Lives unravel in different ways on either slope of the Western Hajar. In Hob, with its back to sheer rock, Salma has been sitting by herself for years; over the peaks to the south bolts hammered into Jebel Misht tell of decades of struggling up the mountain; rosewater makers are stirring on the Sayq Plateau.

We have wrapped our identities around inanimate slopes and peaks over generations. Summits have gained in significance, and we perhaps in character. You will find a few of these stories in this issue, a handful from a range of mountain legends.

Pinaki Chakravarty
pinaki@apexstuff.com