Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Tradttional food in Oman


Traditional Omani Food
The Omani people are well known for their hospitality and offers of refreshment. To be invited into someone's home will mean coffee (kahwa), a strong, bitter drink flavoured with cardamom, and dates or halwa, a sticky sweet gelatinous substance which is made from brown sugar, eggs, honey and spices. It can be flavoured with many different ingredients, such as nuts, rosewater or even chocolate. Lokhemat is another accompaniment to coffee, which are balls of flour and yeast flavoured with cardamom and deep fried until golden then served with a sweet lime and cardamom syrup. The sweetness of this dish often counteracts the bitterness of the kahwa.
More substantial meals often have rice as the main ingredient, together with cooked meats. The main daily meal is usually eaten at midday, while the evening meal is lighter. Maqbous is a rice dish, tinged yellow with saffron and cooked over a spicy red or white meat. Aursia is a festival meal, served during celebrations, which consists of mashed rice flavoured with spices. Another popular festival meal is shuwa, which is meat cooked very slowly (sometimes for up to two days) in an underground clay oven. The meat becomes extremely tender and it is impregnated with spices and herbs before cooking to give it a very distinct taste. Fish is often used in main dishes too, and the kingfish is a popular ingredient. Mashuai is a meal comprising whole spit-roasted kingfish served with lemon rice. The rukhal bread is a thin, round bread originally baked over a fire made from palm leaves. It is eaten at any meal, typically served with Omani honey for breakfast or crumbled over curry for dinner.
Traditional Omani Food
It is fairly simple, but by using various marinades and impregnating meat with spices, the result is a mouth-watering concoction which stimulates the tastebuds. Chicken, fish and mutton are regularly used in dishes. A favourite drink is laban, a salty buttermilk. Yoghurt drinks, flavoured with cardamom and pistachio nuts are also very popular.
Although spices, herbs, onion, garlic and lime are liberally used in traditional Omani cuisine, unlike similar Asian food, it is not hot. Omani cuisine is also distinct from the indigenous foods of other Gulf states and even varies within the Sultanate's different regions. The differences between some of the dishes prepared in Salalah, in the south, and those prepared in Muscat, in the north, are so market that it is difficult to find anything common between them. However, one delight that remains a symbol of Omani hospitality throughout the country are the ubiquitous dates, served with khawa, or Omani coffee. Khawa is prepared from freshly roasted ground coffee mixed with cardamom powder.Special dishes are prepared for festive occasions. The Islamic world celebrates two main religious festivals - Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha. Eid Al Fitr is celebrated following the Holy Month of Ramadan when people complete their obligatory fasting for 30 days. Eid Al Adha is celebrated on completing the Haj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca, commemorating the sacrifice of Abraham. Dishes prepared during Ramadan are very seldom cooked on other occasions.Food cooked on important occasions, such as Eid, is of an infinite variety. Omanis across the country serve an array of dishes. In Dhofar and Wusta, the festivities start with ruz al mudhroub, a dish made of cooked rice and served with fried fish, and maqdeed, special dried meat. In Muscat, Al Batinah, Dahira and Sharqiya regions, muqalab, a dish of tripe and pluck cooked with crushed or ground spices (cinnamon, cardamom, clove, back pepper, ginger, garlic and nutmeg), dominates the menu. Other dishes served during Eid festivities include arsia, a dish of lamb meat cooked with rice, and mishkak, skewered meat grilled on charcoal.Lunch on the first day of Eid is usually harees, which is made from wheat mixed with meat. Lunch on the second day is mishkak, while on the third and last day, shuwa forms the whole day's meal.However, it is during Ramadan that one can experience Omani food at its best and two of the most popular traditional dishes served at Iftar, the breaking of the fast include sakhana, a thick, sweet soup made of wheat, date, molasses and milk and fatta, a meat and vegetable dish, mixed with khubz rakhal, thin Omani bread, made out of unleavened dough.Shuwa is a typically Omani delicacy prepared only on very special occasions. Whole villages participate in the cooking of the dish which consists of a whole cow or goat roasted for up to two days in an special oven prepared in a pit dug in the ground.
The method of preparing shuwa is elaborate. The meat is marinated with red pepper, turmeric, coriander, cumin, cardamom, garlic and vinegar and then wrapped in sacks made of dry banana or palm leaves. These sacks are then thrown into the smoldering oven, which is covered with a lid and sealed so that no smoke escapes. In some villages, the meat is cooked for 24 hours while in others it is believed that meat tastes better after 48 hours.Everyday Omani cuisine includes a wide variety of soups - vegetable, lentil, lamb and chicken. Salads are also popular and are usually based around fresh vegetables, smoked eggplant, tuna fish, dried fish or watercress. Main course dishes are extensive and range from marak, a vegetable curry, to assorted kebabs, barbecued, grilled and curried meat, chicken and fish dishes.Rice is used widely and is served in a variety of ways, from steamed to elaborate concoctions bursting with meat and vegetables. Breads rage from the plain to those flavoured with dates, sesame, thyme and garlic. For desert, Omani halwa, or sweatmeat, is a traditional favourite.

