four: 100 years in al farah

Miss Jane, huh dribe him f’um huh do’,/ An’ now huh hens woan’ lay no mo’;/ De Jussey cow huh done fall sick,/ Hit all done by de Cunjah trick./ Him put ur root un’ ’Lijah’s baid,/ An’ now de man he sho’ am daid—/ De Cunjah man, de Cunjah man,/ O chillen, run, de Cunjah man!
De Cunjah Man, James Edwin Campbell

Musabba Said Abdullah al Aufi might look like any other Aufi, clambering down the steps of his house to spread a carpet on the pebbles of the wadi for us. What you would never guess is that he used to jump out of planes a few years ago, a paratrooper for the Omani military.

His taxi, which he drives around Rustaq and Awabi, stands parked kilometres away, where the wadi meets the main road. It’s a saloon car that cannot make it through the wadi, though Musabba is ready to guide anyone, or organise a 4WD for a tour of the innards of Bani Auf. He knows the wadi like the back of his hand, but his biggest handicap is his limited English. If you can get around this, or have someone translate between, he’s the best man for you.

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