Muscat, Oman

We arrived in Muscat, Oman on Tuesday, April 10, for a 1-day visit.  What an interesting place and such a contrast with all of the other places we've been to so far on this cruise.  A little background.  Oman occupies a strategic part of the Arabian Peninsula.  It has a lengthy coastline and is otherwise bordered by Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emerates.  The total population numbers 4.6 million of whom 2.5 are citizens and 2.1 are foreign workers principally from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.  The main drivers of its economy are oil, gas and tourism.

While Oman shares a common religion, world view and history with other Arab countries, it is oriented more to the sea than the desert because of the presence of mountains that separate much of it from the rest of Arabia.  Thus, it has maintained links with East Asia (India, China) and Africa for over 1,000 years.  It has a unique ethnic mix that includes Indians, Africans, Baluchi and others who came via the sea.  So, for example, there are Hindu temples in Muscat, as well as Catholic and Protestant churches the building of which has been financed by the government, whereas in Saudi Arabia there are only mosques.  (Hindus have been living in Oman for over 500 years and are fully integrated.)

Oman is a sultanate.  The current sultan, Qaboos bin Said, is the 14th ruler in a dynastic line that goes back to 1744.  Born in 1940, he studied in India and at Britain's military academy Sandhurst, served in the British army and, upon his return to Oman, was kept under virtual house arrest by his father, the then sultan.  In 1970, at the age of 29, he led a coup planned in London and supported by the British, and deposed his father.  Although he subsequently married a 1st cousin, they later divorced and he has no children.  He is said to have cancer and was treated for such in Germany for 8 months in 2014-2015.  He has not named an heir to the throne.

From all that appears, Qaboos, who exercises absolute power, has been a benevolent dictator.  Before he became sultan, Oman was a poorly developed country with little infrastructure, health care or an education system.  Oil was discovered only a year or two before he deposed his father, so there were scarce resources with which to develop the country during the reign of his predecessors.  That said, Qaboos has done a remarkable job building impressive infrastructure of all sorts, free health care systems (including several hospitals) and schools.  For example, schools are free to all residents, citizens and foreigners alike, through high school and thereafter for citizens.  In fact, citizens who have earned good grades can attend university abroad at the expense of the state.  He abolished slavery during the first year of his reign and granted freedom of religion.  We've been told that a common slogan in Oman is:  Before Qaboos, NOTHING!

Enough background.  As you will see from the photos that follow, this place is beautiful, modern and immaculate.  Just my kind of place.

When we pushed our curtains back at 6:30 a.m., we saw that we were in a small but modern port sharing dock space with another, larger cruise ship from Germany.  We also saw what we later realized were two of the sultan's yachts.  The port also has its industrial side.  (Click on any photo to view an enlarged version.)

        
                                  

Within the next 2 hours the gangway had been set up, the tour buses had arrived and there was also a row of small vans that would serve as a continuously running shuttle service between the ship and the nearby souq.

                                  

Janis and I had signed up for the Muscat City Tour.  Our first destination was the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque.  I just clicked away as our bus moved out of the port and along various streets.  The roads are in perfect shape, traffic is very manageable, the grounds everywhere are manicured and irrigated and the buildings, almost all of which are white, look either new or very well maintained.

              

We passed several car dealerships.  In addition to these, we also saw Lamborghini, Bentley, Ferrari, Maserati, Porsche, BMW, etc.

                                            

And here's our country's contribution to the dining choices available in Muscat.

                                      

We didn't drive into residential neighborhoods, but the little bit of housing we did pass by looked first class.

  

Our stop at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, which opened in 2001, was brief.  We did not go inside, although the interior was described to us as a dazzling expanse of white marble, intricate wood panels and magnificent stained-glass windows.  It contains a 45,000 square-foot hand-made carpet (the largest in the world) and a 46-foot-tall chandelier.  Even from the outside, it is an imposing building.  And the grounds are beautiful.  I finally had my photo taken, with Janis, and I also took one of Janis and our Omanian guide.

                                                          

This imposing building across the street from the grand mosque is the courthouse.

As we were getting back on the bus, I noticed the driver was on his smart phone.  I'm afraid this device has become the preoccupation of everyone all over the world.

Our next stop was the souq, or market.  We were given about an hour to roam around in there.  Seemed like there was no end to it.  Here's just a sample of what's inside.

                  

When we left the souq to re-board our bus, I noticed this interesting and beautiful wooden boat in the harbor just across the street.

Our next stop was the Bait Al Zubair Museum which is located in what was the old or original part of Muscat.  We got a look down into this neighborhood from a higher elevation on our way there.

                                    

Once we got down into this area, looking up we could see various fortresses at the top.

  

Just before entering the museum grounds we saw a large mural of the sultan on a building wall.

And then the museum entrance gate.

The museum itself is owned and operated by a cultural foundation funded by a private family.  It started as a private museum but was opened to the public in 1998.  It consists of 5 separate buildings.  We first entered a courtyard area with displays of sculpture pieces.  We particularly liked these goats and boats.

        

We next saw a diorama of what the old village looked like as well as spaces that replicated those that existed in years past (and a few that persist -- note seating on the floor).

                   

The main gallery building of the museum is full of displays, including lots of artifacts, relating to the culture and heritage of Oman, as well as the arts and heritage of the community.  Unfortunately, except for the entry area, no photos are allowed in the gallery.  So this is all we have:

                                                       

As I noted, the museum consists of a complex of buildings.  For whatever reason, we were not invited to visit any of the other parts.  As we exited the main gallery building, we passed the open doorway to this building designed to reflect the former principal residence of the museum benefactor's family.  It would have been nice to visit that as well.

Our next stop was the sultan's palace.  As you can see, the palace complex and grounds are beautiful.  Ironically, the sultan apparently doesn't even live there any longer.  The facilities are used just for ceremonial and formal events.

                         

As we walked back to the bus, I noticed that the Finance Ministry is right next door to the palace.  Makes sense, right?  There is a parliament in Oman, a creation of the sultan, but it acts in an advisory capacity only.  All laws on the books get there by royal decree only.  The sultan is chief of staff of the armed forces, minister of defense, minister of foreign affairs and chairman of the central bank.  As I mentiond at the outset, his authority is absolute.

    

Well, here are the last sights we took in on our way back to the ship.  An absolutely fascinating place to visit.  The Omanians we encountered all seemed like gentle people.  (A little less gentle in the souq where some clearly are practioners of the hard sell.)  Oman has managed to remain neutral in the turbulent neighborhood in which it lives.  It has no apparent enemies or rivals.  It has also managed to persuade its sunni and shiite muslim residents to live in harmony with one another.  Is there more to the story than this?  Undoubtedly.  After all, we only spent a day here.

                                    

We are now at sea for 6 days on our way to Aqaba, Jordan.  We have rounded the tip of the Arabian Peninsula and will soon be passing through the Gulf of Aden and then up the Red Sea.  Precautions have been taken aboard ship in anticipation of our transiting the Gulf of Aden.  Deck 2, the first level of the ship with an outside deck (it's the third level above the water line), has been ringed with razor wire and access to it is now closed off.  Several other steps have been taken, but enough said.

                   

My next blog will be about our visit in Aqaba.  (Undoubtedly most of our fellow passengers will be traveling from Aqaba to Petra, but we were there on a prior trip and, so, will stay in Aqaba.)