Middle East Christmas

This Christmas we spent 3 weeks in the Middle East visiting Roy's and my family. Roy's family lived in Doha, Qatar and my family lives in Muscat, Oman. We were able to see both families while over there and we had so much fun. The 18 hour plane ride and the 9 hour time difference were the only downsides.

Kisses for Jane

As we were waiting at the airport in Oman, an Omani lady came over to Jane, picked her up and gave her a kiss right on the cheek. You can see how big of a kiss she gave her by the lipstick that was left on her cheek. I was laughing so hard and Jane was just very confused.

Stairway of death

Here we are at this little town where they grow everything on terraces below their houses. This is an old staircase that goes down to the terraces. My family has hikes up them before and they warned us that they are very dangerous because the stairs are really narrow and if you were to fall you would literally fall off the side of the mountain. Roy and I were the only ones brave enough to attempt them. We started climbing up and once we got to where you see the local guys in the picture, they warned us, in broken english, to stop. I asked them why, and they said "small, very small" refering to the stairs. we still wanted to try, so then they started using hand signals to show a person falling off the side. At this point Roy was freaked out and he said 'if the locals don't think we should do it then there is no way we are doing it. ". It was still very cool to see even though we didn't get to go the whole way. It is probably for the better considering the whole pregnancy, off balance thing.

This picture gives you a really good veiw of what the terraces look like. They just cover the side of the mountain. Roy and I hiked all the way from the white structure behind us to where we are in the picture. It was so beautful.

Ruins

Here we are about to start a hike to these ruins of an old town. If you look behind us you will notice the town hidden in the mountain side.

Here we are inside the ruins. Behind us there is an old mosque. Roy and I went inside and there were huge weird lizards hanging out in it and Roy freaked out because he was afraid they might be poisonous or something... I doubt it :).

Hot springs

One of the days we were in Oman we drove to this little town where there are natural hot springs. The town built aqueducts that bring the water down to a date plantation. The hot springs seemed to be a popular place for the locals to hang out. They were swimming and playing in the water. The women weren't allowed to get in unless they were fully clothed.

Jane even wanted to get in. All of the locals were asking to take pictures of Jane. I think they were thrown off with how blond and pale she is.

Oman hike through canyon

Here we are in Oman with my family. This day we went on a hike through this canyon and it eventually brings you to fresh water pools of water where you can swim and cliff jump. This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

This is most of my family when we are just about to start the hike.


Look at that water! So beautiful.



People still live in the canyon. Their homes are just built right into the mountain side with stone. If you aren't looking you may not even notice because they blend in so well to the mountain side. They have little terraces where they grow things. This man is carrying some kind of grass to the bottom of the canyon, probably to feed his animals. The reason they live up here is because there is fresh water that flows through the canyon.

This is us swimming in at the end of the hike. The water was so cold, but you just had to get in because it was so beautiful.

Doha Animal souk

We also went to the animal souk where goats, camels, and other animals are sold. This souk is basically for the locals. They usually buy the animals to eventually slaughter and eat or sell them. Jane LOVED the goats she was laughing and touching all of them.

Doha fish souk

While in Doha we also went to the fish souk where fresh fish is sold daily. It was so dirty and smelled horrible, but is was very interesting to see.

Doha souks

We loved going to the souk while we were in Oman and Qatar. The souks are basically a bunch of little shops where they sell all sorts of things from tourist souvenirs to cooking spices.

Sand dune trip

One of the days in Doha, Qatar, visiting Roy's family, we went on a sand dune adventure. We had Qatari tour guides that drove us through the sand dunes in big land cruisers. It was quite a rush at times because we basically were driving off cliffs. After the dunes they took us to a camp where they fed us authentic food and we played at the beach.

Riding Camels

We got to ride a camel while in Doha. Roy was the most scared out of all of us. Jane couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry, but I think over all she loved it.