ABSTRACT
Most of Oman's desert is, in fact, rocky waste, scarred by wadi beds and nowadays by tracks left by Land Rovers and trucks. But there is also desert in the accepted sense of the word, rolling sand dunes, soft sand dunes and oases, startling in their greenery and blissful in their sound of running water. The deserts of Oman are peopled by the Badawi or Bedouin, 'Bedu' as they are commonly called. Omani camels are particularly famous for both their speed and their stamina. is traditional all over the Arab world but in Oman it is not simply a code of honour or a book of rules but a hospitality that comes from the heart. But the most intriguing phenomena in the Oman desert, as in the great deserts anywhere, is the mirage, seen usually in summer when temperatures soar above 50°C and most Bedu sleep away the day and travel, if they must, by night.
