Slacklining is walking, running or balancing along a suspended length of flat webbing that is tensioned between two anchors. Tension can be adjusted to suit the user, and different webbing may be used in various circumstances.

Different types of Slacklining: Urbanlining, Tricklining, Highlining, Slackline Yoga, Rodeo Lines

Touring and snorkelling the “Ad Dimaniyat” Islands is, without a doubt, one of the most surprising and exciting things to do while in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.

The nine “Ad Dimaniyat” Islands are located almost 18 kilometers off the coast of Barka and are just 30 minutes away from the mainland by boat. The islands are home to some of the most beautiful coral reefs in Oman, as well as colorful fish, endangered sea turtles, whale sharks, Zebra Sharks, Morray Eals and Sting Rays.

Sultanate of Oman is always the wind and waves destination in the Middle East and becoming a very famous location among the kitesurfing community around the world for its perfect conditions with reliable wind in several spots.

Invited by Sea and Beach Projects, a sports experiences management company based in Oman, the legend Mitu Monteiro, kite wave world champion, 4X vice world champion and professional kite surfer from 2002, visited Sultanate of Oman for an 8 days wave riding clinic.

Muscat city is probably is the world’s best destination for Deep Water Soloing enthusiasts as they don’t need to worry about logistics and travel. The city itself has few spots to offer, yet no record shows when this sports discipline started in Oman, with years, it is well noticeable that numbers of DWSers are on the rise especially that Oman long coastline (3165 kms) offers many options. The major highlights are Qurum, Qantab and Musandam, but many beaches are still to be discovered.

The largest island in Oman and one of the most relaxing and chilled destination for a long weekend.

Masirah Island is filled with stunning beaches offering exciting water sports opportunities. This is a place where you can enjoy kitesurfing, surfing, diving, snorkeling, stand up paddling or simply chill at one of its many stunning empty beaches. The island is known as a paradise for kite surfers as it is always windy, with cool breeze pouring in from the Arabian Sea.

To get there, you need 4 hours’ drive from Muscat to Shannah port where you can take the official ferries or the old ones. Yet the official ones are faster but you pay few more rials.

The island also offers an unmatched experience of turtles watching as it is home to four different species of turtles whose habitat is on the Masirah beaches, including around 30,000 nesting female turtles (not allowed for public for the time being), as well as Flamingos and millions of other birds nesting in different spots around the island.

In a nutshell, regardless if you are Omani or a resident expat or a visitor, Masirah is a must do in Oman.

Skateboarding is an X-sport that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job and transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years.

Skateboarding would be represented at the 2020 summer Olympics in Tokyo for both male and female. Since the 1970s, skateparks have been constructed specifically for use by skateboarders, freestyle BMXers, aggressive skaters and lately Scooters.

This bulletin sheds the lights on one of Oman’s Skateboarding communities.

MTB is normal cycling! Yet it is mountain biking. It pretty much refers to any cycling that is off road, be it on jeep tracks or on single-track cutting through the hills. You just need to be able to ride a bike, as simple as this. The physical skills really depend on what and where you want to ride.

Sultanate of Oman offers plenty of lovely MTB areas and courses, some of them are natural but many others are manmade.

This month’s bulletin shed the light on a Mountain Biking event in Imti village, 300 years old Omani village which is 1 hour drive from the Capital Muscat driving towards Nizwa

Flyboarding water sport introduced for the 1st time in Sultanate of Oman in Bandar al Khairan Area near the capital Muscat. This new sport is becoming very popular in the GCC and Arab World

Qatar has perfect kite surfing conditions and it’s a peninsula surrounded by the open sea. There is consistent wind from the north coming straight from the sea which makes it perfect. Wind mostly pumps from November to July. Wind in the other 3 months a little bit low. The average wind condition is between 15 to 20 knots wind, which we have mostly during the season.

Qatar has a desert climate. The country experiences long summers from May to September characterized by intense dry heat, with temperatures rising above 45°C. Winter temperatures are mild but may fall below 5°C. Rainfall is only experienced during the winter with the northern parts of the country receiving 30% more rainfall than the south. Qatar is impacted by Shamal winds, which cause sand and dust storms throughout the year.

Most of the country (11,437 km2) consists of a low, barren plain, covered with sand. To the southeast lies the Khor al Adaid ("Inland Sea"), an area of rolling sand dunes surrounding an inlet of the Arabian Gulf. There are mild winters and very hot, humid summers.

The highest point in Qatar is Qurayn Abu al Bawl at 103 metres (338 ft) in the Jebel Dukhan to the west, a range of low limestone outcroppings running north-south from Zikrit through Umm Bab to the southern border.

No one can tell when surfing started in the Sultanate of Oman, yet everyone knows that Sultanate of Oman has a wide range of beaches with different orientations and conditions which makes it a great surfing destination in the region. The people, here, are very friendly, yet anyone needs to respect the culture by wearing reasonably covering swimsuits.

The Sultanate of Oman, recently, started attracting large numbers of tourists, yet it is obvious that surfers and kite surfing, from around the globe, have made the country on the to-do list and places to visit since The Sultanate of Oman seems to have a lot to offer as a significant surfing spot due to its long coastline (3165 Kms).

Considering surfing as a water sport dependent on waves and winds, the strong monsoon winds striking The Sultanate of Oman affect the surfing patterns and timings. The strongest winds, here, are the South-West and the North¬-East winds. While the former is prevalent from June to August, the latter is found from November to January. Hence, one can consider the time between June to January as a desirable time for surfing.

Kitesurfing is becoming a very popular sports across the Middle East. From Lebanon to Egypt or around the 6 GCC countries, wind conditions are suitable almost all year long allowing kite surfers to become wind chasers.

Kitesurfing is a lifestyle, where almost everyone knows everyone. A Community with equal opportunities. This is not an exclusive sport for muscular men, the water is open to all, and therefore, we can find hundreds of gorgeous female kitesurfers in professional and amateur wind peaks and contests.

In this issue of The Shutterlife Bulletin, we shed the light on 4 female kitesurfers from The Middle East: Amanda from the UAE, Rouba from Lebanon, Jo from Oman and Banan from Qatar.

From Sal Island, Cabo Verde Mitu Monteiro grew up in Santa Maria in a poor family in a small fishing village. At the age of 16, I decided to leave school and dedicate myself to my real passion.

He borrowed kites to learn and after three months he had enough money to buy his first kite. His first board came from a fisherman who had found it in the sea. He was the only Cape Verdean who knew how to kitesurf.

When he first started riding strapless it wasn’t because it was in vogue at the time, it was simply because he didn’t have any other board. So, he used his surfboard for kiting. When he looks back and sees how far strapless has come, he couldn’t be happier. He is filled with pride when he sees young Cape Verdeans, who used to watch me practicing his tricks, now pushing the level higher, becoming champions themselves all over the world.

In 2022, Mitu made to Sultanate of Oman where he spent more than a month surfing and coaching surfers from the region, but most of all enjoyed his time to the max and promised to come back again.