From Far Away

Warning! This post will be very cheesy and will involve etching sunset, star gazing, sitting by the fire and so on and so forth. So, dear reader, don't complain after reading it - you have been warned!

I couldn't imagine visiting Oman and not spending at least one night in the desert. And so we found a desert camp we liked and made all the arrangements.

Traveling in Oman in low season may have its downsides (it's hoooooot!) but, on the other hand, we were the only guests at the desert camp and it definitely made the night special.

We arrived at the meeting point an hour early and were full ready to wait in the car. However Rashid, the owner of the camp, wouldn't have us waiting outside of his house. We were invited to spend some time with him and his brothers and we were treated to Omani coffee and dates, while waiting for the temperature to cool down.

Then it was time for camel riding. Personally, I found camels much more comfortable to ride than elephants. And it was rally refreshing to see the way Rashid treat his camels. The animals went towards him right when they heard his voice and he clearly enjoyed spending time with them. I was also very happy to see that the camels received treats after being so nice as to not shake me and Marc off their backs.

Later Rashid took us in his 4x4 landrover about 20 km through the desert to the camp. On our way we passed the house of his parents. Rashid comes from a Bedouin family. “Bedu” in Arab means "from outside" or "from far away". And indeed, Rashid grew up far away from towns, in the desert. Now his parents moved closer to the town because their daughters go to school there. But they still live in traditional huts and refuse to spend nights anywhere else than in the desert.

After watching (here it comes!) a beautiful sunset in the middle of the desert, we went to the camp for dinner. The camp was very simple and built in traditional style. Guests sleep in huts built of date palm leaves with carved doors. Rashid doesn't like very much the idea of electricity in the desert (unlike other desert camps), for it takes attention away from the immense space around and the sky above. The camp is lit mostly by oil lamps and candles. The only concession to modernity are a couple of lamps in the eating area, which are powered by solar panels. In this respect Rashid and Marc are definitely kindred spirits.

After dinner we made a small fire. A carpet with was spread next to the fire. We spent the rest of the evening (and part of the night) there, watching the stars enjoying the peacefulness of the place and talking, talking, talking. Rashid spent the whole evening with us and seemed disappointed that we decided to go to bed some time after midnight. We were initially a little worried what we would do a whole evening in the desert without electricity. As it turned out, we couldn't believe how fast the time flew by.

And to make the experience even more incredible, Rashid had our beds moved out in the open air. We slept directly under the stars with our beds on the desert sands. Amazing.

Granted, it was a little less amazing around 5:30 in the morning, when it turned out that sun had risen at a slightly different angle than expected, which meant that we were directly exposed to the brutal desert sun. And believe me, you don't want to stay in the desert sun, even at 5:30 in the morning :)