Oasis in Oman (...or no socks, no mosque)
Trip Start
Jan 01, 2009
1
21
38
Trip End
Jun 30, 2009
Muscat, Oman
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
cheapest flight to India went via Oman it was a go! Jessie and Tom, and their
gorgeous 2 young daughters have lived in Oman for the past 5 years, first
meeting in Saudi (Jessie is Bernd's eldest daughter). It was wonderful to spend
a few days in a home with family, catching up on news and seeing Muscat through
their eyes. They both love Oman, and can foresee staying here, at least until
the girls get into their teens.
Oman, a Sultanate, is a relatively liberal Middle Eastern country - at least compared
to Saudi. It is mostly desert, it's lower portion makes up part of the 'Empty
Quarter'. It has a beautiful coastline with a mountain range pierced by deep
wadis and a sprinkling of green oases. Oman is striving to keep up with the
likes of Dubai in terms of modernization but is not to that point (at least in
terms of the excess). Tourism is being heavily developed, though seems to still
be in its infancy. The infrastructure is very modern - the immediate Muscat
coastline is traversed by 4 lane highways and good highways also head to the
major towns across Oman. The airport is modern and being updated, there are 5
star hotels and large shopping malls (much to Maddie's delight). You can drink
the water from the tap (yeah) and even buy alcohol (yeah!). Let me explain the
alcohol rules more. Muslims are not allowed to buy alcohol, but expats are - if
you are a man (women are not allowed) and have applied and received a special
permit that you must show at the discretely located and signed liquor store.
A large expat community exists, along with an even larger bevy of workers from
India and Sri Lanka. The Omanis we interacted with were very welcoming and
friendly, 'Welcome to Oman' (and not selling anything - other than in the
souk). English is widely spoken, which always makes it a bit easier, though we
do try to use what little Arabic we have learned.
We spent the first day lounging poolside at the PDO club - a
wonderful beachside situation on a picturesque bay that seems to be the place
for families to hang out (those who are lucky enough to get a membership). What
was also nice was that it was not just western expats who were members - there
seemed to be a broad mix of nations (including Omanis) represented which made
it feel more inclusive.
One day we ventured out to explore Muscat and had a lovely
tea in the lobby of the landmark Al Bustan hotel, and lunch at a 2 table
roadside fish shop that I dragged the family to in order to avoid the bus load
of cruise ship passengers who had off loaded from the port and were dining en
mass at the only obvious lunch café by the souk. The souk was wonderful - small
alleyways with a jumble of 'antique' shops selling daggers, swords, coffee
pots, sliver jewelry, bright stone beads, and lanterns, carpets, perfumeries,
pashima scarves, frankincense, and much to Duncan's delight, little brightly
coloured plastic clocks in the shape of a mosque that blast out a prayer call 5
times a day. Thanks to Jessie, we were able to make a few purchases as she
volunteered to bring the things over in an empty suitcase when she visits
Canada this summer. We have been severely limited in anything we buy as we
would need to pack it around for the remainder of the trip (shipping costs are
awfully high). This has been much to my disappointment and Andy's relief!
Another day we ventured into the interior to Nizwa and
Tafuf. Nizwa is a likeable little town but we didn't have much time to explore,
and as per usual our lunch time always seems to coincide with the afternoon
closures (everything shuts down from about 1 - 4. I'm telling you this to
explain that we resorted to the only restaurant that seemed suitable - the
local Pizza Hut and, sitting in the 'family section' (no single men allowed),
we treated ourselves to a familiar meal of pizza beside fully covered Omani
women who were also enjoying the western treat. This reminds me of another
story. These particular women didn't have veils so eating wasn't a problem. But
when we were in Cairo at the Kosheri restaurant we watched a girl discretely
lifting up her veil each time she brought the fork to her mouth. We had to
chuckle as Lani showed us a YouTube video of a veiled woman trying to eat
spaghetti with the caption 'Why Italian food won't catch on in the Middle East'
I think there is the lift the veil from below and slurp approach and the dangle
the spaghetti and lift the veil from the top approach. Well, I guess pizza will
be easier to manage. We then had a little wander about the nearby wadi that was
now running like a river with the recent rain, amongst the many Omani families
out for a picnic and a splash. We also walked about the old Tafuf town ruins -
an old crumbling village of red mud that was destroyed in the Jebel wars in the
1950's. It's amazing that sites like this are complete left as they are, with
no signs, guards, entrance fees - or garbage cans. I imagine in the near future
these ruins will be better attended to so that they can be developed as a
tourist attraction but for now, we saw them in their 'natural state'.
Jessie had told us that we really should see the Grand
Mosque - it is a newly built mosque that is truly, well, grand, and well worth the visit. Usually,
infidels aren't allowed into the mosque but this one allows tourists to visit
in the morning, with the proviso they are modestly dressed. Andy and Duncan
wore long sleeved shirts and pants, and Maddie and I had armed ourselves with
pants and long sleeved shirts, head scarves, and Jessie pulled out 2 black
abayas to fully cover ourselves (and prevent any unnecessary temptation to all
those otherwise devout men who might be unduly titillated by a glimpse of
exposed female flesh). We paused at the entrance, noting the conditions for
entering the mosque (head covered - tick, dress modestly - tick, no camera - tick, respect the sanctity
of the mosque - tick). Andy and Duncan were ahead and obviously passed muster.
I was motioned to by a 'guard' to cover my hair more (there was a bit of bang
peaking out in front), so I quickly and willingly corrected the offense and
moved forward. Not so fast, 2 women were sitting at a table at the side, whose
job was obviously to scrutinize the dress of the women. They shouted at Maddie
and I and motioned us over. I felt pretty confident that Maddie and I were
pretty well covered at this point - in fact, we were pretty pleased with
ourselves as we saw other female tourists just with modest dress and head
scarves and here Maddie and I had the full meal deal with the abayas - ha!
Weren't we accommodating visitors respecting the culture and religion - maybe
even model tourists helping to bridge the gap in the strained western/Muslim
relationship? No. We didn't have socks on. Huh? There was no mention of socks
on the sign. I see fully covered women wearing sandals all the time on the
street. Andy and Duncan had sandals on. I peered around the desk to reinforce
my emerging (but clearly unadvisable) protest, hoping to see the 2 women wearing
sandals but alas, they had on conservative black shoes (presumably with socks).
We quickly and shamefully retreated back to the car, me feeling that my
willingness to accommodate Muslim sensibilities was misguided (it really is
incredibly sexist and inexcusable), and Maddie feeling like she had done
something wrong (how's that for a real life lesson in the merits of the
feminist movement?).
Overall, we had a lovely 3 days. Visiting Jessie and Tom,
Isabella and Lola was fun and a welcome respite; they made us feel at home (and thank goodness for
Jessie's 'American' washer and dryer!). We hope to repay their hospitality when
they come to Summerland this summer!
Comments
Oman
Marhaba Hamilton-Ross's
These strict rules for entering the mosque weren't there a few years ago. In fact, I don't remember any formal controls - just logical sensibilities sufficed. Do you remember the story of Bernds and my visit to Buryaidah, the town with the reputation of being a muttawa training center? I also thought I had covered all my bases, attired in full abbya, hijab and niqab (veil). Alas, I too was chased through the souk for indiscreet toes. But that was Saudi, not Oman. Next year they will be renting socks, the business side of things usually figures these things out!
On another note, I thought the funny thing about the access to alcohol in Oman is that the permit you must have is called an 'addicts license'. :) Cheers, Lani