December 4 - Muscat, Oman

We’re docked today in Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman.  On my last cruise with Al we stopped here and took a tour. Therefore, I decided not to do one again and just took the shuttle into town.  More about that in a moment.

Last night we had a girls’ night in the TK Grill.  There were six of us, my two friends Sue and Jude, Joyce who used to live in Kingsmill, and Kerry and Annette from Sydney.  Once again we did a lot of laughing and had a wonderful time.  The wait staff started taking tablecloths off other tables so we got the hint and left. We’d really lost track of the time.  We missed the show which involved a singer of some sort.  Instead after dinner we went down to our go-to place to dance a little and have a nightcap.

Back to Muscat.  I’ve already written about Oman the other day and here we are at its capital.  It’s not a large place but it is quite picturesque.  There are old forts and watchtowers on the barren rocky hills around the city and its harbor. Tied up near us are the same two very large yachts (both at least 300 feet long) which were here last time and which belong to the sultan.

One of the watchtowers guarding the city and harbor

Maybe fresh tuna for dinner?

Straight ahead is one of the Sultan's yachts and on the left you can see a piece of the other

When we got off the ship and were waiting for the shuttle bus to come we saw these big plastic containers full of what look to me like fresh tuna.  I think we’ll have tuna on the menu tonight.  The shuttle came and dropped us off at the Mutttrah Souq.  A souq is an indoor bazaar or market with things other than food for the most part.  This one was full of little places selling all kinds of pashmina scarves, harem pants (almost all with camels in the prints), ornate  (and gaudy) jewelry, jars, pots, Aladdin’s lanterns, etc, and incense and spices.  The smell of incense burning was actually giving me a headache.  There were also “genuine” Chanel handbags and Rolexes.  It is a sensory overload kind of place.  We’ve learned that the trick to getting out without having to constantly say "no, thank you" is to never make eye contact.  And if you see something interesting be prepared if you stop to take a closer look to be swarmed. We walked through the several branches of the souq trying to remember landmarks so we would know how to find our way out.

Inside the Muttrah Souq

We passed several of our shipmates who had bought some Christmas presents for people they knew but honestly I didn’t see anything that looked like it would work in either Virginia or New Hampshire.  When we finally made it back to the main entrance there was a shuttle loading up so we decided to come back to the ship.  There were a lot of women, more than I remember seeing last time, wearing the full  black burkhas.  Today wasn’t an especially hot day and all I can say is I don’t know how they can stand wearing them because of the heat.

As I said it’s a rather pretty city.  There is a beautiful mosque and several of the minarets  of smaller mosques that can be seen have lovely tile work.  It’s also quite clean. They have an opera house which we saw last time we were here.

Sultan Qaboos Mosque

One last thing.  We still haven’t received our championship prizes.  We figured that perhaps the cruise director was going to buy us a stuffed camel in the souq. We shall see.

I just came back from a very nice lunch where I had the opportunity to meet and talk with a family living here in Muscat.  Kerry-Lee, the jeweler on the ship, had her sister, brother-in-law and two nephews come on to visit and they invited me to join them for lunch.  The family is originally from Zimbabwe, but has lived and worked here for four years. I sat next to the sister and it was very interesting to hear what life is like in Oman.  She told me that in the years they have lived here they have seen some loosening of traditional Muslim  practices.  The children go to an international school because local schools are taught exclusively in Arabic. Even so, boys and girls are taught in separate classes and even on the school bus girls sit on one side and boys on the other.  I asked how they coped with the heat here; in summer the temperatures can reach close to 120°. She told me that essentially work begins early, at 8 or 9 AM, and then for several hours midday work stops. Around 4 or 4:30 PM people go back and work until near 8 PM. Schools usually take summer breaks from late April until sometime in September but go longer hours when they are in session.

Fort guarding the harbor

I'm writing this on Tuesday the 5th but it's still about yesterday. Last night we had another girls' night, this time in the restaurant.  Jude, Sue and I ate with Kerry-Lee, the fine jewelry representative, Nadine, the boutique manager, C-Po, the Health and Security Officer, and Steffanie, Executive Housekeeper. It's worth knowing the right people because Kerry Lee let us pick out any of the jewelry we wanted to wear to dinner. Sue, my friend sitting to my left in the photo is wearing an emerald and diamond necklace and earrings that sell for somewhere north of a quarter million dollars.  Jude, across the table from me, picked a jade and diamond set.  I went for a much more modest opal and sapphire pendant. It was fun to dress up in something we would never in our wildest imagination own.  Once again we laughed a lot and then went to the club for a little while.  I hate to admit it, but the late nights are starting to wear me down.  I think if I were staying on for another leg of the cruise I would have to take a couple of days off, but it has been so much fun.

"The Girls"