February 2015 – Gems of Arabia
I traveled as part of a tour group on the Gems of Arabia tour in February 2015 to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for one week, and to Oman for two weeks. The tour group flew out of Atlanta, Georgia, USA (ATL) to Dubai, UAE (DXB) on Feb 7-8 and returned on Feb 24-25. I flew connecting flights between my home in Victoria, BC, Canada and Atlanta to meet the group at the beginning of the tour a day earlier, and returned home at the end of the tour a day later, overnighting in Atlanta each way.
Michele Burgess is a professional travel leader and wildlife photographer who personally conducts all tours offered by her travel company In Focus with Michele Burgess. There were 20 people in this group, with about half being serious amateur photographers (including me).
My full itinerary is listed below. Feel free to click on what interests you, however if you click on the top-most item, there are links at the bottom of each page (just above the Comments section) to take you to the next destination – from beginning to end. This is the best way to explore the whole trip as it happened.
If you just want to see photo albums covering the whole trip, click here.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) – 1 week
- Flight from Victoria, Canada to Dubai – with an overnight in Atlanta
- Old Dubai – The Creek, souqs, Jumeirah Mosque, Palm Jumeirah Island, Marina District (New Dubai)
- Dubai to Abu Dhabi & Liwa Oasis – the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan Mosque (Grand Mosque), Burj Al Arab hotel
- Liwa Oasis & sand dunes – sunrise and sunset on the sand dunes
- Liwa Oasis to Al Ain – Sheikh Zayed Palace Museum, Al Ain Zoo
- Al Ain, UAE to Musandam Peninsula, Oman – camel market in Al Ain, coastal road along Musandam Peninsula
- Muscat to Dubai – a long day on a bus
- New Dubai – Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall, Marina
- Flight from Dubai, UAE to Victoria, Canada – with an overnight in Atlanta
Oman – 2 weeks
- Musandam Peninsula – dhow cruise, 4×4 to Jebel Harim, cliff houses
- Muscat – Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Mutrah, souq, palace & forts
- Muscat to Sharqiya Sands – Tiwi oasis, Sur, sand dunes
- Sharqiya Sands – sand dunes, Bedouins, camels, , Ibra souq
- Jebel Akdar – terraced town of Sayq, Al Mudhaireb, Sinaw souq
- Nizwa – Nizwa souq, Al Hamra oasis, Beit al-Safa (traditional Omani house)
- Jebel Shams – Wadi Ghul, aka Grand Canyon of Arabia
- Jebel Shams to Muscat – beehive tombs at Al Ayn, Jabrin Castle
