Omani air conditioning pots

Omani air conditioning pots, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

These pots are filled with cool water from the springs/falaj and hung in the open windows of the houses in the mountain villages of Oamn. Somehow, this keeps the rooms in the houses cool and can therefore be said to be the most attractive form of air-conditioning I have ever seen.

Parrot-face

Parrot-face, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

This chappie was seen in the bird section of the Nizwa livestock market. he was giving a green hot chili pepper to eat, mainly, I think to delight and surprise the the crowd which had gathered around.

A sunny spring day in Istanbul

A sunny spring day in Istanbul, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

Starting a new year in Turkey, with a stop-over visit to Istanbul on my way to Dubai and Saudi Arabia. Leaving the cold winds and wet snow of Amsterdam behind, it was wonderful to be treated to a beautiful sunny spring day. Here is some quince blossom.

Scenes from Flevopark

Scenes from Flevopark, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

From last Sunday's walk in a local park, a littlle bit of mist starting to arise after a bright sunny and slightly warm day.

Last Sunday's sunshine and snow

Last Sunday's sunshine and snow, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

The sun is out again today but the snow has all disappeared.... winter due to return later in the week though...

Colours and textures from Nizwa

Colours and textures from Nizwa, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

From one day in Oman... 1st February 2013...

Out in the Omani countryside

Out in the Omani countryside, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

A face in a crowd

A face in a crowd, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

As seen in Nizwa in Oman...

A sunny snowy Sunday in Amsterdam

A sunny snowy Sunday in Amsterdam, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

Using the panorama function on my Sony slt-a77v to capture a pleasant snowscape in Park Frankendael.

The beautiful metal doors of Balad Seet

The beautiful metal doors of Balad Seet, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

alad Seet is a village tucked away in the Al Hajar mountains of Oman, somewhere between Al-Hamra and Al-Rustaq. The drive across the mountains oin dirt-track roads is an amazing experience (especially when doing it for the first time as dusk was settling in with us having to get Fred to Muscat airport in time for his flight, as was teh acse two years ago). Anyway, I took this road again last wek, starting off at 13.30, giving me time to stopoff at Balad Seet along the way. It was a beautiful oasis set in a high valley, with fields of brilliant green, backed by date palms. A wonderful sight. More pics later.

Anyway, I managed to find and photograph a series of these weather-beaten iron doors, of which this is just one, three more on flickr. I had a poster made of the four photos when I arrived back in Amstertdam and it is now hanging proudly in my office in Rotterdam.

Women of Nizwa

Women of Nizwa, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

Here is a portrait of a Bedu woman at the weekly livestock market in Nizwa, Oman from last week.