Accommodation in Ibri, Oman

Our accommodation in Ibri was organised by the company who recruited us.
If you decide to teach in the Middle East or Gulf countries, it seems to be common practice to have accommodation organised or to be given a housing allowance.
All the furniture was also provided.

This is the view of the front of our apartment building.
We lived on top of a furniture store, on a busy street in the village.

We lived in the middle of a construction site which made the desert even dustier! Just nearby was a falaj. Weddings were held there most weekends, so the evening air was filled with music and chatting. The foundations of the construction site next door were flooded during the wadi, undoing months of work.

It was incredible to experience a wadi. In seconds, a dry dust bowl was filled with rushing torrents. This is the view from the front of our apartment building after a wadi. Unfortunately, the wadis kept us trapped a few weekends, since it was too dangerous to drive anywhere because we could get washed away or became trapped for hours until the water subsided again.

On to the inside of our flat. Here is the kitchen on the left, entrance hall in the middle, third bedroom on the right, and entrance to the second bathroom on the extreme right, all viewed from the lounge. We lived on the third floor, which made bringing our drinking water up the stairs a real treat.

The kitchen was small, but adequate for the two of us.

A different angle.

This is the main bedroom, as it was laid out when we arrived. The beautiful bedspread was a gift from my mother.

I have a tendency to try the furniture in lots of different ways to see what looks best, or because it is time for a change. It drives Rheedan nuts, since he has to do the heavy lifting! This is a later rendition of the main bedroom. We bought an air purifier to help with all the dust.

The main bedroom from a different angle. The ensuite bathroom can be glimpsed in the corner.

The bathroom was decently sized, with a sitting bath/shower combination that seems common in Oman.

This is the second bedroom, which became an exercise room/office/storage place for all of Rheedan’s camera equipment.

A different room arrangement for the second bedroom/office, with the blankets and curtains provided by the recruiting company.

Here’s a shot to give you an idea of the dimensions on the flat: second bathroom on the left, second bedroom in the middle, main bedroom on the right.

This is the third bedroom, with another blanket chosen by the recruiters.

It became a massive walk-in cupboard/laundry/ironing room.

This is the lounge,

This is the lounge covered in fabric,

which I bought from this store in Muscat. I’m overwhelmed by all the beautiful fabric, which originally comes from India.

Finally, here is a schematic of our flat.

Overall, our accommodation in Oman was comfortable, and it was convenient to have everything organised for us.