Day 118: Muscat, Oman

Thursday, 4 May 2017
At Sea — Arabian Sea

Stats @ Ship’s Time 8:40p (GST) … UTC 4:40p (4 May)
Temp: 87.3F (30.7C)
Position: 23.12.55N / 59.19.78E

And if travel is like love, it is, in the end, mostly because it’s a heightened state of awareness,
in which we are mindful, receptive, undimmed by familiarity and ready to be transformed.
~ Pico Iyer ~

As of 7:00p last night all dining services have been restored to normal.  With no new cases of Noro in the past 72 hours, all service restrictions have been lifted.  We are relieved that the precautions did what they were intended to do … stop the spread of this very contagious virus.  On with today’s story.

We loved Oman!  Even after visiting just one city — Muscat — we’re already thinking that we would like to return here for a land-based vacation … if the world’s political situation allows.  Of course, we still have one more port to visit on this trip.  But when we do come back, it will be in the winter months … it should be at least 20-30 degrees cooler than the 102F (39C) we had today.

Muscat, the capital city, has a population that is at the million-person mark.  It is modern without being overwhelmed by high-rises, clean, and the people are friendly and helpful … even if some of the men — like Mahmud, our guide, prefer not to shake hands with women.  I can accept that … if they can be tolerant of our traditions, I can reciprocate.

The city’s setting, nestled between the Arabian Sea and the Hajar Mountains, is very scenic.  With no heat haze today, I enjoyed the landscape very much.  As I also did the monochromatic cityscape that features buildings white washed in pale beige, cream, and white … even the resorts dotting the coastline fit in with that uniformity that is pleasant to the eye … especially when viewed against a brilliant blue sky.  Traffic was non-existent … although a major accident on the highway did put a crimp in our touring when we first set out this morning.

Insignia arrived in port as scheduled and was already berthed when we left the cabin shortly before 8:00a to meet up with Juanita and her granddaughter, Anastasia … our tour companions today.  Our plans called for a private arrangement with Sunshine Tours Oman to take in the city highlights in a 4x4 — meaning an SUV.  I coordinated two other vehicles for fellow passengers with the same company (we saw them at some of the stops, but did not travel in a convoy), so the price was reduced to OMR 85/vehicle.  The Omani Rial is more valuable than the USD … thus the reduction brought the price down to USD $220/vehicle … pretty good for a full day tour.

We bundled into the interport shuttle for the short drive to the gate to meet up with our guide.  We’d been handed plastic landing cards before signing off the ship, so we thought that was it as far as formalities were concerned.  It wasn’t.  The shuttle took us to a building, which we at first thought was the gate.  Turned out to be the port security checkpoint.  So we went in one door, put our bags through the x-ray machine, and exited out the other door to get back on the shuttle to continue to the gate.  The cab drivers outside the port were quite aggressive when we got off the shuttle, but when we told them we had a guide already, they left us alone to focus their attention on those who had no pre-arranged tours.

Looking around, we saw guides holding Sunshine Tours signs for other passengers, but not for us.  When we approached one of the guides, he recognized my name and said that our guide was on his way.  No problem.  He then escorted us to an SUV, turned on the engine and the A/C, and suggested we wait in the vehicle.  We weren’t quite sure why we were waiting, but we were happy to be out of the heat.  A few minutes later another man arrived — turns out it was Mohammed, my contact at Sunshine Tours.  He had come to see how things were going since a major accident had shut down the freeway and several guides — ours included — were stuck in the traffic.  No problem — some things are beyond our control.

Then it got weird for a moment when Sonia’s party of four arrived and we were asked to leave the vehicle to make room for them!  What?!?  Apparently we had been given refuge in their vehicle!  Mohammed, very apologetic, explained that our foursome would bundle into his private vehicle and he would take us to the first stop.  We would meet up with Mahmud later and switch vehicles again.  Not ideal, but hey … the accident was no one’s fault, and Mohammed was offering a workable solution.  So off we went to the mosque.

