stomping through

Throughout history the distribution of languages in the world has reflected the distribution of power in the world. The most widely spoken languages – English, Mandarin, Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian – are or were the languages of imperial states which actively promoted use of their languages by other peoples. Shifts in the distribution of power produce shifts in the use of languages.
Samuel P Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order

Kharfot looks undeniably beautiful from the cliffs above: lush green, with a massive growth of vegetation through its central spine that follows its fresh water as it trickles towards the sea. The wadi disappears to the left into the mountains, and to the right you have the sea: pristine waters that lap at the shore of a blissfully empty beach. A few villagers know of this way, where you set off down the road that is an offshoot to the one going to Dalkut. The new tarmac ends at a sprinkling of houses, and from here you will have to drive in a 4WD through the waist-high grass, and then down a tough, narrow route over a forested hump of the mountain, till you can drive no further. The last part is difficult to tackle and should be done in the lowest of 4WD gears, with a local navigator.

From here you will be on foot, and going downhill till you hit the valley. The way itself is not tough at all, you just have to be up to an hour of slipping down a slope of tangled vegetation and rocks. There are lots of footholds and you’ll probably end up following natural ridges and man-made paths. You will also be under a thick canopy of trees so will be shaded from most of the sun, although it could get a bit humid depending on when you time your visit. Think tropical jungle, not the usual Omani landscape of bare rock or sand.

When we finally did get down, what had looked like the softest of grass that you would want to roll through turned into dry, brittle stalks that you had to crash through, which left little barbs in your trousers that made it look like you had just walked away from a porcupine attack. After a few minutes of stomping through, cutting our path towards the beach, we got to the sea. The beach is supposed to be a relatively recent addition, a sand bank that the waves have brought in recent time, which probably wasn’t there when Nephi and his group were building their ship.

< Previous   Next >



© 2001–2008 p i n a k i