Blogs from Muscat, Oman, Middle East - page 6

April 16th, cruised all day and night and a half day on the 17tharriving in Muscat, Oman at 1:00 pm. It took us a day and a half to cross the top of the Arabian Sea and then into the Gulf of Oman. What a mountainous, bleak, arid looking land off the port side of our ship. I had expected flat desert; instead, it is volcanic jagged peaks right down to the water line. Oman’s civilization dates back 5,000 years. In Biblical times, it was the center of the frankincense trade, which was more valuable than gold during the time of Christ. We pulled into Muscat, the capitol of Oman, where we had about a 7-hour stop to look around. The small bay we docked in gave us the impression that Muscat was a small city ... read more

RUBBISH A friend of mine who has spent a deal of time in this region described the Omani people to me as "the hippies of the gulf". I didn't notice any peace sign neck chains, dreadlocks or groups of locals sitting around eating bird seed and smoking numbers whilst discussing the kaleidoscope of colours on the domes of mosques. I do however see some merit in the simile with the general kick back nature of the populace. There's no wild antics, animated gesticulating or hints of aggressive behaviour, as if they have been inhaling a few of those less than licit substances. There's even a semblance of sanity in the traffic. Good news is no news. That's why you have probably never seen Oman occupying the headlines of international media. Flying under the radar is a ... read more

Muscat, Oman... what a beautiful city and country. Unfortunately we only had a brief flying visit in to Muscat to visit our friend Topsy, however we hope to return soon to explore more. I snapped away for the brief time we were there, not great quality photos... but I thought it would give you a tiny glimpse, as it did for us. We have driven through the spectacular rocky mountains in the north on previous occasions, but this was our first visit to Muscat. It was refreshing to be away from the skyscrapers and traffic of Dubai. To see people going about their daily business and the historic fishing village area, with winding streets in the sand, decorative doors on the walled houses, leading in to inner courtyards...this was also a breath of fresh air after ... read more

What a lot you can do in 4 days here in Oman. And many thanks to Tamsin and her family I have been most warmly welcomed here from a pickup at the airport to a comfy bed in their lovely villa, swimming in their pool and delicious food. They've been my tour guides and even gave me a car to drive. What it is to have such generous warmhearted friends. In between lazing around in the garden and swimming in my first 2 days there has been a visit to the Souq, Muttrah old town and harbour , lunch at the Marina overlooked by the British Ambassador's residence and then a visit to one of Oman's many forts. The souq is fabulous with such a range of goodies-from giant pans (imagine them full of rice and ... read more

After a splendid evening's meal accompanied by a cheeky Morrocan Shiraz (went very well with the Kofti Tagine - beef meatballs to you and me) I was up with the lark (or whatever the Omani equivalent is) and breakfast was taken at 8:30. Today is Friday and therefore the Holy day and you could feel a very different, more reverential atmosphere about the hotel. The sun was back with a vengeance and as we made our way to the pool the sky was beautifully cloudless and with the blue sea made a perfect picture (which I'll include later) The morning was spent soaking up the rays with the only disturbance being the delivery of the coolbox containing the iced water and Evian face mister thingy. This was followed mid morning by the lady with the iced ... read more