The green stuff is very much the focus in Muscat at the moment .

Apart from the dollars coming in from high oil prices the new Botanical project is now under way and due for completion in 2010 along with the new music hall and National Museum. With the Environment Society of Oman I enjoyed a very informative presentation about the project from its inception to the progress so far. The project aims to be a depository and information centre about the plants of Oman. Amazingly the project members have already discovered 20 new species of plants in Oman including this – a variety of Bush Violet

Almost as a taster to the talk some members enjoyed a very good walk through some of the hills of Muscat to learn about the plants there from Clive Winbow . The cyclone last year has enabled a spurt of growth from normally slow growing desert plants and despite the heat in late March many were in excellent condition.

It’s obvious what the catch of the day was at this The Sindbad Classic in Oman. A substantial Yellow Fin Tuna weighing in at over 50kilos would make a good serving of fish and chips. Remarkably the fishermen of the coast around Muscat seem to catch this size as part of the daily living – quite a struggle with a line.