Wahiba Sands, or Ramlat al-Wahiba (also called Sharqiya Sands), Sultanat of Oman, Arabic Peninsula
Up at the crack of dawn… How does the desert look like early in the morning? Nothing special actually, with the sun still hiding. Slowly the camp came to life and the Bedouins got the camels ready. We spent a long time studying every move of these animals close up. Even got to feel their very moves during an hour-long ride through the desert – a heavenly experience. Back in camp, we realized that most visitors just stay for one night.
Now that is was “our” camp, we almost regretted having asked Khaled, one of the guides, to take us further into the desert. What an experience it was, though! We climbed and slid down steep dunes. Around noon, Khaled cooked lunch on top of a very high dune. From scratch he produced flat Bedouin bread, chicken and vegetables, all done over a simple campfire. Even fresh coffee was brewed.
Wahiba Sands, or Ramlat al-Wahiba (also called Sharqiya Sands), Sultanat of Oman, Arabic Peninsula
This activity attracted some camels hoping to get a few morsels. Khaled claimed to know each one of them, since the camels belonged to his uncle who lived somewhere around in the desert. In void we hoped to meet the relatives… When we passed a man stomping through the dunes, an animated conversation started between Khaled and him. Guess what? This chap was a Pakistani working for Khaled’s uncle. We were speechless – even Bedouins employ expatriates nowadays!
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