Forts of Gulf Arabia, Part 2

Bukha Fort, Musandam, Oman – Notice that little fort in the distance dwarfed by the towering hills behind? That’s the Al Qala’a Fort according to Google Maps. I thought it was just an extension of this Bukha Fort, and even labelled as such in an earlier post, ahem… But heck, no one's gonna notice, hehe…

Another express photo-post coming up! Busy month this January. Committed to finishing big chunks of work before the end of this month, and then there’s Chinese New Year next week. So here goes.

Continuing from the previous post (where I featured the Al Jazirah Al Hamra Fort in Ras Al-Khaimah), here’re more forts we visited not too long ago, if you're into these kinda things. The kids sure are. And so’s the old man, hahaha. Shhhh… don’t tell the missus, she’s not very keen on forts or museums. She’s more of a nature-type of person.


First off the list – Bukha Fort in Musandam Oman. This is a fort I’ve featured before in my first 'Forts of Gulf Arabia' post a long time ago (in 2009), and also in more recent posts in 2019 & 2022. It’s a small but picturesque fort, surrounded by the towering barren mountains of Musandam (ain’t it? Especially in Anu’s photo in my 2009 post?)


Hazel and Jayden looking at something in the depths of that bottomless pit… Nah, just kidding


Justin, exploring the ramparts of the Bukha Fort – the mosque beside blends in nicely




Next up, Khasab Fort, in Musandam’s capital, Khasab. Didn’t visit it on our first visit in 2008. We finally visited, with Dad and Hazel in 2019 – Khasab, Musandam, Oman




Exploring the castle grounds… The fort features traditional boats. And here's a link to a photo of Jayden in one of the huts in the castle


Finally, the little visited Falaj Al Mualla Fort in Umm Al Quwain, UAE


We decided to just stop by, on our way past this town, a little visited area of the UAE. There were no visitors, and an attendant had to open the museum just for us ‘privileged’ visitors, ahem…


See, that’s our car, a lone, solitary car in the fort’s car park, surrounded by empty roads and sand dunes


The fort-museum has creepy mannequins in it. Wouldn’t wanna be trapped here overnight


OK, time to go – Falaj Al Mualla Fort, Umm Al-Quwain, UAE


Hey, this is a nice place for hide and seek! Boys are boys. I’ve posted a few photos of this place in my earlier posts in 2021 and 2022

There you go, express photo post done!

The Cheaper Emirates

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! 2023 is here. And I pray that God will continue to provide hope and blessings to all, especially to the downtrodden, the needy and those in despair. I pray that men will set aside their personal agendas and hatred for those different from them, and strive for the good of mankind and make this world a nicer place.

This is a super-express New Year post.

For new year, we’ll usually head out north, to the cheaper emirates (i.e. the emirates north and east of Dubai) to have a scrumptious meal, usually seafood, haha. (Yeah, yeah, you can call us cheapskates, but a penny saved is a penny earned. Hah!)

This new year we headed out to Sharjah. (And I’ve not downloaded any of the photos yet). So here’re some photos of the past 2 years of what we did on New Year. Bear with me, OK?


Driving up north to Ras Al Khaimah. It’s always fun to find somewhere to drive to!


The day before New Year’s Eve 2021 – Seafood restaurant found! Al Anfalus Fish Restaurant, at Al Jazirah Al Hamra, Ras Al-Khaimah. Wow, isn’t that a nice dish?!


Let’s check out the little castle nearby, and the ghost village behind… spooky (Nope, we didn’t proceed far, before getting out of the ruins…) – Al Jazirah Al Hamra Fort, RAK, UAE


A stop at a liquor shop before heading home… We ran out of whiskey! It’s New Year, OK? – Barracuda Beach Resort, Umm Al Quwain, UAE


One year later… And this is New Year’s Day 2022! Again ended up in Al Anfalus Fish Restaurant, hehe – Ras Al-Khaimah, UAE


This is another spooky place… (Ras Al-Khaimah seems to be full of 'em). The haunted Al Qassimi Palace, an abandoned palace in RAK for decades. Used to be a ‘haunt’ for those seeking adventures of the paranormal kind, until the owners realized the money-making potential of the place and refurbished it. Now’s it open to the public but charges a fee (hefty for us cheapskates …What? It’s just a mansion now that they’ve beautified it?!?)

OK, end of post. See ya!