In 2008, during the second Eid (celebrating the Haj), we spent a week in Oman.

This is Wadi Shaub.  "Wadi" means desert canyon or ditch with (sometimes) water.

One of the great pleasures of Oman is this.

Gorgeous, pristine highways running through gobsmacking austere scenery.

The first leg of our trip involved traveling to the town of Nizwa, and then upwards to Wadi Ghul.

This deserted ruin sits at the base of Wadi Ghul.

Wadi Ghul is known as "The Grand Canyon of the Middle East."

We hiked in.

Though the land is impossibly rugged, the trail is well-maintained and pretty level, actually.

So we decided to hike in and camp overnight.

Notice the Giant Bottle of Water.  Oman is incredibly dry.

We hiked at about 2000 meters elevation.  The top of the canyon is Jebel Shams, the tallest peak in Oman, at just over 3000 meters.

Sarah pretends to be patient while I take her picture.

Eventually the trail ends at this abandoned village.

More village.

All the modern luxury of city life.

The villagers actually built farming terraces into the side of the rock.

We set up camp on the topmost terrace.

Here's a view of the farmland terraces.

As we zoom out, you can still see the terraces at the top of the arch.  In other words, we were perched on the top of a massive empty space.

This is the general view outward from our campsite.

A Dutch couple had hiked in before us, and were so kind as to take our picture.

Action shot!  Sarah sets up the sleeping quarters.

Trouble is brewing.  Three curious mountain goats have smelled our food.

I tried all sorts of behavior to scare them off.

This is the response I got.

It felt evening-ish in the canyon, but really mid-afternoon was still blazing away in the real world.

Sarah reads while the world worlds.

We weren't perfectly prepared for cold weather.

Luckily, we had plenty of firewood.  As you can see from the trees growing, this area had access to water.

One of the reasons they built a village here is that there was a natural spring tucked back in a cave. And it also connected to a resevoir that sat at the top of the canyon, roughly 1000 feet above the village.

Morning.

Our food hoist had outsmarted the goats!

I took like twenty shots of this enormous bird.

This is the best one.

Packing out.

Goodbye, impossible natural arch ancient village campsite.

Sarah, with precious water bottle.

This is the plateau area above the canyon.

Another 1000 meters to the top of Jebel Shams.  We didn't try it, we just drove back to civilization.

With frequent photo stops along the way.

Sarah poses, back down at the base of Wadi Ghul.