The Trip to Ubar: The Sunken Lost City

Many centurys ago there was a city of trade specializing in Frankincense at the end of the Empty Quarter. This city had all roads leading to it. Traders from around the Persian Empire would come to trade goods and make money. Then it all was gone, sunken into the sand and buried by time. The Quaran says that the city was corrupt, and Allah swept his hand over the city and the sands washed it away. The story of Ubar was passed down from person to person to become a legend, then a myth. In 1985, the European Space Agency was taking pictures of Europe for global mapping and looking for oil reserves and noticed lines in the terrain. They sent teams to dig, and found nothing, but ancient Roman concrete. The roads made by Rome, were still seen from space. A researcher who was looking for the mythical city asked NASA to have some pictures taken of this one area in Oman, which he suspected was the location of Ubar. When the pictures came back they revealed the scars of trails and ancient roads leading to one spot. The researcher came to Oman in 1992, and started to dig. Ubar was found. We got to go there yesterday. Off the paved road and down a dirt road we arrived at the site. A friend Mark, and two other guys, Matt and Tony, came with us to check it out. It was very, very hot, 120 degrees. I took pictures and we went down to the bottom of the sink hole, but it goes even deeper than that. The real reason the city sank, was that it was built over a water well, which led into a thin aquifer chamber. Over time the chamber just collapsed and down came the city. The people explained it as the hand of God taking vengeance for corruption, but it was more like a natural disaster. Enjoy the pictures.

Kaylynn in Oman: The Adventure Begins

Kaylynn arrived in Muscat the day before yesterday and it was very good to see her. I was talking to someone I knew from Thumrait when I saw her come through the outer terminal door I said, "That's my wife!!" and I ran off without saying goodbye to the guy I was talking to. It was rude, but hey my wife was here. We took a taxi to The Chedi Muscat, and were treated very well. We had dinner that night and the food was outstanding. I was very impressed. The weather was nice and even though Kaylynn was a little tired she was happy to be with me too. She did get to travel business half the trip and she got spoiled.

The next day we went to church at the LDS Branch in Muscat. It was a small group but they were very welcoming and adopted us into their branch quickly. Too bad I am now leaving. We went to a baptism of an Indian woman who is a teacher in Muscat. She and Kaylynn hit it off, and it was very cool to see a baptism done in the Persian Gulf waters. The Church is not recognized in Oman yet, but they are working on it.

After the baptism, Kaylynn and I went to the Elders Quorum President's house for the confirmation and some chili. The food was good and the company was too. The spirit was there as this woman received the Holy Ghost. The man accompanying the Indian woman was her brother, and Kaylynn assumed they were husband and wife and was making comments about them getting sealed in the temple next, until she was corrected about the family relation. It was funny and Kaylynn was a little red faced.

After the baptism and everything it was time for a nap and dinner in the room, where I had an awesome Rib Eye steak. Unfortunately the day was marred by the news of the invasion of the country of Georgia by Russia, and that became the 'must watch' thing for the night, besides the 2008 Olympic Opening Ceremony, which was kinda cool. Kaylynn is an Olympic junkie, and she was a little upset about being over here and possibly not being able to see it. Well Al Jazeera is showing it, so Kaylynn is happy now. The next day was pool time and getting ready to leave for Salalah.

That is just water in the glass. Kaylynn really enjoyed this pool. It is very close to the beach. There was no one there at first, but later on other families came. We lounged in the pool till it was time for lunch and check out. The food was excellent once again and we were full. We went to the airport and waited for our flight to Salalah. When we finally arrived in Salalah, I could tell Kaylynn was not impressed. I have been trying to make it more enjoyable, but she is seeing the conditions here, that I have been working under, first hand. After a few disappointing things we headed up the mountain to the air base to stay in my room. It was like taking her to a bachelor pad. When we got there she was really tired, and she went right off to bed, but the next day she CLEANED MY ROOM! I told her she didn't have to do that, and she said, "Yes I do." OK, well today we are going to go see some other things, and that I will save for the next blog.

Well, I guess as the first song on my blog states, "I am coming home." At least it looks like it is going to happen. About a week ago, I got preliminary news that the 2 year contract that Lockheed Martin had submitted to continue maintaining the aircraft (pictured to the right), was awarded to a different company. That means I am leaving here, as of right now, that may change, not sure when, or if, but it might happening. It is very frustrating doing this contract work, but I love my job and my company. I have been wanting to work for Lockheed Martin for many years. My boss has given me some options and has shared my resume with some other parts of the company. I put in for a Field Representative position at Hill AFB, Utah, so I may go home. My boss submitted me for a Deputy Director job in UAE, and says that there is work for me to head up a bid for Inspection work in Portugal. Eventually I am being tapped for the Program Manager job for Romania when that comes around late 2009.

Anyway, it is freakin' hot here. I went down to Salalah to do some errands and stopped over to in Al Mughsail and saw the huge waves and blow holes in the rocks. Kaylynn will get to see that when she gets here next week. The sky is foggy and you think it is cool outside. Nope. You are wrong it is just as hot, but humid to the point you can taste the salt in the air. Kaylynn won't be happy about that, so good thing we are only here for 2 days before we head back up to Muscat. Our whirlwind tour starts in 6 days, and I can't wait.

Today is a rest day. I am going to watch movies, eat lunch and chill out today. I have some of my guys coming back from vacation and I have a couple heading out. We have a good-bye party set for the 6th of August. This whole thing is bittersweet because I do like the team I have, unfortunately I have to send them elsewhere in the company.

Sunday in Thumrait

Another Sunday rolls by. Today I met the new F-16 Maintenance officer, who is supposed to be very much in tune with what we, as Lockheed, have been trying to do. It will be a breath of fresh air to have someone on the same page as us. I hope he will work out. I found out that the Omani dropped a screw in the cockpit, and I had DJ, ground the jet, till it was found. I hope that the Omani will really look for it. I doubt it, but I hope they do.

My first blog

Well, since everyone is doing this I thought I would give it a try. I have been very off and on about keeping a journal and maybe this is a way to do it so my kids and grand kids can see what I did while I was in Oman. I have been in the Sultanate for 9 months. I work for the aerospace defense contractor Lockheed Martin as a Program Manager. I work with the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) on the F-16 fighters that they bought three years ago. After 3 years of training it comes down to this, they require more training. I supervise a team of F-16 experts who train Omani to maintain the aircraft, so that the planes will fly safely. This is my charge and so far we have been diligent in making sure that they are flying safely. Through the next few weeks there will be several rants and raves and discussions about the goings on in the middle east. I will have some first hand knowledge by moving around the area in the next two weeks. My wife is coming over for a visit, and we will be touring Jordan, Isreal and Egypt. I hope you look forward to the pictures as much as I do.