Muscat, Oman

Sailing to Oman, we continued through the Straits of Hormous, passed along the coastline of Iran, and entered the Gulf of Oman. It is said that people have been living in Oman for over 5,000 years.

We docked in the Sultan Qaboos Port, where we saw both a British Naval ship and a U. S. Naval ship. As the U.S. ship pulled away from the dock close to where we waited for a bus, I wanted to jump up and down and wave as it went by, but John called that the bus wouldn’t wait for me any longer. Disappointing.

A 14^th century fort and watchtowers built by the Portuguese lined the hills along the seafront. For such a small country, those Portuguese really got around. The area was quite arid and covered with rocky hills close to the city and tall mountains behind it. When you looked at the hills, from one direction they looked tan, and from another direction, almost golden in color. Plants and flowers along the seafront and along the roads helped the area feel less arid.

14^th Century Portuguese Fort

Muscat was quite different from Dubai—more like we expected a country in the Middle East to look. One of the biggest differences was the absence of tall buildings or skyscrapers. The government imposed a height limitation of eight stories on buildings, which has enabled them to blend more modern buildings with the old and preserving a sense of real Oman. Structures are built of cinderblocks covered with stucco, and the soft tan colors of the buildings harmonize with the surrounding terrain. It made for a beautiful community.

Leaving the port area, we went into Muscat and visited the Mutrah Souk. As soon as we entered the covered souk, which was a warren of alleyways so convoluted that we totally got lost in it, we were struck by the smell of incense and spices. Shops sold a large variety of items, including beautiful marquetry boxes; scarves from India; decorative silver daggers; belly dancer outfits; pattern sheets for henna tattoos; Hello Kitty purses; and real authentic, locally made Burberry scarves. We even saw some U. S. items marked As seen on TV.

Mutrah Souk

The clothing worn by women seemed to be less restrictive than in some of the other countries we’ve visited. Although they still wore black robes and veils, some of the robes had designs on the fronts of their robes, and they wore colorful veils. One woman had pink pants with white polka dots underneath her robe, which we could see when the wind raised the bottom of her robe, and she wore pink tennis shoes. Perhaps she was just a visitor who wore a robe. The robe and veil would give you a sense of anonymity. Men wore white robes and hats that had intricate embroidery and resembled pillbox hats worn by women in the 1960s.

Robed Men

In addition to the souks, shops and shopping centers were scattered throughout the city. Instead of supermarkets, they have hypermarkets.

We met a British couple last year who work in Oman. They said that Oman is a very forward thinking country and a good place to live. Women could drive and had greater freedoms there than other places in the Middle East. We saw both mosques and churches there, and signs in both Arabic and English. There are 2.7 million people in Oman. Two million are Omanis, and the remainder are people who came from other countries to work there. People who move to Oman can become citizens after 20 years of residency.

To see Muscat, we took the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus, which gave us a two-hour tour of the city, and we covered quite a lot of it. It was an extremely hot day, but we were comfortable on the covered upper deck, with the wind blowing around us. Recorded commentary gave us information about the city and its people.

The countryside was quite barren, although we were told that the distant mountains had a variety of plant life. This area of Oman has not been blessed with wide beaches. In fact, when the tide is in, the beaches become quite narrow. Mangrove swamps help to preserve the little beachfront they have. We could see dates hanging from palm trees. The date palm is very important to the local economy, providing food and fronds they use for shelter.

Muscat was different from western cities but the same in many ways. It was filled with motorways with heavy traffic, large billboards, KFCs, and Pizza Hut. (In Dubai, they even had a Five Guys restaurant, which was started by brothers in our area of the U.S. only a few years ago. How they’ve grown, even becoming international.) The people participate in bicycle races (the Tour of Oman), runs for many causes, and other challenges. Flip-flops seemed to be the preferred footwear.

We crossed over riverbeds that were completely dry except for small puddles of water, where birds were playing. Although the riverbeds were dry, flash floods can occur without much warning. Frankincense trees abound in Oman and provide high quality frankincense. I remember frankincense from the Bible, but didn’t realize people still use it. Apparently, it is used in perfumes such as Opium. Many women returned to the ship with it and you could smell the sickly sweet odor of it all over the ship.

We passed a number of spectacular places, including one of the palaces for the royal family of Oman; the new opera house, which was designed in the style of an old fort with crenelated tops, and the new parliament/government buildings. They were all quite beautiful and suited the surrounding area. We also passed a number of mosques, some modest, and others quite grand.

Palace

Royal Opera House

Government Buildings

The strangest structure we saw was the Incense Burner, which sat on a hill along the coast. It looked more like a spaceship from a 1950s movie.

The Incense Burner

Our tour took us through a new housing development. Again, all of the houses were the same color and like square boxes in style. We were told that if you visit a home here, that it is an insult to refuse refreshments or not finish what you are served. Traditionally, you would be served a small amount of something to drink so that if you didn’t like it you could finish it without giving insult. If they offer you more, then you could refuse or accept, as you want. Also, if the man of the house is away from home, it is totally unacceptable for another man to enter the house, even a relative of the woman of the house.

We left Muscat early in the evening, disappointed that we didn’t have time to see more of it.

Leaving Muscat

After we sailed away from Muscat, the captain announced that the Royal Navy would be conducting another anti-piracy demonstration, this one at dusk. During our time in the area, we always felt that an RN ship wasn’t far away.

When the ship came close, two launches commanded by Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines sailed around the ship, and a helicopter circled overhead, showing their ability to counter pirate activity. It was another exciting demonstration and much appreciated by the passengers. It looked like the men on the launches were having a good time performing for the passengers lining the decks. They were zipping through the water and bouncing over wakes at a rapid pace. Afterwards, the QE sounded its deep horn and we bid farewell to the Defender, waving to the crew on Defender, who were waving back.  

HMS Defender

HMS Defender and Launches

The next day, the captain announced that because we were transiting the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden, and the Red Sea, an area well documented for piracy, the ship would be instituting extra security measures that included darkening the ship at night, restricting passenger access on open decks, and posting extra security personnel on outside decks. They also positioned high-powered hoses on deck that could be used against anyone who might come too close to the ship or act aggressively.

High-powered Hoses

Deck Security (his face covered to protect from sunburn)

Sound Deterrent Equipment

We were given guidelines on what to do if there were actual pirate activity. We were told to return to our staterooms and sit in the corridor outside our rooms but not in front of the door. A drill was conducted and we did just that. We were assured that the threat of an attack was very slim, but we felt comfortable knowing that the crew was prepared if it did happen.

Mother, I’m writing this days later, so you don’t need to worry. We’re well away from the area.