Nizwa Souk and Bahla Fortress

Welcome to Nizwah Souk. We drove over 2 hrs to see this and while it was underwhelming to a high degree, it was also clean, calm and friendly.
Lots of clay pots, frankincense, trinkets, guns, knives and swords. There were, carved boxes and lots of jewelry and silver items.
Matt loves markets. The girls love to buy things at markets. They pretty much don't even talk to me because I struggle to buy things I don't need, or watch other people do it. HA!
Not sure if this is just a COVID precaution?
This was the fruit and vegetable section of the souk. The vendors were the opposite of what I've experienced every other middle eastern market. They were giving things away and just incredibly friendly and kind. A man had some jubjube berries? fruit? I think that's what they were calling them anyway. He encouraged me to try it out of a bowl he had sitting out. I couldn't say no. It wasn't extremely tasty but he wasn't pushing them. He was separating garlic cloves and I asked him why. He said it was medicinal. It seems that he was marketing foods for health. He insisted we taste the garlic-it was STRONG. He said if I at some Saturday morning with a glass of water, I would be all better and gave me some. I believe him 100%. I might have to try it sooner than Saturday. We purchased Omani honey, Matt ended up with 2 bags of dates(we already have several containers at home) and the fresh dates I don't think he was allowed to pay for. The kids loved the peanut brittle, sesame brittle, and coconut treats that I think were made from honey.  Dates are a huge crop in Oman. There are date palms in almost every wadi and they are in season now. They boys eat them on every trip. I loved how friendly the vendors were.
Our first UNESCO sight in Oman. There are several more I'm excited to see but Bahla Fort did not disappoint! It was pretty hot/humid by this time in the day and we only had an hour. This has been a fortress since before 600AD, they aren't solid on the initial building.  It's been enlarged and refurbished, excavated etc but still holds lots of charm and even a feeling of intimidation as you walk into the labyrinth of rooms and staircases, nooks and crannies. Add in the fact that many rooms house bats and you're nervously peaking around corners and ducking under doorways.




The views were mesmerizing. I couldn't believe how green this area was. 








 

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