Friday, February 2nd - The Sultanate of Oman, Sohar to Muscat
Oman is spectacular.
Oman is not principally a land of deserts but rather a dramatic area of dry, jagged mountains with narrow river valleys (wadis) between. The evidence of Oman's tribal past is everywhere, with ruined forts commanding every important vantage point. Much of Oman remains hidden in remote valleys and there is a feeling of self-imposed isolation here at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula.
We spent the night in Sohar. This town was once much larger, being the centre of an empire stretching from Inda to Africa. This was where the legendary Sinbad the Sailor set out on his voyages. Today Sohar is a sleepy shadow of its former glory.
Our local guide is Masut. Finally - a native of one of the countries we visit! He's dressed in his traditional dishdash and a little cap (many photos to follow). This is his casual dress. When he goes to the office he must wear his head scarf, typical of what you see the Kuwaitis or Saudis where. Oman is a very large country of 309,000 square km. 15% is mountains, 82% is desert and 3% is coastal plain. Many bedu still live a nomadic life here. I believe I referred to them as bedouin in past posts. Indeed you see the word all the time. Bedouin, apparently according to Masut, is incorrect as it is a double plural. For example, he has five childrens.
The Sultan of Oman is His Majesty Qaboos. His father before him was a strict ruler. He even locked all the gates of the capital, Muscat, at sundown to keep out bad influences. In 1970 Qaboos initiated a coup and had his father exiled to Europe (a similar situation happened in one of the other countries we visited - can't remember which one).
Like many of the Arabian leaders, Qaboos is a kind and benevolent man. Each year he takes a 1 month tour of the country with all his ministers. Anyone who has any issue can bring it to his attention. If it involves a particular ministry, he summons the minister from another tent and it is dealt with. We think WE have a democracy! Unlike the other countries we visited, Oman is 75% Omani with only 25% expats. The country is tolerant of all religions. However life here is still reminiscent of the tribal days. Masut tells us that he his father had 4 wives, so Masut has 25 brothers and sisters. I ask about the relationship he has with the brothers and sisters that are his 'step brothers and sisters' or whatever you want to call them. He says there is no difference regardless of which wife they were born to. It's one big happy family. Family here is very important. They get together frequently and call each other every day...wow! If he calls one 'mother' the other will ask if he has spoken to his other mothers and why not. It's fascinating.
There are 300 tribes in Oman.
The Sultan had one wife only and divorced after a year. His will states who should succeed him. BUT, upon his death all his deputies get together for three days and decide who is going to take the throne ( a family member of course). Only if they can't decide, then his will is opened to pick the next Sultan. That's trust!
We arrive in beautiful, and I mean beautiful Muscat, the capital. It was voted the cleanest city in the world by the UN and I would support that designation. It is immaculate. All the streets are lined with beautiful flowers and palms. Unlike every other city we visited there are no sky scrapers here. All the buildings are whitewashed so it has a Greek Island feel and look. The city is long and sprawling and spans about 50 km along the Arabian Sea.
In the evening we visited the Muscat Festival which was wild. It was us and the locals - thousands of them. I still can't help staring at the beautiful arabic clothing. I have lots of photos which will later demonstrate this. To see a little kid of 10 in his dishdash and hat is adorable.
I come across a bunch of young Omani teenagers. Here, the greeting is a hoot. They rub noses a bunch of times and make kissing sounds. Let me tell you, this is not something you would see in Charlottetown. To see 10 teenage guys going through this process with all their friends is a fascinating site, not to say a long one.
We spent the night in Sohar. This town was once much larger, being the centre of an empire stretching from Inda to Africa. This was where the legendary Sinbad the Sailor set out on his voyages. Today Sohar is a sleepy shadow of its former glory.
Our local guide is Masut. Finally - a native of one of the countries we visit! He's dressed in his traditional dishdash and a little cap (many photos to follow). This is his casual dress. When he goes to the office he must wear his head scarf, typical of what you see the Kuwaitis or Saudis where. Oman is a very large country of 309,000 square km. 15% is mountains, 82% is desert and 3% is coastal plain. Many bedu still live a nomadic life here. I believe I referred to them as bedouin in past posts. Indeed you see the word all the time. Bedouin, apparently according to Masut, is incorrect as it is a double plural. For example, he has five childrens.
The Sultan of Oman is His Majesty Qaboos. His father before him was a strict ruler. He even locked all the gates of the capital, Muscat, at sundown to keep out bad influences. In 1970 Qaboos initiated a coup and had his father exiled to Europe (a similar situation happened in one of the other countries we visited - can't remember which one).
Like many of the Arabian leaders, Qaboos is a kind and benevolent man. Each year he takes a 1 month tour of the country with all his ministers. Anyone who has any issue can bring it to his attention. If it involves a particular ministry, he summons the minister from another tent and it is dealt with. We think WE have a democracy! Unlike the other countries we visited, Oman is 75% Omani with only 25% expats. The country is tolerant of all religions. However life here is still reminiscent of the tribal days. Masut tells us that he his father had 4 wives, so Masut has 25 brothers and sisters. I ask about the relationship he has with the brothers and sisters that are his 'step brothers and sisters' or whatever you want to call them. He says there is no difference regardless of which wife they were born to. It's one big happy family. Family here is very important. They get together frequently and call each other every day...wow! If he calls one 'mother' the other will ask if he has spoken to his other mothers and why not. It's fascinating.
