Around The World Without Flying: Muscat, Oman

We are now sailing for the next four days in an area with the highest risk of piracy in the world, apparently, and so none of us is allowed on the promenade deck (Deck 7) or any deck area below that. We all know where we have to go and what we have to do should an alarm sound. High pressure hoses are being manned by security staff around Deck 7 to prevent anyone attempting to climb up the side of the ship. At night the ship’s outside lighting is dimmed. And of course we still have the Lieutenant-Commander from the Royal Navy on board. So every possible precaution is being taken and I feel perfectly safe.

Likewise, the ship’s crew have contained the gastro outbreak very effectively by its prompt firm action. People are not getting away with refusing to sanitise their hands, and all food and drink is served by staff wearing food-handling gloves. Anyone who becomes ill is quarantined in their cabin. They were told in no uncertain terms to go immediately to their cabin should they start exhibiting any of the symptoms, and ring the medical centre from there. And we all are encouraged to use our own cabin toilet rather than any of the public toilets when we can. This all must have been very puzzling to the large number of passengers who joined the ship in Dubai a couple of days after the outbreak was announced. It can only have come, I should imagine, from someone who flew into and boarded in Colombo, who was incubating it without knowing it, or who failed to declare they were not well.

It is now time to tell you more about my shore excursion into Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman. Much of Muscat consists of low white buildings nestled into a stark background of grey stony mountains, though as we drove into the city proper there were some lovely gardens and trees. One of the first sight I saw from the ship was its ancient fortress, a very impressive structure. Later on in our journey we saw evidence of other lookouts and structures atop the countless mountains, all of which ties into its history, of which the Omanis are very proud. We saw excellent detailed models of the fortresses in the museum. Their design was most impressive.

Situated in the Gulf of Oman, Muscat has been known as an important trading port between east and west since the first century. Over the centuries, at different times, it has been ruled by various indigenous tribes, the Persians and the Portuguese, and many foreign tradesman have settled there. In the 18th century it was a regional military power, its influence reaching as far as East Africa and Zanzibar.

But now, in a way, its story is rather like that of Dubai, in that the present Sultan, who came to power in 1970, is an enlightened man who sought to address the high infant mortality rate, the poverty, and the lack of education and health care of his people. Having been educated in England and even served in the British Army, he set about establishing schools, medical centres and an infrastructure to raise the living standard and education of the residents. Apparently, when young men reach the age of 25, they are given a grant of land which they cannot sell, and money. Our lovely young tour guide, who is 24 and has a wonderful sense of humour, told us he plans to go to England to obtain his Masters Degree if he can, and at the moment is studying to be a teacher. At the moment, marriage is out of the question because it costs a fortune to have a wedding, including paying a dowry to the bride’s family.

The Sultan, Qaboos bin Said, has built many wonderful facilities for his people as well, the most famous being the Grand Mosque, which we visited, and a stunning Opera House. Some more traditional Muslims in their society were critical of the latter, but he persisted, saying he loves music and that’s that! Unfortunately we drove past the Opera House too quickly for me to photograph it, but at least I have some photos of the Grande Mosque. The workmanship in that was positively superb. To enter we and the many other visitors were all inspected to check we had complied with their expectations in order to show our respect. We women had to completely cover our heads with scarves, and also to be covered from neck to toes in whatever garments we wore. Knowing this is advance, I had bought a lovely scarf for the occasion in Dubai. When we entered the temple, we also had to remove our shoes. The symbolism of that is held in common with other faiths, and I think is a great idea. When I entered this breathtaking set of buildings, especially the mosque itself, I was more than happy to show my respect for their beliefs and their craftsmanship, especially as our guide had told us they are very accepting of other people in their community and a gentle, enlightened society.

In Oman the language is Arabic, but it is a different dialect to that spoken in Egypt, for example. The traditional dress is differs to that in Dubai. In one of my photos in Dubai Part 1 you can see the traditional dress worn by the Arab men there. In Oman it is different - they wear caps or turbans on their head and their dress is more tight-fitting. Again, the women wear black, which our guide said was the result of the Persian influence. Before that, and even now at weddings, the women wore beautifully embroidered, brightly coloured dresses, examples of which we saw in the museum. Unfortunately, however, we were not permitted to photograph anything inside the museum. I would add that a lot of the men choose to wear western clothes - jeans and so forth - at least when they are not at family events.

After the Grand Mosque we spent an hour at a local market. It was interesting that most of the stall holders were Arabic, whilst in Dubai I did not see that. And I did not feel the same pressure to buy. I felt they were more respectful. We then had a photo stop at the Sultan’s Palace, which is now only used by the Sultan when there are visiting dignitaries. Queen Elizabeth has stayed there. (It’s her birthday today!)

All in all, I really enjoyed my time in Muscat, despite the heat! And I learned so much.