Photos
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Taj Mahal – finally
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It took me a lot of years from the first time I saw Taj Mahal in a Pakistani (!) restaurant in Oslo until I made it there for a visit. It was worth the wait.
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Wadi Bani Kharus
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The brilliant thing about Oman is that everywhere you turn there is a beautiful mountain. A couple of weeks ago I drove the mountain road that connects Wadi Bani Awf and Wadi Bani Kharus – it was spectacularly beautiful. Easily within reach and “doable” on a day-trip from Muscat, this was a first time –…
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Happy New Year 2012/13
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To all my friends and colleagues – a happy new year! May it bring you good health, prosperity and progress in all the areas of your lives. I have a feeling 2013 is going to be a good one… In the meanwhile, please feel free to share in a selection of memories from an eventful…
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Bilad Sayt – "the" Omani post card
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Prominent in every travel guide, the #1 photo in any travel magazine on Oman – Bilad Sayt deserves the attention. Whether coming down from Birkat al Sharaf or coming up Wadi Bani Awf, nobody can be prepared for the sight that greets them. And the people… as friendly and congenial as you will ever find…
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What’s in a name?
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I have always been amazed by the enormous selection of seemingly identical bread/proteine combos sold by literally every hole-in-the-wall shop in the United Arab Emirates. The food photos are all identical; most probably from a clip-art library. The names of the monstrosities do however show some minor variations – the “Club Random” being one of my favorites… After all, who wouldn’t…
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Music, Art and Karate – now that's what I call Harmony!
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It would be entirely wrong to blame Omanis for their lack of entrepreneurial spirit. Their grouping of business offers leaves a few questions unanswered though…
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Satan plays the Accordion
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Neither the instrument nor the repertoire came as a shock. That she was an Asian man came as a surprise though, I had always thought of her as an American.
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A crash-course in inflation
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The gentleman in the picture below works in one of the many shops in the souq in Mutrah in the captial of Oman, Muscat. In addition to being a persuasive seller of pashmina and “same-same-but-different pashmina” shawls, he is also a numismatic. Among the curiosities of his collections he counts a Jugoslavian 1 000 000 000 (one billion) dinar…
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Afterthought
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Not even as a failure had my misadventure been complete. My walk had yielded several photos of the mountain I had wanted to climb with which I was pleased. And, the sunset had been—as is the custom of sunsets—faultless. But… to every silver lining, there is a cloud, and that cloud was now on my…
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The economic life of a Land Cruiser in Wadi Rum
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— ‘You like my car, sir?’, asked Abdullah, visibly proud of his ageing Land Cruiser. Abdullah was my driver and guide for my day’s outing in Wadi Rum. — ‘It is an, an…, ah yes, an INTERESTING vehicle’, I replied; using the word ‘interesting’ as one does when at a loss for a something to…
