[OR_Archaeology] Subject: Tour exotic Oman with National Geographic Explorer, February 5-15, 2019!

[POULEY John * OPRD]

We invite you to come with us February 5-15, 2019, on an immersive tour (described below) designed for Archaeological Legacy Institute and led by National Geographic Explorer Dr. Jeff Rose.  Please see the details about this and all our tours at archaeologychannel.org/tours<http://archaeologychannel.org/tours> and share this information with your contacts.

Our tour program is set apart from others by our commitment to storytelling and expert guidance.  We believe that a tour should be far more than a photo-op or checking off a bucket list.  For us, a tour is an opportunity to perform our nonprofit mission to tell the human story, in this case by bringing people to the real sites where history took place.  We like to design unique tours not offered by others.

This 11-day tour traverses Oman to seldom-seen but fascinating cultural (and natural!) wonders.  Lodgings are high-end, even in the Desert Camp.  The journey begins in Salalah, the old, charming, capital of Dhofar Province, with a lecture about Oman by Dr. Rose, followed by a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Al Baleed, a port once linked to the vast medieval Indian Ocean trading network.  The Land of Frankincense Museum will give a taste of the rich archaeological history of southern Arabia, lunch will be aboard an Omani dhow, and we'll visit the Souq to pick up some frankincense.  Day 2 begins with natural wonders and takes us to Sumhurrum, the heart of the Iron Age frankincense trade.  Then we off-road to see stone tool workshop sites tens of thousands of years old, mysterious Iron Age stone monuments, and a Mahri village to experience local cuisine, dancing, and storytelling.  After seeing the Tomb of Job, we fly to Muscat, Oman's capital and our base for more adventures and optional activities (e.g., hiking, snorkeling, scuba diving, dolphin watching, opera house).  Muscat stops include a fishing village, the waterfront area, the Souq, the Sultan's Palace, the National Museum, and the Grand Mosque.  Then we drive into the interior, stopping in Nizwa, the old Omani capital, and off-road into breathtaking Wadi Tanuf Canyon to an enigmatic site where a mural of 5000-year-old petroglyphs lies hidden behind an ancient waterfall.  We spend two nights at a hotel nestled on the side of a mountain, overlooking the plain a thousand meters below.  From here, we explore a mountain village, visit spectacular Bronze Age tombs and stop at a medieval fort with a reputation for black magic.  Our path then takes us through a local market town and into sands of the Wahiba Desert, where we camp and enjoy a camel ride and dinner under the stars.  Our final day leads through the boatyard in the legendary port city of Sur, where traditional wooden vessels are still built, before our return to Muscat and a farewell dinner.

The trip will be limited to 25 participants, so don't wait too long!

Feel free to get back to us with any questions.  Email us at omantour at archaeologychannel.org<mailto:omantour at archaeologychannel.org>.  Thanks!

Rick Pettigrew

Richard M. (Rick) Pettigrew, Ph.D., RPA
Executive Director
Archaeological Legacy Institute
4147 E. Amazon Dr.
Eugene, OR 97405
541-345-5538
archaeologychannel.org<http://archaeologychannel.org>
rick at archaeologychannel.org<mailto:rick at archaeologychannel.org>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/or_archaeology/attachments/20181008/50980317/attachment.html>