In Barka, "Cassanova in Mussayr" is apparently a regular fixture. Savant of the dating scene that this Omani fella is, he sauvely chats up the lady at the dehli under the ruse of buying portadello, or offers to pay for one Omani sista's groceries, 40 rials.
SIL: "Did you sleep this afternoon?"
So, it had kinda grown into a mess. OPNO almost had dreadlocks. So SIL, like OPNO was her baby sis, patiently slathered it in olive oil and combed it, through which OPNO cried and bit her inner cheek, and screamed. When finished, she was lectured about how Gulf women care for their hair, and the importance of buying olive oil conditioner from Careefoure was stressed. OPNO endorses the olive oil because it TOTALLY works.
Well, this long weekend hasn't been "kroob". The Omani word that denotes something that is mind numbingly boring. I saw the firworks, the opening ceremonies of the asian beach games, was attacked by my sister-in-law (albeit with a bottle of olive oil and a hair comb---but the tears were real!!!!), climbed a mountain which is apparently a shocking thing to do, and witnessed the most awesome Omani Cassanove. You will love his tale. But first. The fireworks.
I would describe the fireworks first, but since firworks are REALLY something you should see for yourself (though it DID involve me climbing a giant wall with neices and nephews attached like glue to my back with my SIL [sister-in-law] and her husband wondering how well I could possibly ever adapt to their family but liking me anyways). 
Yay! Go red white and green (and khanjar). We have another long weekend in Oman to look forward too, resplendant with a fireworks competition. [MOP keeps calling it a 'fire show' which I find kinda adorable].
...And almost perfect weather. Now me, I am not always a fan of long weekends, because, a. sometimes there aren't nearly long enough:)... 
....to go running through the grass under the shade of the trees on the farm behind my house, or read under the lemon and mango groves.
...to lazily swing on the swing of the old house that is now a barn for the cattle, feet in the sand, under the palms... 
...wading at Al Thawarah.
...maybe go ride along the beach (no bikini for me though) in Seeb.
...enjoying sweet afternoon daydreams...
AND SOMETIMES, I HATE LONG WEEKENDS because they are tooooooooooooo long:
...full of boring social committments that numb and rot my mind away with stupid talk about how to treat maids or how much money someone spent to show off.
...cooking for myself by myself. Sometimes, welllllll.... it isn't so glam and verges on a trashy classless affair lol.
...traveling by myself. I like to have a partner in crime. Bonnie is not anything without her Clyde:'(
My husband's tribe used to war alot with the folks at Bahla. Why? I don't know really, nor does he, but I am sure it had to do with water or good farms or something. Either way, my husband's tribe is rather superstitious about the people of Bahla, mumbling alot of stories about witches and Jinn [which I love to hear because some of them are SOOOOOOOOo funny, and others give you chills] and attributing them to the ill will of those from Bahla towards those from [____]. Yet, being that the family farm sold dates in Bahla souq, it remains one of his favourite souqs. 
Yet I am not allowed to go, because apparently it is not a souq Omani women frequent. Which just means I will go without him with my Western friends;). Best of both worlds, I tell you. MOP will ask us "What are you OPNO girls doing this weekend?" "Going to the tailor in such-and-such place near Bahla" we will recite innocently, then head down to the souq, where he will never hear tell of it, because those folks at Bahla don't care much for him anyways:). 
Actually, I think that whole tribal blood feud thing died out with MOP's father, but I'll ask the folks of Bahla how it all started. MOP's stories of Jinn and witches, while colourful, are probably not the most historically accurate rendition of Bahla's tribal past. ***benefit of not going with MOP: we will be allowed to eat & drink things/foods cooked by the people of Bahla without fearing poison or spell craft***
Old Bahla really fascinates me. It was quite important to Oman historically.
The ruins of the immense fort for which Bahla is famous, with its walls and towers of unbaked brick and its stone foundations, is a remarkable example of this type of fortification and attests to the power of the Banu Nebhan. At the foot of the Djebel Akhdar (Green Mountain) lie the fortresses of Rustaq to the north, and Izki, Nizwa and Bahla to the south. These have all been capitals at some time in their history, and as a consequence have played an important role in the history of Oman. It was here that the Kharijite communities resisted all attempts at 'normalization' by Caliph Harun Al-Rashid, and put into practice their religious concepts, which were at once radically puritanical and democratic. 
[Alot of that copied directly from Wikipedia :D] . OPNO wouldn't write "puritan". I tend to like Puritans so long as they are hypocritical persecuting 'Scarlet Letter" kinds :)
Not far from the capital of Oman, the oasis of Bahla owed its prosperity to the Banu Nabhan who, from the mid-12th to the end of the 15th centuries, imposed their rule on the other tribes. Only the ruins of what was a glorious past now remain in this magnificent mountain site.
However, should you dare to enter the village, and explore the narrow old lanes, they will lead you to the famous pottery. Many families still make their living out of designing and burning clay for Water buckets (to be seen all over the country), Flowerpots etc… 
Bahla Fort is an outstanding example of the characteristic military architecture of the Sultanate of Oman.
Built on a stone base, the adobe walls and towers of the immense fort probably include some structural elements of the pre-Islamic period, but the major part of the constructions dates from the prosperous time of the Banu Nabhan, with the latest reconstruction dating from the beginning of the 16th century. At the foot of the fort, to the south-west, lies the Friday Mosque with its beautiful sculpted mihrab (prayer niche) probably dating back to the 14th century.
The monuments of Bahla were in a critical state when it was inscribed on the World Heritage List. It had never been restored (thereby conserving a high degree of authenticity), and was not protected by any conservation measures. The terrace of the Friday Mosque had not undergone maintenance work, and it collapsed between 1981 and 1983, causing the arches to cave in and the wall plastering to be torn away, thus endangering the mihrab (prayer niche) in the building, which the Ibadite community had abandoned in favour of the new mosque. A detailed survey was made in 1977 by the Omani Archaeology Department, but restoration work did not make any headway until 1988. This was entirely financed by the Omani Government, with photogrammetric recording by the Mining Museum in Bochum (Germany). By 2005 it was virtually complete.
I am also a fan of Bahla's giant new-ish Mosque/Masjid.
