theory is the whole village is built on a single slab of rock.

People can also check out Bait Al Safah which has exhibits that portray the old way of living in Oman.

You can view the video of our tour of Bahla Fort in YouTube on this link.

Misfta Al Abriyeen

Moving further north, we arrived at our final stop for the day: Misfat Al Abriyeen. Located 1000m above sea level, the village is another famous tourist attraction in Oman. The entrance to the village by itself is simply amazing. There is this breath taking rock formation.

And then there is this house that is literally built on a rock.

Roaming around the alleyways, you can find old buildings and you can also see a part of the falaj that is literally roaring with the abundance of water. This falaj is the reason why the place is so green and that the farms are thriving.

On one end of the village is a deep gorge where you can see a huge solid part of the bedrock that might have risen to the surface a long time ago.

There is also a museum, which is unfortunately closed during our time of visit. It could have been better for us to see the relics that they may have inside.

Before heading out of the village, you may check out the shop near the entrance where they sell various items from souvenir bags, hats, as well as honey and frankincense.

You can view the video of our tour of Bahla Fort in YouTube on this link.

All Things Come to an End. Even the Good Ones…

We ended our trip in Nizwa by taking Grace back to her home. We, The Nomads as we are, however did not go home but we went to Muscat for some other business. The trip and adventure to Nizwa and those three tourist spots are great. We definitely plan on coming back for more.

December 23, 2019
Qantab or Yiti Fishing Adventure

Once you get hooked into fishing each weekend is an urge to head to the beach and cast your lures into the wide ocean of uncertainties. And this weekend is just an example of this. We headed to this fishing area that people sometimes call Qantab and sometimes Yiti to get rid of the itch of fishing.

The Day Before – October 31

We, The Nomads, Sir Darwin and Mam Nancy started our long journey to Muscat and then to Qantab or Yiti right after I came out of work. It is almost eight in the evening when we arrived and the cool breeze of the ber months can be felt. There are other campers in the area. We camped in a place near the jetty so we won’t have to walk far to reach the fishing site.

All Saint’s Day – November 1

We started fishing at the break of dawn. The fish started biting around 5:30am and the game is good. By the end of this session, Utoy, Sir Darwin and I caught a lot of fishes enough for our lunch and for sharing with our friends back in Ibra.

Here is Sir Darwin’s trophy Queen Fish:

Sir Balai and Narz came from Ibra around 8:00am and joined the fun.

Here is our video of the whole adventure.

November 5, 2019
New Year’s Day at Jebel Shams

The tribe where we belong, The Fishermen and The Mermaids, decided to start the New Year 2019 on a high note. So high that we went to the highest mountain of the Sultanate of Oman, Jebel Shams, to welcome the new year and to celebrate my birthday too. Here’s our story:
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January 3, 2019
Shinas Beach Camping – Day 1

November 18 is Oman’s National Day. November 20 is The Prophet’s birthday. The Sultanate of Oman declared November 20-22 a holiday and so it is high time for us to go on an adventure once again. We headed to Al Batinah Region’s Sohar Beach to go crabbing, fishing and camping. Here’s our story:
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November 25, 2018
Ras Al Madrakah Camping and Surf Fishing Adventure

We took our longest road trip ever to reach one of the famous camping and fishing areas here in Oman. They call this place Ras Al Madrakah.

It is a long weekend here in Oman in celebration of the 46th National Day and of course we took this as an opportunity to explore yet another interesting place here in the Middle East. Together with our group, The Fishermen and The Mermaids as we call it, we searched the internet for places to go. The name of our group tells something about itself. Our core values are fishing and swimming.

After hours of deliberation, we were able to have a short list of places for consideration: Al Sifah, Qantab, and Ras Al Madrakah. Most of us favored Ras Al Madrakah and so after persuading those who were against it, we got down to hatching a master plan for the trip.

The Plan

Kickoff is at 0600H from Ibra. We will go through the wilayat of Sinaw and head south to our destination.

