I think the latest image is definitely an improvement, Abu Lafia.

I personally would make the deep parts of the ocean even darker (much much darker; nearly black), but if you are happy then leave it as it is.

I think what this map would really benefit from is some colour variation on the main landmass. The way I would do it is
--create a new layer (above your other colour layers),
--give the layer the following layer styles:
------colour overlay (set to 100% and choose, say, a pale green)
------set layer to multiply
--choose a brush (preferably a grungy brush, if you have one or can download one),
--set the opacity of the brush very low (~20-30%), and
--just paint over the mountains. At first, because the brush opacity is so low, you won't see much difference. Paint over again to make the 'pigment' thicker in some areas (say, the peaks of the mountains) and continue doing that until it starts looking right.
--The great thing about this method is that you can simply go to the colour overlay options, and change the colour whenever you want; you can also play around with layer opacity, and all kind of other settings.
*I do not know if GIMP has the same options as Photoshop, but I am assuming it has some close equivalent.

I would then repeat the above steps to add some variation to the desert areas, to the coasts; maybe some areas should look greener (eg near the coast, in the north), maybe some should look more yellow or brown.

THW