Gone South, Part 2

Day two, after breakfast at the place where we were staying, we set out in good season. Our first stop was at a bank within walking distance of where we were staying, which happened to be where my former student works. Natalie and I went in and said hello to him for about ten minutes. He was obviously very busy, so we didn't even stay long enough to drink coffee. But I was so happy to see him again after more than a year! So that was another gift from this trip.

We set off in the opposite direction to that of day one, and I started to be more convinced that the desert could be green like the West. The weather was drizzly and misty, as you can see from this picture. We couldn't fully appreciate some of the views because of the mist. Note the things growing on the tree trunks. They say it's just regular desert when it's not monsoon season. I think I need to go back to believe it. It was so lush then.

There were also lots of bugs. We had pretty good bug spray, and wore clothes that covered a lot, it could have been worse, but I was still finding bug bites a week or two later from the critters.

 

If you can forgive the miserable quality of this drive-by shot, notice these kiosks, set up near most of the common tourist spots. They would sell tea, coffee, probably hot corn, and I don't know what else. It was just so random to see them set up in parking lots or fields or wherever, but the picnic kings need their refreshment, and I'm sure these guys were doing a rip-roaring business.

 

I can't actually remember if this was a seasonal river--a wadi--or something that's there all the time. I'm guessing seasonal, and it was pretty. Local people pretty much think that any standing body of water is lovely. I've seen them admire algae-covered pools! This was a body of water that we could all agree was pretty.

Proving I was there. And that was one of my three new abayas.

We stopped at the archaeological site of an ancient city that was a huge port that some say may date back to 3000 BC. Some say that the Queen of Sheba shipped gifts to King Solomon from here. Frankincense was a key item of trade. Tania speculated that Thomas the disciple probably stayed here on his way to India. It was fun to think of all of the history held in this now-desolate spot. The port fell out of use after a sand bar formed that blocked the harbor, I think.

Funny how something that can be so bustling in one era can be so desolate in another.

Note the frankincense tree in the background. This is the general area of the world's best frankincense. It's most likely the frankincense presented to baby Jesus would have come from here.

It was so nice to see ocean again!

Another shot of the ruined city.

Here's my best camels-on-the-shore shot. Sorry, my little camera doesn't have a great zoom.

Our next stop was at the tomb of an ancient wise man whose biography read very much like Job's. People came from near and wide to consult his wisdom. This is an apparently old cemetery outside his tomb.

And this is his actual tomb. This man lived far later than Job, and it turned out that he was an early adopter of the faith here and instrumental in spreading it through his influence and finances. But that means that he was asking questions about God at some point in his life. And honestly, in contrast to the pagan idol worship that was prevalent in the land, what he latched onto must have seemed pretty good. I wonder if he had a heart to really know God, even if he didn't fully understand. It gave me a lot to think about to imagine myself in his shoes.

Next we stopped at another port town that was famous because of the guy whose tomb is pictured above.

The ancient lock system on this door was mentioned in the tour book as something special, I think. I'm still fascinated with old doors here.

And I still love the ocean.

We saw one of the older boats in the background out fighting the surf! I'm not sure that I'd trust my life to one, but I think they are normal fishing boats.

We went off-road for another picnic lunch, and of course we had to stop and have a photo shoot with these guys on the way back.

This was on the way back into the city after our day of exploration. Yep, traffic just stops so they can cross! No one wants to hit one. It would be like hitting a moose, except maybe more expensive if someone actually owns it. (Please admire my GPS in the lower right corner. It is such a good friend.)

There are even black camels!

This was another spring we visited. Lovely, lots of tourists, and people swimming in the water, despite the signs announcing the presence of disease-carrying snails in the water. What are people thinking? They either didn't read or figured that they would somehow escape the disease.

There were some pretty cool roundabouts in this city. This is the clock tower roundabout.

And these are the famous fruit stands where you can stop and buy fruits or juice.

And there are coconut palms, as opposed to the date palms that are everywhere else in the country. Who knew?

This is a lousy shot from the souq, just because I love souqs and must document my visits to them. In this one, I bought a couple of light house dresses, as well as kohl (which the ladies use for eyeliner for themselves and often their babies). Later I learned about the high lead content in a lot of kohl, so I'm scared to use it and gave some away.

And all three of us bought frankincense, some of the nicer stuff! You can barely see the frankincense in bags at the bottom of this picture. The rest of it is bukhoor, which is scented sandalwood. You burn it in an incense burner like incense, but it's different. On the right you can see the incense burners.