Oh man! We're in Oman

This is the sight that greeted us as we sailed into the Sultan Qaboos Port--gateway to Muscat, Oman.  It was such a stark contrast to our recent visit to India!  Instead of overgrown tropical vegetation, the barren Al Hajar mountains.  Instead of mold blackened buildings, whitewash everywhere.  Instead of ornate Hindu temples, the clean lines and non-biologic decor of Muslim mosques.  Instead of open-door trains, buses, taxis, tuk-tuks and motorbikes, new highways used mostly by private cars.  Instead of sidewalks and streets streaming with humanity, hardly a person in sight.  Instead of cows and their accompanying manure creating a walking hazard, clean walkways.  Instead of women dressed in vibrantly colored saris, the women were covered head to toe in black.  Instead of Gothic or Indi-Sarasenic architecture, straight lines and rectangular shaped buildings.  The two countries could hardly be more different!

Forts like the Al-Mirani on the right dot the tops of hill-sides everywhere you look, but even these hold-overs from the Portuguese occupation in the 1500s have been carefully restored--no messy crumbling allowed.  

And as a greeting to welcome seafarers to the city, this symbolic frankincense burner just to the east of the harbor.  

 The Sultanate of Oman shares the Arabian Peninsula with Saudia Arabia, Yemen, and United Arab Emirates.  It is an absolute monarchy headed by Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said.  He is part of the Al Busaidi dynasty which has been in power since 1749.  Sultan Qaboos's father was an isolationist and the country was described as medieval during his reign.  Infant mortality was at 75%. There were 3 schools and only 5% literacy. There were only 6 kilometers of paved road.  Money from oil began to come into the country in 1965, but was not used to better the life of the citizens.  In 1970, Qaboos pulled off a bloodless coup and replaced his father as Sultan.  Within 10 years, he modernized the country with the profits from the oil reserves and built a well-developed infrastructure with roads, ports, airports, schools, and hospitals.  He is generally venerated by his subjects, but he has no heir and has been ill with cancer for several years, so there is some uncertainty about the future.
Notwithstanding the Sultan's generosity, which includes education and health-care in an income-tax free economy, he has retained a few perks for himself.  He owns the world's 4th and 5th largest yachts which are moored in the port along with our ship and another cruise ship, the Aida Stella.

Anchored in the middle of the small port was this dhow.  It has a long, thin hull and a triangular sail.  This kind of vessel has been long used to transport heavy cargo such as crates of fruit and vegetables in the waters of the Indian Ocean. 
The first stop on our excursion was to the Bait (home of) Al Zubair Museum.  The complex houses several galleries in addition to a gift shop and coffee shop, but we weren't allowed to take photos inside--not even in the gift shop.  The main museum building was originally the family home of Sheikh A Zubair bin Ali.  Our time there was short, but I enjoyed the displays of traditional men's and women's clothing from the different provinces of Oman.










The men wear the traditional dishdasha, a white, long-sleeved, ankle-length dress-like robe.  On their heads they wear a kuma.  Our guide told us that they are hand embroidered by the women of the family and can take as much as 4 months to make.
In the garden of the museum there is a scale model of a traditional Omani village, a palm frond hut containing household items, and a boat display.

While David was sitting in the courtyard by the coffee shop, some young women who were sitting at a nearby table got to talking with him about their plans to make items which could be sold at the gift shop.  Even their black abaya (cloak which covers their colorful clothing when outside their homes) and hijab (Muslim hair covering) couldn't cover their lively spirits. He was pleased to be able to interact with them.

We got back into the bus only to get back off again a couple of blocks later to visit the grounds of the Al Alam Palace--the Sultan's official palace.  
The public is not allowed inside this gate.  On the shield is the Omani emblem--the curved khanjar dagger over two crossed swords.  The khanjar is still worn by men in the front of the body, held in place by the belt, as a ceremonial dagger on special occasions. This emblem is on the national flag.










To the right of the ceremonial palace are the guest accommodations






More remnants of the Portuguese forts can be seen on the hills surrounding the palace.
This is the view looking away from the palace to the grand entrance.  The remarkable thing about this and other photos that we took on our visit was the lack of anyone else being there.  We had the place to ourselves.  What a contrast to my visit to the Grand Palace in Bangkok!




Another contrast are the stark, clean lines of the architecture.  
From our palace visit we drove for about a half hour through the newer part of Muscat to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque.  It was built from 1994-2001 by the Sultan as a gift to his subjects to commemorate his 30th year of reign.  Twenty thousand worshippers can come for any of the 5 daily prayers required by Islamic law.  The mosque was closed at the time we were there so we couldn't see the second largest carpet measuring 70 X 60 meters and weighing 20 tons.  

The tallest minaret stands 90 meters high.  This has become the maximum allowable height for any other building in the city--14 stories.

By placing the lens of my iPhone in one of the gaps of the ornate gate, I got this photo of echoing grand arches,stories.
Our guide was a charming young man named Hussain which he said means "a pleasing face".  As we drove, he told us about many aspects of Omani culture.  The national language is Arabic, although there are parts of the country where Swahili is spoken.  About 40% of the population is made up of ex-patriots, particularly from East Africa, who have come here to work.  He told us about the 5 pillars of the Muslim religion which include the 5 prayers a day.  He sang the "call to prayer" and translated it for us.  He told us about the courting, engagement and marriage customs and sang two wedding songs.  He showed how to tie the massar, or turban which is the more formal headdress.


Our last stop was to the Muttrah Souk or market.  I think the heat (in the 90s, but only about 50% humidity) had fried my brain and I didn't take any photos.  The fabric stalls were right at the entrance and I got mesmerized there.  After I spent my two 5 Rial bills (1 OR = 2.6 USD) shown here, I got on the shuttle bus to go back to the cool of the ship.

From Muscat, we will have six days at sea to traverse the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.  I don't expect there will be anything exciting to share during those days.  The choir is working on music for our fourth and last performance.  My quilt group meets every sea day to work on our projects.  I found two lovely pieces of fabric in the souk yesterday to put on my Middle East/Africa square.  Our trivia team doesn't score above third place, but we have some fun and some laughs.  David enjoys this reading.  We will have some long days in Egypt and six straight ports in the Mediterranean starting with Malta, so I hope this rest will get us ready for that.  


Comments

  1. I didn't know they wore colorful clothing under the black. This is all fascinating!

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