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The
choice of world wide locations available to the discerning
diver is constantly expanding to offer a bewildering variety
to tropical, temperate or even colder water diving with all
the diversity of flora and flora or wrecks one could imagine.
To find a destination which can offer all of these attributes
and also provide the opportunity to investigate a fascinating
culture, history and some stunning scenery would be quite
unusual. However, a recent trip to the Sultanate of Oman has
shown me that just such a mixture is now available.
Oman
is situated on the south eastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula,
between Yemen, Saudia Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,
and until the early 1970's was one of the least known Arab
States. This changed dramatically with the discovery of oil
and the accession of a young and progressive Sultan, which
combined to develop the country to its present intriguing
mix of modern, traditional and ancient history. Until only
four years ago the country was closed to tourists and it was
only ex-patriot workers and locals who were able to explore
the diving potential offered by the Arabian Sea and Indian
Ocean which meet along Oman's coastline.
This
area of the Arabian peninsula is steeped in history, being
the centre of the Frankincense trade in biblical times, the
home of the Queen of Sheba, and having been occupied by the
Portuguese, Persians and British over the centuries. Sinbad
the Sailor is though to have used the ancient port of Sohar
as a base for his voyages, and in recent years the discovery
of the ancient city of Urbar, the "Atlantis of the Sands"
by Sir Ranulph Fiennes has confirmed that the area is of major
archaeological significance in the Middle East.
The
geography of the Sultanate is remarkably varied from the soaring
coastal mountains which harbour lush oases and wadis, to the
barren splendour of the "empty quarter" in the interior, and
the surprising tropical vegetation of the south western coast,
which is reminiscent of Sri Lanka or Goa. This variety can
be sampled on a day trip basis or provide an exciting opportunity
for extended safari style or even camel train exploration.
So
Oman can provide an attractive mix of activities to the adventurous
traveller, but what is the diving like? Although there is
more than 2,000km of coastline to explore, the diving facilities
are at present centred around the two main centres of population
- Muscat, the capital in the north east and Salalah in the
south west, close to the Yemen border. These locations offer
access to two very different types of diving - tropical coral
reefs in the north and a blend of temperate and tropical in
the south. In both areas the seas are particularly nutrient
rich, propagated by the frequent mixing of temperate and warm
currents. Although this can lead to variable visibility (average
10-15m with spells of 30-40m) the benefit is a staggering
density and variety of fish and invertebrate life. Whale Sharks
and Manta Rays are often sighted along with several species
of whale, and the whole of the coastline provides favoured
nesting sites for several species of turtles.
Muscat
Muscat
is the capital of the Sultanate and had a long maritime history.
The old port is of a classic crescent shape with its entrance
dominated by the twin forts of Mirani and Jelali, which guard
the magnificent palace of the Sultan Qaboos. Behind the port
and old town, rises the modern city of Muscat, with its business
centres, hotels and all the amenities of a major centre. The
development has been sympathetic to the traditional architecture
and geography and is also striking as probably the cleanest
city I have ever visited!
There
are two commercial diving centres operating in Muscat - Sunny
Days Watersports based at the magnificent Al Bustan Hotel
and the Oman Diving Centre which has its own self-comtained
facilities in a private bay. The latter is also the headquarters
of the Oman Diving Federation and has the patronage of the
Sultan. Both centres are well equipped and offer similar services
e.g. training from novice to instructor (PADI or BSAC), gear
hire and sales, and provision of daily diving.
Diving
from both centres is predominantly from boats, both fast beached-launched
hard boats and more sedate dhows (our dhow dive was unfortunately
cancelled at the last moment sue to the arrest of the dhow's
crew who sailed too close to the Sultan's Palace!!) and there
is a wide range of diving within a maximum of one hour's run
of both centres. The coastal scenery is spectacular with the
mountains marching right up to the sea and forming impressive
cliffs. Depths can increase very quickly once you leave the
shore and there is a choice of wall, coral garden or wreck
diving.
During
my stay we sampled diving sites typical of the region.
Shark
(Fahal) Island
This
is a large limestone outcrop about 5km north west of Muscat
and offers interesting reef diving in water depths of 10-40
metres. The seabed consists of rocky galleys and outcrops
encrusted with both hard and soft coral growth. Fish life
is profuse with the chance, as the name suggests, of sighting
sharks - sleeping nurse sharks are quite common.
North
Point
This
headland is some 8km south east of Muscat and offers a variety
of dive sites. We dived "Topless Bay" (I can't imagine how
it got its name!), which is a shallow coral garden (maximum
15 metres) in a very sheltered inlet. A very nice second dive
and good for photographers with all sorts of fish life, exotic
plume worms and masses of spiny lobsters!
Bandar
Khayran
This
site is a little further south east of Muscat and is accessed
through a narrow opening in the cliffs, which opens out into
a stunning fjord formation which turns and runs parallel to
the sea. The best diving sites are at the far end of the "fjord",
where it opens to the sea again, and as we sped toward it
we were joined by a school of 20-25 dolphins, which played
in our bow wave and even permitted a short snorkel with them.
Unfortunately they moved too fast for photography. There are
several sites in the area all offering a mixture of shallow
coral gardens and walls on the same dive site. There are large
areas of table corals here and a wide variety of soft corals,
purple whip corals and for the sharp-eyed "bushes of black
coral in only 15 metres of water! Recovery of the latter is
definitely a capital offence!
