“Andy in Oman” – 2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

About 55,000 tourists visit Liechtenstein every year. This blog was viewed about 450,000 times in 2012. If it were Liechtenstein, it would take about 8 years for that many people to see it. Your blog had more visits than a small country in Europe!

Click here to see the complete report.  In its last full week of 2012, this blog had 12,155 views and in the last month it reached 50,237 views.

A big thanks to all the readers out there, whether you are a “silent reader” or an avid commenter.  Amazing that so many of you keep coming back! 😉  A big thanks to the #1 blogger in Oman, Muscat Mutterings, who sends a fair bit of traffic my way. Other high referring sites have been Dhofari Gucci and CatBirdinOman (aka “Nomad in Nizwa“). Cathy has found herself on the top referring sites list AND #1 on the most active commenter list! 🙂 (Sounds like you’ve won yourself a free dinner with the Browns, if you’re interested, Cathy!)   Wishing all of you and yours a blessed 2013 free from harm, worry, misery and defeat  and instead filled with the blessings, provisions, protection and victory of/from God!

Weekly Photo Challenge: My 2012 in Pictures

My 2012 in Pictures. Do I need to say more? And you knew this was going to be a multi-photo challenge! Make sure you include picture captions to explain to people what they’re seeing, and experiment with the tiled galleries I love so much. I know it’s going to be hard to narrow down those pictures, maybe perhaps try to share 12 – one from every month?

Pick the best pictures from your 2012 and have those pictures tell everyone about your year.

Bassa Beach in Musandam, January 2012

Omani man from Suwaiq demonstrates how they collect dates at the Muscat Festival

The wife and I went to 4 different performances at ROHM.

Royal Opera House Muscat has become a real icon of Oman.

Bukha Fort in Musandam, Oman

Saw these gentlemen perform at ROHM and SQU!

Highlight of the year! Arrival of our precious daughter, Naomi, on April 7th!

Stayed at the Al Bustan in June!

Stayed at the Shangrila in August

Qualified as PADI Open Water Diver in August and Advanced Diver in October

Invietd to Redbull Cliff Diving Championship at Wadi Shab as “Media” in VIP section!

Family weekend at Millennium Resort Mussanah

Visited Arabian Oryx Sanctuary in October

Great vacation spent at Hilton Salalah Resort in November

Gorgeous Beach in Duqm

Invited to Redbull FMX stunt show at Oman Motorshow 2012

Visited Wadi Dayqah Dam – the largest dam in Oman! Built this year.

Enjoyed another visit to Bimmah Sinkhole Park

GORGEOUS Fazayah Beach near Salalah on family trip

Loved this visual reminder of God’s blessings throughout 2012!  If not for God’s blessings we would have been “swallowed up” a thousand times over.  “If the LORD had not been on our side, when men came against us, then they would have devoured us alive, when their anger burned against us.” (Psalm 124:2)  But instead, “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.” (Psalm 28:7)