Tag Archives: architecture I spent less than a week in the Sultanate of Oman, an Islamic Arab country on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. In that time, however, I saw countless forts, castles, and towers (see: Oman’s Fortress Castles and Jabreen Castle). Perhaps this is unsurprising, as the country is called “the land of [a] thousand forts.” These […]  I’m not normally a huge fan of museums: there are only so many plaques I can read on dusty displays before I hit overload, or become mind-numbingly bored. But, all of the guide books and everyone I met on Crete recommended the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. It is reputed to be one of the greatest museums […]  Nestled at the foot of the Hajar Mountains are some of the oldest villages in Oman. This is a rugged, desert region with little rainfall. Settlements could only survive where ground water was available. But, where water was found, it was ingeniously managed. Using a type of irrigation system developed 5000 years ago in Persia, […]  India is wildly colourful. This is true everywhere, but the Dravidian people of South India take it to new whole new levels. The ethnolinguistic family of people known as the Dravidians are considered native to the Indian subcontinent, although their pre-Neolithic roots are probably in Western Asia, around the Iranian plateau. The language family is […]  If there are two things that define the Sultanate of Oman, it would be old forts, towers, and castles – and date palms. This relatively small Middle Eastern country on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula is home to about 1,000 forts and watchtowers – many of which are open to the public. I […] |
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