| Fishing Oman |
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Page 4 of 7 
A man dressed in a traditional dishdasha at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
Before Hussein could respond, an aging coast guard cabin cruiser approached the catamaran’s port side, drawing an “Aw, *****!” from Gerrard. The boat pulled up close, lurching in the growing swell. Its captain looked like a jaunty plumber in his royal-blue jumpsuit and shades. He asked to see the registration. “New boat,” Gerrard said under his breath. “Guy doesn’t recognize it.” After a lot of fine-print scrutinizing and several hard bureaucratic stares, the captain gave Gerrard the paper and regarded the crew with sage authority. “Better to go back,” he said. “The rough is coming.” It was indeed. the swell rose fast all the way back to the marina, and the wind worked itself into a fury. Gerrard called for a fishing fast until the weather cleared. With the angling on hold, the guys rang up Clare Mitchell of Gulf Leisure Tours, in Muscat, the woman who’d set them up with Gerrard, and they were soon booked on a road trip into the desert, as well as some diving off the coast. The Gulf of Oman is really a huge oceanic rift. Millions of years ago, the two plates that carry Oman and Iran converged, shoving the old sea floor on top of what would become Oman and creating its ragged modern-day geography. Today the coast’s golden limestone outcroppings appear lit up from within. Farther inland, the charcoal ridges of the North Oman Mountains rise in powerful fractures and joints, with the range’s serpentinite rock holding the groundwater for the oases that dot the foothills. Scientists from all over the world flock to Oman to study the country’s singular geology. For their tour of Oman’s hinterlands, Mitchell assigned the guys her best driver, who quickly earned the moniker Leadfoot Said. First stop: the goat auction, which takes place early on Friday mornings 100 miles inland from Muscat in the oasis township of Nizwa, Oman’s ancient capital. Carved into the southern foothills of al Jabal al Akhdar (or Green Mountain), Nizwa has long been the commerce center of inner Oman. |
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