First bit

Okay. Okay. Okay. Good. Okay. Okay. -I said that at least 150 times today plotting points from a $40,000 tripod today as we began excavations. I volunteered to do topographical survey of the site and as a result the word 'okay' has lost it's meaning as I told the guy with the reflector pole it was 'okay' to move to the next point and plot the elevation. But it had to be done to put the archaeological site into the computer, plus it was good experience for me.
But any who, here I am now in Oman. I've been here a week....and to be honest I don't feel like I'm on the other side of the world. Home seems near. But Nope. It's not. It's far. 18 hours on a plane away to be exact.
The environment is deffinitely different. Not what anyone expects the Middle East, coconut and banana trees, white sandy beaches, blue water with dolphins, mountains with green vegetation. But, there are some not-so-surprising things; the dress of the people in one-color robes (dish-dashas), completely spotless and bright I might add, women's faces and heads covered with hijabs, turbans, camels, abundance of cell phones, sand, heat, language that sounds alien, and countless mosques.
One thing that constantly reminds me of where I am is the eerie but magnificent sound of the salat (prayer) call--5 times a day. The echo of the muezzin carries and bounces from mosque to mosque and hushes out any and every noise in the city. Each mosque calls in rythm and their voices are quite moving. In Salalah, whole city appears to go quiet, and all you can hear is the waves breaking on the beach and the muezzin's voice. The scenery is breathtaking from the 3rd floor roof of our villa, so I run up there to listen to the call because it makes the hair on my neck stand up.



Oman is so extremely diverse in landscape. About 120km to the North of where I am there are endless sand dunes and the famous Empty Quarter where the national boundaries are arbitrary.  Halfway that far north are Mountains and cliff faces worn from ancient seas, and humongous, canyon-esque wadiis from long-gone running rivers.  To the south is the Arabian Sea and the endless waves of the Indian Ocean that roll into no other landmass until Antartica. The beach is like 50m from my room!

Some other observations are that everyone speaks relatively good English, and this is by far the cleanest environment I have ever seen. There is no trash anywhere and all public buildings are well kept...I wonder how they manage this?