Imposing in an understated, graceful and elegant manner … that is how I would describe the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque.  An active place of worship since 2001 — open to visitors until 11:00a — it was built by the sultan to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his reign.  Built from Indian sandstone, the mosque is the 11th largest in the world.  It can accommodate 20,000 worshippers in the prayer halls and the inner courtyard, which is covered with a retractable roof.

After putting on long sleeved shirts and covering our heads with scarves, we went inside the walls with Mohammed and found ourselves in manicured gardens with brilliant green grass in every direction we looked.  A narrow channel of water split the stairs into two lanes and drew our eyes into the distance where the mesh-covered gold dome of the men’s prayer hall and the five minarets representing the five pillars of Islam rose high behind a wall of trees.  Inside, we found a cavernous space.  The floor was covered with a multi-hued, patterned carpet — single-piece, hand-woven; loomed in Iran and weighing 21 tons!  The mosque was beautiful, and not nearly as overwhelming as the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi (post here).  I think I liked this one better, although the two mosques really cannot be compared.

When we came back out again, we found two couples we know from the ship looking around the cubbies built into either side of the entrance for worshippers to leave their shoes.  When we queried them, they said that one pair of shoes was missing — stolen they thought … apparently fairly fancy Adidas shoes, so I suppose someone might have taken off with them.  We’ve never had anything like this happen to us, but word to the wise is that if you are wearing brand name shoes, you might want to bring a bag to carry them with you instead of leaving them outside the mosque.

From the mosque, Mohammed took us to his home for Omani coffee and snacks.  Normally he has 4-8 people to entertain at a time, but with the schedule messed up by the accident this morning, all of the groups arrived at about the same time.  I think he felt a kinship with us, so he invited my group and Sonia’s to sit in the family room instead of the formal living room.  His sweet daughter — 3 year old Mimi — joined us and was the focus of many photos.

Putting a plastic tablecloth on the floor, Mohammed placed the various dishes of fruits and cakes, and some kind of a vermicelli-type sweet on it.  He invited those who wished to to sit on the floor in the traditional manner, but most preferred to sit on the sofas.  The fresh fruits were amazing — the pomegranates a group favorite … as well as the dates, which were not nearly as sweet as the ones we’re used to getting in the US.  Mohammed gifted each couple with a bag of dates before we left — from his father-in-law’s farm.

Before leaving Mohammed’s house, we transferred to Mahmud’s SUV for the rest of the day.  He took us first for a drive along the Muttrah Corniche, the waterfront promenade that offers scenic views of the sea and the mountains.  Perched high on up we saw the Al Mirani Fort looming over the harbor.  Built over 400 years ago, this is one of the forts designed to protect Muscat from invasion.  Unfortunately, it’s not open to the public, so we had to make do with photo ops from a distance.  I got a better shot of it — and sister fort Al Jalali, which guards the entrance of the harbor — from the ship later.

Al Mirani Fort

Parking the car, we braved the hot mid-day temperature on the Corniche for a short walk, seeking shade where we could find it.  Our destination was the Muttrah Souq, a popular marketplace frequented by locals and tourists alike.  It’s a maze of shops selling jewelry, clothing, fabrics, perfumes, handcrafts and more.  The shopkeepers, we noted, were all men.  Mahmud asked permission to leave us to wander around so he could pray at the nearby mosque.  We spent about 45 minutes here, going into several shops to take advantage of the A/Cs blasting out cold air.  In one shop I found a white tunic blouse and Anastasia picked up a couple of postcards so our time here proved fruitful.

When he rejoined us, Mahmud went to pick up the car so we wouldn’t have to walk back.  Then we continued our drive, going through the replica of the Old Muscat Gate.  This gate used to be locked at sundown to protect the city from attack, and those who arrived between dusk and dawn had to fend for themselves outside the city.  Today it houses a museum, but it was closed at the time we were passing through.

