Early in 2013 I had the opportunity to visit Oman for a brief (6-day) tour around a small part of the country and this book is a photographic record of my experiences. I’ve had a fascination with Arabia and the middle-east since I read various stories from the “Arabian Nights” as an impressionable schoolboy, and both read the book and watched Peter O’Toole in “Lawrence of Arabia”. I especially wanted to visit Oman, as I had heard several very positive reports as to the variety and distinctive beauty of the country, and of the friendliness of its people.
As a photographer Oman surpassed my expectations in providing a fascinating and diverse range of exciting opportunities -- stunning mountain ranges and dramatic landscapes, and the amazing sand dunes that appear to go on forever – magnificent architecture in the Grand Mosque, the immense, ancient forts and the old villages. Many of these opportunities were, for me, ideally suited to expression in black and white – such as the mysterious interiors of the forts, the shading and textures of the mud-brick walls, and the infinite variety of abstract forms generated by the dunes in the light of early morning and evening. And, as promised, the people turned out to be warm, kind and friendly.
