Cultural Muscat

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Waking up this morning (Saturday 4/2) I feel awful, streaming nose and a hacking cough. I’ve tested negative for Covid but I feel very self conscious coughing so much in an environment where people are so concerned with sickness. So the long and the short of it is I am going to spend today in our cabin enjoying the sun on the balcony and recovering from my cold. Unfortunately that means Ian will be writing for you today. You have been warned!



I am temporarily leaving the Plague Ship Queen Mary 2 for the Impressions of Muscat tour. The first stop is the Grand Mosque. It is the fourth biggest mosque in the World and was finished in 2006. The Grand Mosque in Dubai was finished in 2008 and in the style so typical of the region, Dubai had to have everything bigger and better than anyone else. So while the big chandelier in Muscat is 8 tons of gold and Swarovski crystal it is only the second biggest in the world. The giant carpet covering the prayer room is at 21 tons the second biggest one piece carpet in the world. In both cases, the Dubai example is bigger, heavier, blingier etc.



Dress code for entry is precise and rigorously enforced. But it seems many women either didn’t read the instructions or were happier confident that they didn’t apply to them. Some get a little cross when they are told very directly that they must cover up. (Suitable garments can be bought or rented at the entrance.) One lady is particularly indignant as her dress covers her shoulders and arms down to her wrists. It is only when she turns round I see that aside from a few scraps of lace it doesn’t have a back. Regardless, eventually everyone is suitably attired and let in.



The entire building is a single work of art and truly spectacular. Turquoise geometric tiles, marble carved with verses from the Koran, gold, crystal and teak ceilings / doors carved with intricate designs. Amusingly a workman passes us on a sit on floor buffer polishing the marble pavement. The gardens around the Mosque with its channels for small streams and shady trees are beautiful and frame the entrance to the Mosque wonderfully. The bright clear blue skies also set off the golden stone used for much of the Mosque.



After the Mosque we are taken to the old souk. It is very expansive and almost without exception the traders do no hassle you. I buy some more fabric for Bridget, I bargain and get a little off the asking price, but I suspect not as much as a proper local would have. The spice stalls have large buckets of brightly coloured seeds, powders and so on ranged in front of the entrances. The scent is amazing.



Next stop a small museum. We only have half an hour there so it is a case of viewing only part of the displays. Given my interest in weapons I look at the displays of rifles etc. Interestingly many are old British WWI and WWII pieces, but all have had silver wire and inlays put onto them to transform them from something very utilitarian into something more artistic.



The final halt is at the ‘spare palace’. It was the Royal Palace until 1972, but then the Sultan built a new one. The old palace was given over as a guest house for visiting royals (Queen Elizabeth II stayed twice). Apparently he has a number of palaces around the Sultanate and he uses them as places to meet the people in the large plazas around them. The population gather and he asks what they want, they say “a new hospital” or whatever and he builds one. At least that is how the guide put it. How it actually works I’m not sure but it appears to be democracy Oman style.



Overall impressions? A spotlessly clean place, no graffiti, people seemingly content enough. Absolutely no feeling of hostility or underlying potential violence as we have experienced in other countries (not necessarily on this voyage). Hospitals and schools every mile or so. Apparently there are about 4m people living in the country. 52% are Omani, the remaining 48% are migrant workers, mainly from India / Pakistan. Approximately 60% of the nationals are employed by the Government as civil servants, medical staff, teachers, police, soldiers etc. So perhaps essentially the oil and gas wealth is being used to effectively buy acceptance. With fuel supplying 80% of the country’s income, you wonder how long this can continue. Surely the entire Middle East can’t rely on tourism?

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