Our next stop was a photo op at Al Alam Palace.  Mahmud said the name translates as “the flag.”  The gate in front of the long paved path to the entrance of the palace was closed, but the guards did not stop us from approaching to take photographs.  The roof is held up by blue and gold columns — shaped like upside down horns or trumpets — an interesting design.  The palace was built on the site of the former British Embassy.  According to stories, any slave — and the country did have an infamous slave trade at one time — who managed to touch the flagpole on the grounds was granted freedom.  If the stump of the flagpole is still on the grounds, we didn’t see it today.  These days, the palace is used for official ceremonies as the sultan prefers to live at a seaside residence in another town.

From the palace, Mahmud drove us into the mountains.  Our destination was to have been Al Bustan, which was opened in 1985 to host the first Gulf Cooperation Council summit that was held in Oman.  Today it is a Ritz-Carlton property that is oft-visited by tourists.  As luck would have it, since the tourist season is over extensive maintenance work was underway, so we were unable to go inside.  Instead, Mahmud took us to a couple of overlooks — one of them at the Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah — to enjoy views of the Arabian Sea.

Since we still had time — and also I think to make up for the problems this morning — Mahmud suggested we take a drive into a nearby wadi [valley] to see some of the wahas [oases].  We readily agreed.  The road was mostly dirt, although there were stretches of paved sections.  On either side heavily faulted and folded mountains rose high, and at the bottom of the slopes we saw dense groves of palm trees.  They reminded me more of farms than oases … they were a combination of both, I believe … irrigation provided by what little rain they get in Oman (although there are monsoons in the summer), and a combination of underground and desalinated water.  In addition to palms, fruit trees and vegetable gardens also exist in these patches of green in an otherwise dry desert environment.  Small settlements were established near each oasis, and there were schools and other facilities built to take care of the needs of the families living in them.  It would have been nice to visit one of these, but we were mindful of our schedule.  It was an interesting deviation from our original itinerary.

Per our request, we were back at the port shortly after 3:30p, thoroughly satisfied with our day.  We grabbed a quick bite from the Terrace Café and then relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, enjoying the views from our veranda of Muscat spread out along the foothills of the Hajar Mountains.

Shortly before our scheduled sailaway at 5:00p, Cruise Director Ray came on the P/A to remind everyone about the anti-piracy drill that was scheduled at 5:15p.  Having received a letter from Captain B with last night’s turndown service, we knew what to expect.  The letter explained that we would be sailing the area described as the HRA — High Risk Area — between May 5-9.  Not only would deck 5 be closed, with high-pressure water hoses at the ready to fend off any would-be-attackers, but we would need to practice additional measures for safety purposes.  These measures included staying away from windows and open spaces should the worst happen and sheltering in interior corridors should the alarm be sounded and the words “Safe Haven” be announced by Captain B.  As well, the letter requested that we keep our curtains closed at night, and the lights off on the verandas when they are not in use.  It further described the maneuvers we might expect the ship to take, and went on to say that the likelihood of an attack on a ship such as ours — high and fast — were negligible.

When the drill alarm was sounded, we pulled our drapes closed and went to sit in the corridor outside the cabin until the all clear was given.  At the conclusion of the drill, Ray announced that one phase of the drill had to wait until we were 12 NM offshore — the testing of the alarms and loud noisemakers.  We were in our cabin when this happened and heard, in addition to the ship’s horn, what sounded like gunfire, but I think it was the said noisemakers … or perhaps the special forces guys that came aboard were shooting blanks to test their weapons.  These additional security guys have been visible around the ship for a day or two now.  They openly discuss their role if questioned, although they don’t share the details of the security plans … as I expect they wouldn’t.

Once quite rampant, the level of piracy activity in the area is now reduced.  Not only are ships better prepared to fend off attacks, but a coalition of naval forces patrol the area as well.  Nonetheless, it is good to be prepared for any eventuality.

Tomorrow is a day at sea before our final call in Oman.  I am looking forward to some rest.

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