Down on the Farm

Mohammed's farm, on the outskirts of Muscat, was home base for us during our three weeks in Oman. Now if you are imagining a Vermont, Iowa or Kansas farm, remember that Oman is largely desert, so a farm has to be created on the arid rocky landscape. This means that every fruit tree, row of crops and flower bed has to be planted in imported topsoil and individually watered through a system of hoses from a well that was dug 50 meters down to reach water.

A date palm planted in its own pit filled with top soil and watered by its own small hose.

The farm covers about 8-10 acres and is enclosed by a high wall. The shot above is a view from the roof of the farm house down the lane to the front gate.

The house is quite large with five bedrooms (each with its own bath), a central dining area, a TV room,

a laundry room, maid's room, and a large kitchen. All the rooms have 12 foot ceilings and air conditioning to combat the brutal summer heat which reaches 120 degrees.

A farm manager with his family and four farm workers live on the property.


Above is Hari, the farm manager, his wife, and their two children.


One of the farm workers picking squash early in the morning.


The crops include dates (date palms seen here through the kitchen window), mangoes, papayas, and vegetables such as squash, corn, white radishes, alfalfa for animal feed,

and cucumbers which are grown in three long greenhouses.


Livestock include 120 goats for milk and meat,


three Arabian horses, a gelding, a mare, and an 8 month old filly (Carolyn is petting the mare, and the filly is in the background),


and about 18 Arabian gazelles. These small gazelles are both curious and very shy, and beautiful to watch as they leap back and forth in their large enclosure.


The farm's perimeter road is about 1 mile around which provided a great walk for exercise (and entertainment from the animals) in the morning and evening. cck