The old man hitches up his dishdasha, showing off scars from operations in India as we huddle into the little room surrounded by mango and banana plantations, pumped water and new development. He presses down on his knee, bursting into mock agony as he describes his stay in hospital. Who would have thought that here, in this little concrete box, overtaken and overlooked, lies a sheikh.
I lean in and switch to the 50. I can manage f1.8/200 and his eyes, watery blue around the irises, pop into focus. Everything else – the shadow on the speckled wall, the heavy fake gold watch, the starched edges of his clothes, the fixer in the corner – is a blur.
Nominal head of Wadi Lawami (once a village and now an old neighbourhood fading under the sun), Sheikh Said bin Saif bin Said al Siyabi talks of the old days when the water never gave out, the Dahariyah mangoes were the best in Oman and the area boasted of the tag line ‘sukr wa halib’ – sugar and milk.
Around the corner, young men cruise in souped-up old Mustangs, Shetland ponies waddle through air-conditioned paddocks at the Royal Stables and a mid-day haze sets in. I switch back to the 35.
One Comment
OK. After the Bombay Ducks and the Slumdogs, after a while that you were gone and all of us acquaintances and fans had no idea whether you were going back to Oman or not, after reading the last Oman2Day you were editor of, after all that… came Wadi Lawami.
No idea why, I got out my maps of Oman and looked and looked. I talked to a friend who works in the military, those soldiers known for the great geography they can master. I talked to the eldest person in Oman that I know. To an amateur photographer there. To a friend who claims he has done all wadis of the Gulf countries in his 4X4. Nobody knew of Wadi Lawami. Figures. Pinaki is there, so nobody else has been there before. Congrats on keeping us on the edge, while all you do is going to yet another expedition with truck, camera and notebook. Congrats on the story and congrats on the photo. Once again, I realize your adventure was worth all that time investigating where your whereabouts were. Welcome back.