A dramatic landscape with warm-hearted residents.

I lived in the eastern peak of the Arabian peninsula for six months in 2012, and I have been returning each year ever since. During my time in Oman, I became enchanted by its dramatic landscape and its warm-hearted people.

Exploring Oman is really like an excavation. Each time I return, I uncover something deeper, another layer. At first glance, it's an Arabian desert with flowing sand dunes and searing heat. Then it's the mosques and the souks; all artifacts of a different culture.

Beneath that, I fell into swing in the bustling city of Muscat, having midnight meetups and barbeques at the beach. My explorations also took me to the interior to visit abandoned villages, forts haunted by djinn, and mountains with crevasses 800 meters deep.

I got to know the falaj system and the critical role it played in watering an entire village mountain vertically on a cliff. I've celebrated Eid with families in the north of the country and participated in the most festive weddings.

Oman is a rugged desert with a hard shell on the surface, but beneath that, it's a culture that welcomes strangers and thrives in the moments of everyday life.