Salalah
Salalah
lies on the Indian Ocean coast some 750 miles south west of
Muscat, a flight of about one and a half hours. The climate
is dominated by the Monsoon or Khareef season common in most
Indian Ocean areas. The vegetation is therefore much more
lush and tropical, and the humidity is noticeably higher to
new arrivals from Muscat. The Khareef runs from June to September
and creates very high seas on this exposed coast which curtails
diving in all but the most sheltered bays. The winter months,
when it is much cooler and calmer, are therefore best for
a diving expedition.
The
town of Salalah is a mixture of ancient and modern, where
tradition is till very much observed, including a regular
Suq for the trading of rifles, many antique, which the local
Omani men still carry. Several kilometres from the town lies
the port, which has a large and active fishing fleet. The
Sultan has a palace here and favours Salalah as a summer retreat.
Indeed many Omanis and resident ex-pats regard Salalah as
a holiday retreat, enabling them to enjoy a tropical climate
without leaving Oman.
At
present their is only one dive operator in Salalah - Sunny
Days Watersports which is based at the Holiday Inn - where
they offer full training and daily diving excursions. There
are two definite " diving styles" to be sampled - safari style
diving and boat diving, from a dhow.
The
safari style diving is reminiscent of the Sinai as you travel
by four-wheel drive vehicle into the desert west of Salalah.
Here you will find a series of sheltered bays which offer
protection to reef building corals, notably table corals and
brain corals. If you visit in the autumn months you will encounter
the unusual sight of giant kelp beds growing alongside coral
reefs! This growth is propagated by the cold currents brought
by monsoons in the summer months, but dies off as the water
warms again during the winter months. These are not the familiar
kelp beds you would find in the UK, but much taller, softer
and accessible, and harbour all sorts of interesting marine
life. The coral life is typically Indo-Pacific and there is
a profusion of macro life and a surprising number of large
"snowflake" moray eels.
The
boat diving is generally to the eat of Salalah, and during
our stay we used the comfortable dhow owned by Holiday Inns.
The diving here si very different with towering headlands
plunging into the sea, a generally much more exposed coastline.
Due to the heavy seas during the monsoon, reef building corals
are very sparse, but this does not detract from the spectacular
underwater scenery of drop-offs and large boulders and gullies.
Soft corals seem to endure the conditions well and because
the coast is open to the Indian Ocean you will encounter large
shoals of fish, many pelagic, and one or two surprising species
such as the giant Cuttlefish.
Our
dive sites included.-
Eagle's
Nest/Hoons Bay
These
are two safari beach dive sites adjacent to each other either
side of a headland. Both offer safe easy entry to shallow
(5-15 metres) coral gardens with the giant kelp growing along
the edge of the reef closer to the shore. A lot of life for
the macro lens here, including Christmas Tree worms, plume
worms, gobies, hawkfish and several species of nudibranch.
Large shoals of coral fish gather under the table corals and
watch out for octopus, scorpion fish and particularly ugly
stone fish! This area offers good easy diving with some lovely
beaches to relax on between dives with your picnic lunch and
are particularly popular for a night dive and beach barbeque.
Gorilla
Point and Donkey Head
These
are dhow dive sites approximately 10km east of Salalah and
offer very similar diving under he towering limestone cliffs.
The wall below the cliffs extends to 15-20 metres and then
drops more gently on a seabed dissected by gulleys and strewn
with large boulders. Some hard coral growth is found here
but most is soft with sea whips and small black coral outcrops.
Huge shoals of purple surgeon fish escort you on your dive
and you will also encounter shoaling banner angel fish and
Moorish idols (similar to look at, but different species),
a very unusual site. Pelagic sightings included barracuda,
eagle rays and sleeping nurse sharks. The headlands also seemed
to attract large potato cod (grouper) and pairs of giant cuttlefish.
TRAVEL
NOTES
There
is a wide range of accommodation available in Oman, however
the diving centres are associated with major hotels, so it
is often better to book a package with diving , as this will
offer the best value and the hotel will also provide transport
to and from dive centres. We stayed with the Holiday Inn in
both Muscat and Salalah, but you could choose the luxurious
Al Bustan Palace Hotel (which has surprisingly good diving
packages) and the Oman Diving Centre will have beach cottages
available from this summer.
Flights
are with Gulf Air and a standard economy return is around
£400. So it is perhaps better to organise a group to negotiate
package rates or better still to contact one of the tour operators
who plan to offer Oman as a destination.
Oman
should not just be seen as an alternative to the Red Sea as
it undoubtedly has much more to offer. If you plan to sample
this alternative destination I would suggest a 10-14 day itinerary
to include diving and land excursions, perhaps add four-wheel
drive or camel safaris to the mountains and interior from
both Muscat and Salalah, so that you derive the most from
this intriguing and attractive arabian land. The Omani people
are extremely friendly, polite and helpful and the fact that
tourism is in its infancy and is not the dominant economy
will provide a totally different experience compared to more
traditional destinations.
Reproduced
from in focus 47. Mar. 1993 with kind permission of Mark Webster
(http://www.photec.co.uk/)
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