Beauty in Muscat

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Geo: 23.6065, 58.5881

Breakfast in the suite to start the day, but we did not have to get up early. The shore excursion to Muscat met at 9:00. We were in line early wanting to be on one of the first buses out. As it turned out we were too early and had to wait in line with a lot of other passengers while the ship finished clearing customs and was allowed to let people disembark.

Loading 18 passengers and three tour guide trainees was fairly quick. Again, the bus is less than half full. At the exit to the port, the bus pulled to the side and stopped so all the passengers could go through security inside the terminal. We put our handbags through the x-ray machine, retrieved them, and then walked completely through the building and out a different door to get back around to the bus. The guide did not ask us to bring everything in for inspection so I (and several others) left my tote bag on the bus. Perhaps the officer went through the bus while we were in the building.

After clearing customs, we drove to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque since non-Muslim visitors are only allowed to be in the mosque until 11:00 a.m. We needed to go there first if we were going to see the inside. The guide took us through several areas of the indoor and outdoor sections of the mosque. He said that it is the fourth largest mosque in the world after ones in Mecca, Medina, and Abu Dhabi. It is amazing. The photos cannot begin to show the beauty of the building and grounds.

The guide answered questions freely although he wasn't as openly friendly as the guide in Salalah. Not unfriendly, just not as personable. I didn't hear the question, but one of the passengers on our bus, an Indian man who has lived in London for many years, asked something about the sultan that got the response from the guide to the effect of, "You can't let a policeman hear you ask that. You could be arrested.” It is inappropriate to ask anything personal about the Sultan Qaboos or his family. You can't even ask if he is married or if he has children. He will tell you if you are to know. The 75-year-old sultan spent much of last year in Germany undergoing treatment for an abdominal cancer, but no one knows the details. The sultan was married twice, but has no children. The line of succession is unclear, but he will probably be succeeded by a cousin.

This sultan has been responsible for bringing progress to the country. When he took over from his ailing father in 1970, there were very few cars and only one paved road of about six miles in the entire country connecting Muscat to Muttrah. Now the country has all modern conveniences, but has been able to retain its charming national characteristics, too. There are no taxes in Oman which provides many free services for its citizens. Oil was discovered in 1939 and large natural gas reserves were discovered later which support the country.

The tribes also support each other. The guide explained that when one member of his tribe had to have expensive surgery, all of the members of the tribe who were working and able contributed to pay the hospital bill. His portion was equal to just over $200. Any man who was not working, women with families, and old people were not expected to pay.

He talked a bit about family life saying that now most men had one wife although Islam allows them to have as many as four wives. It is too expensive, and they do not need a lot of wives bearing children to continue the family lines as they did when the infant mortality rate was much higher.

Conservative dress for both men and women is required to enter the mosque. Women must cover with long sleeves and long pants or skirts and hair must be covered. Men could wear short sleeves, but no short pants. Shoes are removed and placed in separate bins for them before entering buildings. One of the women from our bus was dressed totally inappropriately even though the ship had been clear about the expectations. They took her aside and put her in a full black dishdasha that she had to wear for the rest of the visit. Looked very hot, but she seemed to enjoy the attention.

After leaving the mosque, the bus driver went by way of the corniche along the water to drop us off at the Muttrah souq for 45 minutes of shopping. We roamed around it a bit and walked up and down the main street and across it for a better look at the pier. One of the sultan's yachts was docked there. That was much more shopping time than we needed. There and while driving, we saw a number of people in traditional dress, but there were just as many men in Western clothes. I don't remember seeing any women in Western clothes except those who appeared to be tourists.

We visited the Bait al Zubair Museum to see Oman's largest private collection of artifacts. It is in the former home of the Al Zubair family and was given by them to the sultanate. While there, I went to the women's washroom only to find a man inside. I backed out to recheck the sign thinking I was in the right one but immediately doubting myself. He motioned for me to come in, and he left. He was there only for cleaning. As I left and met Philip at the door, we realized that same man was saying something to us, but we didn't understand at first. He was saying "From?”, “From?” We told him that we were from America. He smiled broadly and said, “I'm from India.” He was really eager to engage, but that seemed to be the extent of his English, and we don't know any Hindi so the conversation ended with a couple of friendly “Bye-bye”s.

Observed while driving today:
The LuLu Hypermarket that sold groceries, clothing, furniture, automotive items and more.
Much public art around, and the dividers between and beside streets are usually covered with artistic flower displays.
The sultan's image is widely used on retail and professional buildings.
All the buildings are white. It is the only color allowed. Some have accent colors, but not many.
The traffic is thick and slow like any major city, and we are there after rush hour.

Final stop was for photos at the Al Alam Palace. It is huge, with many buildings, and used now only as a ceremonial palace when officials make state visits. The sultan divides his time between his four other palaces.

On the bus ride back to the ship, the driver asked if we felt safe in his country. Everyone agreed that they felt safe. I didn't feel uncomfortable at all even in the crowded market. He said that he didn't understand why people feel unsafe here. “We are not like other Arab countries.” He went on to give a bit of a lecture on the Muslim religion saying it is a peaceful religion. No religion, including Islam, advocates for killing people. When the jihadists say they are killing in the name of Muslims and Allah, they are not. Muhammad never advocated killing. It is just like every other group. Most people are great, and the few that are not get all the press. The guide in Israel said something very similar. She said that the people of different religions get along fine. It is just the governments that can't agree on precise borders and such.

When the bus arrived at the entry to the port, the driver pulled over and stopped. A security police officer came on board the bus and checked all the passengers' documents. He did not go to the very back of the bus where the tour guide trainees were sitting to check them out. Perhaps their company shirts were enough ID.

Dinner was in Restaurant 2 for a different tasting menu. Extremely good again with good company—a British couple from Birmingham. We enjoyed talking with them mostly about traveling in the UK and Ireland.

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