Volleyball


As with any game or sport, it is important to know how to play properly. There are many rules which govern volleyball. But, before you begin to learn all of the technical details, take the time to familiarize yourself with the basics.
1
A team consists of six players on the court.
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2
Before the game, the first serve is chosen by coin toss.
3
During one play, a team is allowed no more than three contacts. Blocks are not included in this count.
4
A ball which touches the line is considered to be in.
5
The ball must pass over the net between the antennas (including their hypothetical extensions to the ceiling) and may not touch the antennas.
6
The same player may not make two consecutive contacts with the ball.
7
A player may not touch the net with either his clothes or his body. The hair is the only exception.
8
A back row player may not jump and attack in front of the three meter line.
9
A back row player may not participate in a block.
10
Players must follow the correct rotations.
As with any game or sport, it is important to know how to play properly. There are many rules which govern volleyball. But, before you begin to learn all of the technical details, take the time to familiarize yourself with the basics.
11
A player may not touch the opposing team's court with any body part except the feet or hands.
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12
While serving, a player may not step on or over the end-line.
13
A player must serve within eight seconds of receiving the whistle.
14
A player may not block or attack the serve.
15
The ball may be served overhand or underhand.
16
The player cannot hide the ball before and while serving.
17
The serve may touch the net and still be counted as in, so long as it goes over the net.
18
The ball may be played off of the net.
19
A player may not lift or double contact the ball.
20
A player may reach over the net while blocking an opponent's attack.

Oman Forts




































Forts
Forts and Castles are Oman's most striking cultural landmarks and, together with its towers and city walls, they have historically been used as defensive bastions or look-out points. Forts were often the seats of administrative and judicial authority. There are over 500 forts, castles and towers in Oman which has a coastline of 1,700 kms, so they were needed to protect it from potential invaders. The architectural styles vary, being determined by the architects who built them or the periods in which they were built.
Jalali and Mirani
Which are among Oman's most famous forts stand at the entrance to Muscat bay. Mirani, which was built before the arrival of the Portuguese, was originally shaped like a tower. Then in 1588 the Portuguese rebuilt it on the ruins of its old structure, adding emplacements, stores, living quarters for the commander and a place of worship. The building was enlarged to its present size in the reign of Imam Ahmed bin Said, the founder of the Al Busaidi state in the 18th century, and his grandson Sayyid Said bin Sultan, at the beginning of the 19th century.
The forts of Al Jalali and Al Mirani are the capital's most prominent landmarks and were built in the 16th century AD. The Portuguese completed their construction of Jalali Fort in 1587. Its present-day form dates from the reign of Sayyid Said bin Sultan, and this Fort was restored and converted into a museum in the reign of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
Rustaq Fort
Is amongst the oldest, is the tallest, and is surrounded by watch towers. (Al Batinah) ori ginally known as Qalat Al Kisra, was built in the 13th century. It has four towers: Al Burj Al Ahmar; Al Burj Al Hadeeth; Al Burj Al Reeh; and Al Burj Ashiateen (which means, ominously, the devil's tower). A falaj ran through the fort to supply water to its inhabitants. Should this become contaminated, the inhabitants were able to rely on a well. There are many rooms to this fort and it also boasts a mosque, weapons' room, prison, and reception area.
Bahla Fort
Main feature is its 7-mile long walls which were patrolled by sentries night and day. The Fort's internal staircases and walls were built of mud, coated with gypsum and sarooj (a traditional type of mortar) which are as hard and solid as present-day cement. UNESCO has approved Bahla Fort and Wall for inclusion in its World Heritage List.
Nizwa Fort
Nizwa Fort, (A'Dakhliyah) built by Imam Sultan bin Saif al Ya'arubi in 1668, is the biggest fort in the Arabian Peninsula with an exterior diameter of its circular structure of 150 feet, and over 115 feet high. The fort was once used as the Imam's headquarters and is a stronghold designed to withstand some of the most aggressive sieges. The traditional doors are inches deep and over the lintel of each is a hole through which boiling oil could be poured over the marauding enemies.

