Mutrah Souk and onto Muscat
Trip Start
Aug 01, 2008
1
24
130
Trip End
Aug 01, 2009
Muttrah,
Oman
Thursday, October 2, 2008
The drive didn't take long and we were able to find a parking place not to far away. By the time we got there, it was already 43'C!!!!! Let me tell you, I felt it. While I like this place, I couldn't live here with the humidity or heat. Ugh.
I think we saw the royal yacht across from the souk but shopping was more of a priority. Again, the souk was not that open as it was still Eid and many places were closed for the holiday. I was expecting a HUGE souk like Istanbul or Jerusalem but it was more on the scale of a small, organized souk. One of the first vendors had frankincense and myrrh along with saffron from Iran. He wanted us to buy but that was the first place we were at so we promised to come back and we did. But there were other places that were opening and I needed to see what was available!
On my list of things to buy-a kohl pot, a traditional Omani hat, and some frankincense to take back with me. I hate haggling for prices and I am sure that I could have done better but I am happy with the things I did get. In addition to the list, I bought an antique copper bowl and an incense container. By now it was time to leave as it was way to hot but first into the city of Muscat. Here the city was all white-similar to but not much different than Amman-except it was all government buildings. This was a fast photo stop and then we wanted to find some water. No, we weren't going to lie on the beach but wanted to put my feet in the Gulf of Oman. Boy, was the water warm! Lunch was at Subway as that was about the only thing open as people were still celebrating Eid.We got back to the hotel and saw people with Borders book bags and Starbucks bags so of course, we had to find this mall! Anita and I got our knitting and cross stitch and headed out to this mall just by the airport. Well, my definition is just a little bit different than those that gave us the directions!!!! When we got there, the mall was busy but we made our way to Borders and camped out there. I did buy only 4 books so I was proud of myself. :-) Finally we got hungry and found Chili's. By this time the mall was nuts with people-Pakistani, Indian, Omani and Philapinos alike. It was very interesting to see the vast mix of people all in one place from all walks of life. You don't see this mix of class and people in Amman in the same place.After dinner, we went back to the hotel and I wrote postcards for a while. I set the alarms so we could get up and watch the VP debates on at...4:00am. Yes, I did actually get up and watch them!
