This page is dedicated to Ya'qoub Sulaiyam, our 4WD driver.
Besides his unbeatable skills driving the Toyota Landcruiser 4500 EFI on all terrains Ya'qoub enjoyed showing us the beauty of his country. He drove us to places from which we thought it was impossible (too steep, too narrow, too sandy, too much water) to drive in a car. Although his route may have been adventurous, we never felt any fear that Ya'qoub might lose control of the vehicle. He was never too tired to show us an extra highlight, driving into a great wadi even when the sun was already setting, and there were some more 300 km to drive to bring us back to our hotel. Thanks a lot, Ya'qoub !

Some Omanis obviously take care of their cars (see the car parking on a carpet on the picture above) while others don't.
After carving through the sand at low tide, the Jeep Wrangler of a maniac driver got caught by undersea cables. In effort to get the car out of the rising sea - the tide was slowly but inevitably coming in - two other 4WD almost suffered the same fate. At the very last moment before getting swallowed by the water, a truck with an electric winch freed the vehicle - just to give the Jeep driver another opportunity to shred the sand.



© photos by Thomas Gramanitsch - February 2005

created: 15.3.2005 - updated: 18.8.2005 - minor changes : 30.12.2021  -  © Th.Gramanitsch