Jabrin Fort
Jabrin Fort was built by Imam Sultan bin Saif Al Ya'arubi in 1670 as a defensive stron ghold and as living accommodation for the Imam. It has rooms and ceilings decorated with fine carvings. It has two huge towers with walls two metres thick.it was built by Bil'arab bin Sultan, an Imam of the Ya'aruba dynasty during the 17th century. It is one of the most impressive forts in the Sultanate and the details and carvings in the rooms and balconies are most elaborate . Finely painted flowers and symbols are found on the ceilings in the 'living' rooms. The tomb of Imam Bil'arab remains within the fort.



Nakhl Fort
Nakhl Fort (Al Batinah) is within an hour's drive of Muscat and provides a morning of sight-seeing. The fort is 350 years old and is set in a gorge, surrounded by a mountain enclave. In 1990, sympathetic restoration work began, using traditional building materials and period furnishings. The carved master gate is believed to date back to the 1830's during the reign of Sayyid Said bin Sultan.

Al Hazm Castle
Located in Al Hazm town in Welayat Rustaq. It was built by Imam Sultan bin Seif (the 2nd.) in ( 1123 A.H.–1711 A.D.) when he established Al Hazm town as a capital of Oman instead of Rustaq. The Castle is distinctive from other Omani Castle and forts by its magnificent shape and massive building. It contains the tomb of its builder / Imam Sultan bin Seif (the 2nd.). It was restored by the Ministry in ( 1416 A.H. - 1996 A.D. ).
Sohar Fort
Located in Harat Al Hajara in Sohar town. Dated back to 179 A.H., It was renovated, to its present shape, in the (Eighth - Ninth century A.H.) (14th A.H. - 15th A.D.). During the reign of Imam / Nasser bin Murshid Al Ya'arubi, he was able to conquer and expel the Portuguese from this castle. Sohar castle remained as administration Centre for the ruling Al Busaid dynasty. The Ministry restored the Fort in 1985 and used it as a museum in 1993.
Mirbat Castle
Dated back to the 19th. century or earlier than that and located in the Welayat of Mirbat in Dhofar Governorate. This castle played defensive and administrative roles throughout history. It was restored by the Ministry in 1991 and was officially opened in 1996 on the occasion of the Year of Heritage. It was furnished and equipped with handicrafts from Dhofar Governorate and from the other Regions of Oman.
Khassab Castle
Located opposite to the seacoast in Welayat Khasab in the north of Oman. It consists of four buildings surrounded by a wall and it was built in the sixth century A.D. The Ministry restored it in 1989.
Al Mintrib Castle
One of the oldest castles in Welayat Badiya. Built during the reign of Imam / A'zzan bin Qais Al Busaid ( 1285 A.H. - 1868 ) and was used in the past as a center for the Welayat. The Ministry restored it in 1989.
Al Khandaq Castle
Located in Hamasa town in Welayat Buraimi. It was called ( Al Khandaq ) because of the ditch surrounding it . It is a square shape building with four circular towers and a main gate surrounded by high fences . The Ministry restored it in 1994.
Albuquerque
Albuquerque in 1507 described Sohar Fort as "a fortress of square shape, with six towers round it, having also over the gate two very large towers". The fort was so large that it then required over 1,000 men for its defence.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Just lugh


مجنون لقى مصباح علاء الدين ففركه... فطلع الجني وقال له شبيك لبيك عبدك بين ايديك فقال له: بدي اياك تبني لي جسر من بيتنا لأمريكا فقال له الجني هادي صعبة كتير شوف اشي تاني قال المجنون: بدي أصير عاقل فقال الجني: بدك الجسر رايح والا جاي.

دكتور شغل اغاني للمجانين، الكل رقص ماعدا واحد، ساله الدكتور ليش ما رقصت وياهم قال: اسكت اسكت انا العروس

واحده وحشه أوى بتقول لزوجها ياراجل مش تصلح شباك الحمام عشان وأنا بستحمه الجيران متشفنيش قالها خليهم يشفوك عشان يصلحوه على حسابهم

واحد أحول دخل الجيش دخلوه سلاح القصف العشوائى

واحد احول وواحد ابله فتحوا محل طعمية الاحول يأخذ الطعمية ويرمها برا الزيت والابلة يقول تش

واحـد احـول حـس بالـبـرد وهـو نـايـم ... قـام وغـطـى اخـوه
واحد أحول أمة ماتت راح دفن أبوة


واحد احول اكتشف بعد عشر سنوات انه يصرف على الجيران