On The Road In Oman

“We started our journey by making our way to the Al-Hajar mountains.”An avid traveller, Odemann captures the far-flung destinations she frequents with dreamy film photography. Earlier this year, she visited Oman with her sisters, and recorded the trip for us. We let her take you with her in the following series of words and images.”In March, my three sisters and I went on a roadtrip through Oman. It was the first time I traveled to an Islamic country and the minute we got there, I instantly fell in love with Oman’s nature and the culture of utter hospitality there. We started our journey by making our way to the Al-Hajar mountains where we drove over steep mountain passes and camped on top of the beautiful canyon of Jebel Shams.

We were shown amazing secret rivers by friendly locals and hiked through remote and wild wadis. Everything was so easy and yet everything was so new and adventurous. Not a day went by on which we did not see or experience something new. Life on the road felt so good and no matter where we went there was always something new waiting for us.

“We lay down at the campfire and talked about love and life while the universe revealed itself.”One night we slept in the desert. We wandered through endless sand dunes and watched the sunset while looking over at the wide land in front of us. When it got dark, we lay down at the campfire and talked about love and life while the universe revealed itself through thousand stars lighting up the sky. We got up shortly before dawn and watched the sunrise from the back of camels leading us through the desert.

“We hiked up palm-fringed trails and swam in turquoise pools.”After the desert, we continued our journey south and made it to Ras al-Hadd. We camped at the beach and went for a morning swim in the ocean. We spent the next few days exploring more wadis and sinkholes located there. We hiked up palm-fringed trails and swam in turquoise pools. Nature here seemed like a theme park but it was all real and natural.

There’s a beauty in Oman that combines old traditions with progress, wild nature with fairytale-like architecture and adventure with simplicity. However, the best part about this journey was the fact that I traveled there together with my three sisters. We are all so close but since all of us moved out of our hometown already, the only times all four of us are reunited is at Christmas or Easter. This was why this trip was special. Because we did not only enter a beautiful country full of magical places but because I got to experience all of this with my three favorite people.”