We will have our breakfast along the way and then we will have our lunch in Ras Al Madrakah. Google Maps said that travel time is a little less than five hours so we will arrive at the beach at about 1200H.

Fishing and swimming will commence after lunch. Our ice boxes are on standby. Since we know that Ras Al Madrakah is a fishing village, we know that ice will be available to preserve our catch.

We will have dinner once the sun sets and the fishermen will go fishing again and the mermaids will chat endlessly into the night.

On the next day, we will take our breakfast and then fish and swim again. We will leave the area after our lunch and then head back home to Ibra.

The Reality

We missed our kickoff time by about half an hour. Five minutes into our trip, we made a wrong turn. However, all is well and fine. We finally found our way and so our journey to Ras Al Madrakah officially started.

We had our breakfast at Lulu Hypermarket in Sinaw but not before doing a little shopping inside.

Google Maps is good enough to know that we are in Oman but it failed to consider that we are not Omanis. Maybe it made a mistake of calculating our travel time and used the Omani average driving speed of 160km per hour. And so by 1200H, supposedly our lunch time at Ras Al Madrakah Beach, we were still on the road.

We reached Duqum at around 1300H and we stopped by a Shell station to refill our tanks. The staff there told us that we are not so far from our destination. We are almost there as a matter of fact. We just have to drive for another 90km. And with that piece of information we decided to take lunch there at the station.

It took us another hour after taking off from Shell Duqum before we finally saw a signboard that points to Ras Al Madrakah Beach. At around 1430H, we set foot on the white sandy beach of Ras Al Madrakah. Let us call this Ras Al Madrakah Beach 1.

Ras Al Madrakah Beach 1

There is a slight problem by the way. This is not the exact place that we saw in YouTube and so we decided to look for that spot. We were able to locate that place, let us call it Ras Al Madrakah Beach 2, in just a matter of minutes. And so everything is back in order.

By 1500H, we started pitching our tents on the soft sands of the beach. There are other campers who came ahead of us but the beach is not so crowded so we were able to choose a nice spot.

Tents up… preparing for the big catch

Fishing started immediately after we finished setting the tents up. The sea is not that smooth and we had to stand of the rocks to be able to cast our lines. We fished and fished until dark and so when the night came in, one of our ice boxes is filled with four pieces of fish :). We cooked them right away so we can enjoy its freshness.

A sumptuous dinner followed under the star lights and LED lights as well. By 2200H, we started to feel the fatigue of the day’s ride and we drifted into sleep.

I got up by 0500H and saw Sir Darwin already on the beach. By 0530H, all the fishermen are up. We cast our lines and almost at the same time as the dawn approaches, the fishes started to tackle our lines. All of us fishermen enjoyed the catch. Even our Utoy who is nursing a slight fever got his own too.

Utoy and his first catch.

The mermaids prepared our breakfast so we stopped fishing for a while to feast on boiled eggs, coffee and cheese-honey-stuffed bread. We fished again and again but with more fish comes the problem with ice. So we went to the village searching for ice. Along the way, we met one expat who is friendly but cannot speak much English and we don’t know the Arabic word for ice. Luckily we have some cubes left in our box so we showed it to the guy. He gestured us toward the direction of the building where we bought ice for our fishes.

But We Were Still a Bit Disappointed

Yes, we caught a lot of fish but not the ones that we expected, at least in size. One of the main reasons we came here is because of the YouTube videos that show large breams being caught from the shore of Ras Al Madrakah. This led us to make a decision to take a quick lunch, break camp, and head back to Ras Al Madrakah Beach 1 and try our luck there before finally driving home.

Beach 1 is almost empty when we came which as a good thing. We cast our lines immediately but to no avail. Maybe it is because of the tide or maybe it is because of the season. Those huge breams that we are looking for are not there. We gave up after about an hour of fishing.

The mermaids, however, were able to get some mussels from the rocks so we left Beach 1 not so empty handed at all.

