Bahla is a small town wedged between rocky mountains on the way from Al Ain to Muscat. We only had a few days to enjoy Oman as we had a ferry to catch to Iran. This strange collection of seemingly boring in-car shots has a purpose. If you haven't ever driven through a desert before the serenity of the experience may be a little lost on you. For those who understand why these images look like a wonderful drive I hope you enjoy them.

This was the first Omanian fort we had seen and it was made from mud and straw, The walls have a strange hollow sound when you tap them. It is interesting that they have survived for such a long time inspite of their simple construction. The roofs are made of three layers. First logs are placed across the walls and then the hard, fibrousy centers of palm fronds are laid across them and the mud/straw composite is placed over that. There are some pics in the bottom right of this set that illustrate this simple but effective piece of engineering made from local materials. Sadly the fort was closed as it was a Friday and this is the first day of the weekend for Muslims. Therefore I have no pictures of the inside :(

The North of Oman is a rocky place. It's hard to capture the grandeur of these rock formations on film without some setting sun or something to give make the third dimension obvious. This was a nice drive and we made the most of it. Sadly we had to keep the speed down as we have thrown a wheel weight somewhere in India and we are getting vibrations at higher speeds. Also the little Alfa is feeling the heat....