There are 300 tribes in Oman.
The Sultan had one wife only and divorced after a year. His will states who should succeed him. BUT, upon his death all his deputies get together for three days and decide who is going to take the throne ( a family member of course). Only if they can't decide, then his will is opened to pick the next Sultan. That's trust!
We arrive in beautiful, and I mean beautiful Muscat, the capital. It was voted the cleanest city in the world by the UN and I would support that designation. It is immaculate. All the streets are lined with beautiful flowers and palms. Unlike every other city we visited there are no sky scrapers here. All the buildings are whitewashed so it has a Greek Island feel and look. The city is long and sprawling and spans about 50 km along the Arabian Sea.
In the evening we visited the Muscat Festival which was wild. It was us and the locals - thousands of them. I still can't help staring at the beautiful arabic clothing. I have lots of photos which will later demonstrate this. To see a little kid of 10 in his dishdash and hat is adorable.
I come across a bunch of young Omani teenagers. Here, the greeting is a hoot. They rub noses a bunch of times and make kissing sounds. Let me tell you, this is not something you would see in Charlottetown. To see 10 teenage guys going through this process with all their friends is a fascinating site, not to say a long one.
The mother of these young Omani kids insisted I take their photo. She was very proud.
One of my favourite shots of the entire trip. This was in the Grand Qaboos Mosque. I am not sure if the four boys were brothers, but they walked hand-in-hand, without parents, for about an hour - taking in the sights of the mosque.
Young Arabs going to pray in the Qaboos Mosque.Masut tells us of the greetings here. You have to ask all sorts of questions, how are you? How is the family? How is work? What is the news? This is everytime you meet someone so it all very short with the questions being flung back and forth at the same time to save time. Of course, if you sit for coffee, then you get the real news.
One thing I neglected to mention was some of the local customs of the entire Gulf region that can get you into trouble or confuse if you are not familiar with them.
If you see a woman with a baby and you go up and say goo goo what a beautiful baby etc. you MUST say marshalla three times or you will offend. It basically means "may allah bless this baby" otherwise the mother may think you are jealous and it gets messy. I learned that one the hard way.
Next, I couldn't figure out why the kids weren't jumping at my offer of chocolate bars. I would often be greeted with a polite 'la' (No). Well, it is impolite to take a gift on the first offer, so you have to offer it three times. Three seems to be a signifcant number here. Remember if you say "I divorce you three times", it's a done deal.
Under the category of having just enough information to be dangerous...
I can now have a basic conversation with someone in Arabic. I should point out too that thee is no standard way of writing the Arabic in english so you may see it written many different ways. A good example is the word for market (suk, sook, souk are all seen). Almost everything here is written in both english and arabic - even rural store signs.
As salam allaykoom (peace be with you)One thing I neglected to mention was some of the local customs of the entire Gulf region that can get you into trouble or confuse if you are not familiar with them.
If you see a woman with a baby and you go up and say goo goo what a beautiful baby etc. you MUST say marshalla three times or you will offend. It basically means "may allah bless this baby" otherwise the mother may think you are jealous and it gets messy. I learned that one the hard way.
Next, I couldn't figure out why the kids weren't jumping at my offer of chocolate bars. I would often be greeted with a polite 'la' (No). Well, it is impolite to take a gift on the first offer, so you have to offer it three times. Three seems to be a signifcant number here. Remember if you say "I divorce you three times", it's a done deal.
Under the category of having just enough information to be dangerous...
I can now have a basic conversation with someone in Arabic. I should point out too that thee is no standard way of writing the Arabic in english so you may see it written many different ways. A good example is the word for market (suk, sook, souk are all seen). Almost everything here is written in both english and arabic - even rural store signs.
They respond "wa allaykoom salam" ( and peace be with you)
Kayf Hallek ( How are You?)
Ma ismok (what's your name)
kam omroka (how old are you - remembering you are often conversing with kids as they are fascinated by us)
Ism Terry (my name is terry)
Tasharafna (nice to meet you)
Mimkum sura min fadlak (may I take you photo)
Hadiya- shikolat mim Canada ( a gift - chocolate from Canada).
At this point they babble on to me and I remain with a stunned look on my face.
Anyway it is a great way to meet the locals and they really appreciate it. Anyway, a basic Terry with local conversation goes something like this:
A Bedu woman at the Muscat Festival. I bought something from her so she allowed me to take her photo.
Young Omani washing before prayer at the Qaboos Mosque.
Omani men showing the tradional way of drawing water...at the Muscat Festival.
Always working! Our Guides, Aili, and Masut making arrangements for later in the day.
This photo was actually taken in Salalah, Oman a few days after the rest of the photos. This young Omani boy was hearding his flock across the road and had one stubborn member of the flock!
posted by Terry at 9:08 AM
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