The Long Way Back Home

A couple of minutes of rest and by 1500H hours we started the long drive going home. We made three stops along the way. Twice to refill our tanks. Once to take our dinner in Sinaw. For dinner, we had chicken and beef biryani from a local restaurant.

We reached home just past midnight. Tired, happy and very much willing to go back.

November 28, 2016
Qantab-Yiti Camping and Fishing Adventure | The Nomads
We were invited by our friends from ICT to go on a fishing and camping trip and of course, being The Nomads that we are, we said yes. Here is our recollection of the adventure

Our group took two cars in this adventure. We left our village of Ibra just about an hour after our day’s duty. We took the route that passed thru the city of Muscat. We went by the Muttrah Corniche and took a short stop at the park for a few minutes of rest.

After a couple of minutes of rest, we hit the road again. It is almost dark and we cannot see the road signs clearly. None of us were familiar with our place of destination and we are navigating our way using a smartphone.

After a few wrong turns, we arrived at our destination. The screenshot below shows our campsite which is located between the villages of Qantab and Yiti. The famous Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa is just nearby but we prefered to do it in a Survivor-ish manner and so we went past it and headed to the fishing area.

It’s already dark so we pitched our tents and prepared our dinner of sorts. We had chicken and beef biryani that we bought from a restaurant. Ma’am Dolor served her special chicken-adobo-with-a-touch-of-India. It is our world-renowned adobo mixed with a spices that came from India.

The fishermen were so eager to fish that immediately after the dinner, we started casting our lines.

To be honest, this is my first time to cast a line using a fishing rod. After a couple of tries, I learned the proper way of using the rod.

Sir Darwin is first to snag a fish and a few minutes later, I caught one too. The two fishes looked like father and son. Sir Darwin caught the father and I had the son. So maybe you have the idea of their sizes right. We slept under the light of the stars hoping for a better catch in the morning.

Sir Darwin and his catch.

Fish Senior and Fish Junior

After an hour or two of fishing, we gave up. We slept under the light of the stars hoping for a better catch in the morning.

A beautiful dawn started our morning. Only then did we realize that we are in a little paradise. The calmness of the sea and the serenity of the surroundings are just so calming and relaxing.

Coffee, bread and hotdogs for breakfast and then it is fishing time again. We met some locals and some expats in the fishing area who also spent the night there. We even met two fellow Pinoys who came from Muscat.

Early morning fishing in the Al Qantab Yiti fishing area.

I was wondering why is there a marina in the place but there is no resort, or hotel, or any commercial building nearby. The Pinoys told us that some investors started building a golf course in the place way back in 2008. But due to the Stock Market Crash, they stopped the constructions and so they scrapped the project and lucky we, they left a very nice fishing and picnic area behind.

Did I say a nice fishing area? Well, maybe I’m wrong because the sea has not been that friendly to us. Yes, we enjoyed her beauty but she won’t let her children bite our baits and hooks.
We called it quits and so we just went on to dip in the water. We can’t catch them, so we just joined the fishes in the sea. The water is so calm and we, especially Utoy, enjoyed the water a lot.

By 10:00am, the sun started to let us feel his power. Summer in Oman has started and now we have no choice but to break camp, say goodbye to Al Qantab and start on our way home. Not home really. We took a side trip to Muscat and did a little shopping before going back to our homes in Ibra. It is such a nice trip to a nice place with a nice group of people. An experience that we won’t hesitate to repeat if we will be given a chance.

More Snaps…

Preparing for the big catch

The Dawn

The Dawn and The Sunshine

Enjoying the waters

The Jump

Trip Notes:
- The path to the beach area isn’t paved, it is made of dirt and some sand. A sedan can go through, but you have to drive with a lot of caution.
- Bring your own food since there is no restaurant or coffee shop within the vicinity.
- No source of freshwater nearby so bring a lot of water for your washing and bathing needs.
- The Nomads would like to thank Sir Eric, Sir Darwin, Sir Rudy, Mam Nancy, Mam Dolor and Mam Elsie for inviting and sharing this wonderful trip with us.
That’s it fellow Nomads. Thank you for reading. Feel free to express your thoughts on the comments section below.
May 1, 2016
The Nizwa Fort and Nizwa Souq Tour

