Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Oman - Harsh Beauty









We left Dubai Saturday morning with 3 - 4WD vehicles and 11 Geoscientists. the Oman boarder is about 2 hours drive/100 km north to the Musandam Peninsula. The Musandam is within an arid mountain belt with very little vegetation, and abrupt elevation relief. We stayed at the Golden Tulip, a dive resort, for 1 night, and spent 2 days on a boat studying exposures along the inaccessible cliff walls that rise from the Straits of Hormuz. The seas were rough at times. The scenery was spectacular. Many small water craft crossed our path, loaded with goods traversing to and from Iran.


We spent the next several days exploring remote canyons accessible via rough 4WD roads, studing the exposures along the canyon walls. The geology was fascinating from the micro fossil assemblages, to the macro depositional environments. We were studying Cretaceous thru Permian section. We were in the field driving and climbing 12 to 14 hours each day, and moved to a different hotel each night. It was a rigorous schedule. After climbing in dusty 100 degree temps each day, I made a beeline for the pool immediately upon arrival to our hotels for a rejuvinating swim. At the Intercontinental in Muscat I managed an evening swim in the Gulf of Oman. The water was warm. Our accomodations varied from 5 stars at the Hatta Fort to 2 star accomodations in a few locations that were off the beaten path. As you can see, the clothing is more colorful in Oman than in Saudi Arabia. The Omani children were selling trinkets. They made a killing off of all of us softies. The girls were asking for sweets, and for pencils for school.


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