Barakt Al Harthy - the Hero...

Omani sprinter Barakat al Harthy won gold medal at the inaugural GCC Games in Manama on 17th October2011. He qualified for 2012 Olympic Games. 23 year old Barakat broke his own national record in 100m in 10.17seconds yesterday. He dedicated his victory to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said. 

Barakat in Guangzhou, China - Novermber 2010

Barakat timed 10.28seconds in 100m event in 16th Asian Games held in November 2010, Guangzhou, China. There he won his prestigious bronze medal which he dedicated to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and the people of Oman during the 40th National Day Celebrations of Oman. Later in June 2011, he achieved the gold medal with 10.29seconds in the 100m event in Zgorzelec meet in Poland. 

Link : Barakat Al Harthy on IAAF webpage.

Wishing him all the very best for his wonderful career.....

A trip to Misfat Al Abriyeen

During Eid Holidays, we went to Misfat Al Abriyeen. It is a must watch place in the Sultanate of Oman.  When we reached the city Al Hamrah, we all were really fascinated by the beauty of the old style buildings.

A scene from the city Al Hamra

A street in Al Hamra

Mind catching scene...

Can't resist clicking my camera...

Fascinated by these scenes, we continued our journey to Misfah, one of the oldest villages in Oman. A mountain village with plenty of palm trees - just amazing.

On the way to Misfah...

We parked our car and had a walk around the place.  We found an information board of Oman Tourism regarding the historical importance of the village. Now the villagers are enjoying modern facilities of roads, electricity and telecommunication. Even then they give special interest in preserving the valuable culture they inherited. 

Seems like in wonderland...

We heard the sound of a traditional Omani drum. We walked towards that direction and reached in front of the entrance of a multistoried builiding. 

Entrance...

We thought that it is a building. But when entered, we understood that we are in a narrow street with stones laid on the floor and houses on both sides of the street. Those buildings are built using stones, baked bricks, mud bricks, palm trees, mangrove poles and lime. Lime is mainly used for plaster and mortar.

Narrow street

Palm trees are used  in roofing and to give support for the structure

This was the source of the Omani Drum's sound

A scene from the pathway... 

The closed main entrance of an unused house.

Some houses are occupied.

 'Jahla' are the traditional pots in which drinking water is kept. Jahla can also be seen hanging from windows of  traditional houses. 

'Jahla' hanging from the window of a traditional house..

Remnants of an old house...

Finally we reached the plantation area where banana and lemon trees are also planted besides the palm trees.

A scene from the garden

Looking back....

Another scene from the garden

Raw dates

Ripe dates

Falaj is Oman's unique water channel system which collects water from the water source and distribute it for domestic and irrigation purpose. 

Falaj... Refreshing cool water from the mountains

It is so dense...

Kids are enjoying...

Our kids don't want to come out of the place. But we have to go back home. Finally we started our journey back to Muscat by evening. This trip will surely be a pleasant memory in our life....

Sakroo is Coming...

INFORMATION IS FOR EVERYONE

Sakroo.com is a business search engine exclusively for Sultanate of Oman developed by Dgtal World LLC. There are more than 7900 companies listed in the site. Soon, sakroo will cover services such as sales, exhibitions and events. Sakroo Farm, which lists all the companies on the Google Map is another attraction of the website.  There are search options on bank, trading, hotels, colleges, tickets, beauty, food court, auto, oil field, shopping, NGOs etc in sakroo. You can search by company name, based on area/city.

Logos Hope in Muscat (14-19th January, 2011)

Logos Hope

It's the world' largest floating book fair. The Logos Hope reached Muscat on 14th  January  evening and opened its decks to the  public on 15th.  Dirk Colenbrander is the captain of the ship. The 400 crew members of the ship are volutneers from different countries. It is offering a selection of more than 7,000 books at affordable prices.  

40th National Day Celebrations in Oman

Sultan Qaboos bin Said on 40th National Day of Oman

November 18^th 2010 was Oman’s 40^th National Day. Monday, 29^th November , 2010 was celebrated as the Festival Day of the same. Under the glorious reign of  His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, this country in the Gulf region has acquired a prestigious position among the GCC as well as other world nations in various aspects.


18^th November, 2010

His Majesty  Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Supreme commander of the Armed Forces, presided over the military parade on Thursday (18^th Noember) evening at the military parade ground at Al Hism al Shumookh to mark the Sultanate’s 40^th National Day. Units of the Sultan’s Armed Forces(SAF), Royal Guard of Oman (RGF), and Royal Oman Police (ROP) took part in the same.

Muscat is  fully lighted up with lights in red, green and white (the national colours). This can be  seen everywhere, on highways, commercial and residential buildings. It is a great pleasure to take a trip from Muscat to Seeb area. The colourful lights all the way... awsome... can't describe the joyful feelings in words........  Holiday mood everywhere... We, being the 'expatriates'  are also indulging in the celebrations as the natives do. The same patriotic feeling we feel when saluting the tricolour Indian national flag, we experience here when we see Oman's national flag also.That's the spirit. In Indian schools, there were school assemblies on this occasion. Kids attended the assembly wearing  national flag's coloured  outfits and in Omani dresses waving Oman national flags .. Celebrations everywhere.... 

LIghts everywhere..

Wadi Dayqah Dam, Quriyat, Sultanate of Oman

During Eid Holidays, we went to Wadi Dayqah dam in Quriyat. It is 60km southeast of Muscat. It was a wonderful trip.

Wadi Dayqah Dam, Quriyat

Length : 390 metre

Height : 73.6 metres

Storage Capacity :  100 million cubic metre

Water from the dam will be useful for villages down the wadi stream for agricultural purposes and for drinking and domestic purposes in Qurayat and Muscat Governorate.

It is the biggest dam in the Gulf region so far whose construction was completed last year. The official inauguration of the dam is not done till date. Beautification works are in progress like gardens, coffee shop and  viewers gallery. It is heard that the inauguration of the project is planned this year as part of  40th anniversary celebrations of Oman.

When the tropical Cyclone Phet hit Oman in  June 2010 , this dam was filled in 12 hours and  created an awesome waterfall display. When the Cyclone Gonu hit Oman three years ago, the dam was rapidly filled and overflowed six metres above the crest with a thunderous roar which lasted for several hours. On the third day of the Gonu, the height of the water level reduced and the hundreds of people visited the dam to witness the magnificent  falls.

World’s leading dam building specialists – VINCI  of France and Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) undertook the Wadi Dayqah dam project on behalf of the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources. There is also a Saddle Dam built which is 48 metre in height and a crest length of around  360metres.

The main objective of the project is to catch the floodwaters that would otherwise be lost to the sea, and to use this resource for groundwater recharge, local irrigation, and even potable water supply at a future stage. Further, by retaining the wadi flows, whose lethal power is well-known, the project will also contribute to flood prevention downstream of the wadi.

Mazara

Shallow waters of Wadi Dayqah in Mazara