This weekend is a busy one for The Nomads. Last Friday, together with our friend, Doctor Saji, we left our hometown of Ibra. We took our lunch and shopped in Muscat. At around 2:00pm, we were joined by Ma’am Fanny and her daughter Janjan. We checked in at Naseem Hotel in Muttrah. Did some window shopping and strolled along the Muttrah Corniche. Then, we left the Bay of Oman and travelled to the mountains to reach the town of Nizwa. And really, what a weekend it was.
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April 24, 2016
Dolphin Watching in Marina Bandar Al Rowdha
After our visit at the majestic Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, we proceeded to Marina Bandar Al Rowdha to experience the dolphin watching that is one among the many thrills being offered to the tourists who visit the marina.

We made our booking a day earlier and for today we just met with our contact who assigned us to one boat. We are among the first ones to arrive so we have the freedom to choose our seat. The boat has a capacity of about 20 persons. We took the seats near the front so we can easily go to the area near the bow (the front of the boat) once we get the permission from the captain for good sight-seeing and selfie purposes, of course.

From Marina Bandar Al Rowdha to the Blue Seas

The sea is not new to us. I grew up in a house 10m away from the shore as well as my wife. Whenever we have an opportunity, we take our Utoy to the sea. But the feeling seems always the same. We do get this feeling of excitement everytime we sail the sea.

Our captain told us to remain in our seats while we ride to the part of the sea where the dolphins can be found feeding and playing.

As we approach the dolphin watching area we noticed some small boats that go around and throwing small fishes around probably to attract the dolphins.

Then the Dolphins Started The Show…

The boat captains communicate by radio to inform each others once a pod, or a group of dolphins have been sighted. After a few minutes of waiting, our captain took us to the area where the dolphins have been spotted. Words are not enough to describe the feeling of seeing those lovely creatures in their natural habital. So we made a video of the experience so that we can share it with you.

As with all things, good or bad, everything has to end. We wrapped up our dolphin watching experience by taking selfies on the boat. We didn’t have the luck, however, to have a selfie with the dolphins by our side.

The captain told us to go back to our seats so we can head back to Marina Bandar Al Rowdha.

From Dolphin Watching to Sightseeing

It might be our captain’s way of keeping us from having withdrawal syndrome, so he did not take the route straight back to the marina. He took us on a trip along the shores so we can admire the beauty of Oman’s bays and beaches.

As we travel back to our starting point, we were greeted by views of beautiful bays and islets that adds to the beauty of the place. Our captain quizzed us on the rock formations that were moulded by the force of wind and water. Like children looking at the clouds, we saw images of an elephant, a cat, a human and others on the rocks that we passed by.

Before we knew it, we are back to Marina Bandar Al Rowdha.

Not Your Wake-Up-Like-This Photo

Here we are as the trip ended. Just like we were still in a dream.

We loved the trip and the experience it is nice to see that those dolphins are being appreciated here instead of being hunted. People come to see them in their natural habitat and it is nice to see their population thrive.

If you have any plans of taking this trip too, here are some tips for you:
1. Book in advance to avoid disappointment, specially in the peak season. There are only two trips in a day because the Omanis understand that dolphins need rest too.
2. Of the two trips, take the first one which goes out by 7:00am. Experts say that this is the time where the likelihood of seeing dolphins is the highest.
3. Foods and drinks, as well as fruits are availalble in the boat. They sometimes forget to tell people but yes, you can get some for you.
That’s it for our dolphin watching trip at Marina Bandar Al Rowdha. Have you been there too? Please share with us in the comments section.
January 18, 2016
Avenues Mall Muscat

This is by far the biggest mall that we have visited in all of Muscat at least by size. Yesterday, we visited the newly opened Avenues Mall in Muscat. The mall is in the same location as the Lulu Hypermarket in Bawshar, just opposite the Muscat Grand Mall.
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May 30, 2015