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Trekking the W6 route of Jebel Shams

Driving south from Jebel Shams resort, we will see Al Khitaym village. It is the starting point of W6 trekking route. The destination of the trek is the old abandoned village. Total distance is nearly 4 kilometers. And if we go further through a challenging track, we will find a pool of water.

Along the way, there are 2 shelters and 2 wooden benches where we can take some rest and enjoy the view.

Part 1

Part 2

Driving from Al-Hamra Town to Jebel Shams is quite an experience. Half of the track is paved road, and the other half is dirt road. We will find steep incline/decline and also sharp turn. Al-Hamra is the last town before going up to Jebel Shams.

Road to Jebel Shams – Part 1

Road to Jebel Shams – Part 2

Jebel Shams Resort

Jebel Shams Resort is located at the end of road near the canyon. In my opinion, it is best to stay in the Arabic Tent. There are 3 single beds in the tent, but we can ask for extra mattress if there is additional person. Each Arabic Tents is now equipped with a toilet and shower. The Arabic Tent has a large backyard, where we can do barbeque and burn firewood.

Road to Shorfet Al-Alamin in Al-Hamra Town, Oman

Driving from Al-Hamra town to Shorfet Al-Alamin hotel, our starting point was Shell gas station in the town.

Activity around Shorfet Al-Alamin

• After checking in, we walked around the hotel, just to feel the different atmosphere
• We opted not to have dinner in the hotel, since we’ve planned to do barbeque
• In the early morning, we trekked  a little bit to find the perfect spot for enjoying the sunrise

Rencana awalnya kami mau sholat jum’at di Masjidil Haram, walaupun jadwal flight kembali ke Abu Dhabi agak mepet, jam 5 sore. Tapi sepertinya tidak memungkinkan, taksi yang saya kontak semenjak di Abu Dhabi hanya bisa jemput jam 3 sore. Akhirnya kita putuskan untuk berangkat lebih awal ke Jeddah. Berdasarkan informasi dari bellboy hotel, kita dapat taksi untuk berangkat jam 10 pagi, dengan singgah di masjid Arrahmah untuk sholat jum’at.

Kita sewa 2 taksi, untuk keluarga saya dan keluarga pak Arief. Sepertiga perjalanan, supir yang membawa keluarga pak Arief mengajak berhenti di rest area untuk ke toilet. Sekeluar dari toilet, pak supir tampak kesakitan sambil pegang perut. Dia tidak bisa buang air kecil, karena sepertinya ada gangguan di ginjalnya. Terpaksa kita telpon emergency ambulance untuk bawa dia ke hospital.

Supir yang membawa keluarga saya mengajak kita melanjutkan perjalanan, dan mempersilahkan pak Arief untuk menyupiri sendiri mobil yang disewa. Singkat cerita, sesampai di kota Jeddah, kita diantar ke sebuah masjid yang saya pikir masjid Arrahmah. Tapi ternyata bukan, ketika pak Arief lihat di GPS. Lalu kita putuskan untuk tetap cari masjid Arrahmah, meskipun agak bimbang karena saat itu sekitar 20 menit menjelang sholat jum’at. Tapi alhamdulillah sampai juga di masjid Arrahmah pas saat adzan.

Selesai sholat, sempat terpikir untuk lanjut makan siang di airport, tapi pak Arief tau dekat masjid ada rumah makan Indonesia. Dengan bekal GPS pak Arief, kita menemukan rumah makan tersebut.

Saat lihat-lihat menu, istri saya bisik-bisik, “yang, itu Wanda dan suaminya bukan ya…” Saya coba hampiri dan langsung menyapa, “Assalamu’alaykum, kang Tata… saya Agung, kita dulu pernah satu perusahaan di Malaysia”. Beliau menjawab, “Wa’alaykum salam, mas Agung, Idi Agung ya…” Sementara istri saya langsung menghampiri mbak Wanda yang duduk di sudut lain. Mereka langsung saling mengenal karena memang kuliah di kampus dan jurusan yang sama.

Subhanallah, rencana Allah yang Maha Kuasa memang begitu indah. Saat di Mekkah, istri saya sempat berguman, “Wanda sekarang lagi dimana ya…” Saya bilang, “Sekiranya ada kesempatan di Jeddah, saya bisa coba cari kontaknya”. Walhamdulillah, saat di Jeddah dalam waktu yg sangat terbatas kita dipertemukan.

When we reached the Ataturk Airport, the immigration clearance process was no hassle at all, as we did the visa processing online before we flew. To obtain the online visa, visit the e-Visa website, fill the online application form, make the payment, then download the electronic visa. All the steps will hardly take more than 15 minutes. The cost of the visa is 25 usd per person.

At the Baggage Collection, I was looking for trolleys, and when I found them I had to use a coin to get one, and sure I didn’t have a single coin of lira. Oh well, we just pulled the luggages, no issue. Once outside I noticed that most people with luggage were without trolleys.

I’ve informed the hotel in advance that we would need a pick up at the airport. So there after the exit, I saw some names put up at a board, while looking for my name, the teenager next to the board asked me, “Mr. Idi Kurniawan?”, I said “Yes, It is me”. “Come sir, just wait here, I will call the taxi driver”, he said. After a while, he walked us outside, and a family van that would take us the hotel arrived.

It took around 20 minutes from the airport to the hotel, Best Western Premier – Regency Suites in Sultanahmet. After having the welcome drink, which was cay (tea) for me and my wife, and apple cay for the children, we went up to the room, took showers, and ordered some pizzas from the hotel. We found the pizza tasted really nice, or probably it was just because we were so hungry? 🙂

I was thinking of having some rest at the hotel, but my wife and children were so eager to see the surrounding. Well, so I okayed it, I thought they were tired. Since it was only around 2pm, we had more than a couple of hours for strolling around before it got dark, sunset was around 5pm.

Sultanahmet square is just around 500m from the hotel. On the way, we passed Arasta Bazaar. It is a small bazaar just next to the Sultanahmet Mosque, having some souvenirs and traditional food. We were surprised that in that cold weather, around 5-7 degree celcius, tourists were many all around the area. I can’t imagine how it will be in the spring or summer. 

Here I’d like to share the Summary of my Istanbul Trip 4-8 January 2015. I’ve also summarized the opening hours, the closing day(s), and entrance fees of some major places of interest in Istanbul, you can find it here. When you develop your own itinerary for the trip to Istanbul, make sure to double-check the opening hours and closing day(s) of the destinations, as they might change season to season.

I will write more detail about each day of my visit later. In the meantime, you can scroll through the summary.

Day 1 – 4 January 2015

• We had lunch at the hotel since we reached the hotel at just about the lunch time
• And we had kabab for dinner from nearby restaurant. It was raining, we couldn’t really explore for options.
• The detail for day 1 is already available here.

 Day 2 – 5 January 2015

• There are some restaurants near the Sultanahmet tram station. Tastes are nice, and prices are okay. I had mashed potato stuffed with chicken for the lunch, and a plate of kabab for the dinner.
• You can perform the prayer at Yeni Camii (New Mosque).
• Yeni Camii Meydani (Plaza) is behind the mosque. We were sitting at the plaza and but didn’t notice that next to it is actually the Spice Bazaar 🙂