Maybe it's the larrikin in me but I never tire of careering over desert sands in four-wheel-drives.

Unlike some desert landscapes, Oman's interior is extremely mountainous - sand and gravel deserts are broken up by rugged, striated, folded mountains in which nestle oases or wadis (river beds).

Invaders hoping to capture Oman's Nizwa fort in centuries past would have had some medieval defence methods to deal with.

The inland Omani town of Nizwa is separated from the Gulf of Oman and the city of Muscat by the Jebel Akhdar mountains. It is home to the largest fort on the Arabian Peninsula and is still a great place to buy traditional Omani wares.

Tame Iti and his colleagues weren't the only ones on trial for the past five weeks. The terrorism claims in the still-unresolved Urewera case have revealed deep divisions over Maori and Pakeha

This mountain village has an abundance of greenery despite its hostile desert surroundings thanks to the village falaj - a centuries-old irrigation system, bringing water from the mountains to make the arid landscape flourish.

In Oman's harsh mountains water equals paradise, turning desolation into lush gardens, Jim Eagles explains.

This coastal city has been turning out sea-going vessels for thousands of years.

Jill Worrall visits an Omani shipyard which has been turning out vessels for thousands of years.

Sultan Qaboos ibn Said (whose family has been in power since 1747), is the current ruler of Oman and is revered and loved throughout the country, perhaps in part because he has funded projects such as this glittering mosque, which was opened in 2001 after a six-year building project and can accommodate 20,000 worshippers.

There is much being said, blogged, filmed, and even drawn, about the situation in Syria, where death is a daily fact of life.

Whisking your loved one to one of these romantic retreats will impress.

On a trip to Oman, Jim Eagles heads to the 'Grand Canyon of Arabia' and navigates sheer drops and rock falls to visit an abandoned cliff face village.