Saturday February 1^st, 2020

Muscat, Oman

Happy Birthday Emma!

I had no idea that sailing into the harbor in Muscat would be so beautiful. As the sun rose we sailed past steep the mountains and it felt like we were in a fjord as we quietly glided into the port. There was a rather strange structure at the entrance to the harbor. It looked like something out of the Jetsons. It is a giant frankincense burner. I’m not sure if it is functional or not.

We had booked a private tour, and the instructions said to meet our driver at 8:00 at the ship.

We disembarked and walked past the coaches and taxi drivers in search of our guide. We walked up and down, but he was nowhere to be seen. I called the tour office, but no one answered the phone. I was beginning to think that we would be doing Muscat on our own.

Then Ruth, sensible as ever, suggested that I ask one of the ship’s tour people where we should meet our guide. Apparently we had to take a shuttle bus to the terminal and they would meet us there.

We took the bus to the terminal, had our bags X-rayed, and looked in vain for our guide. There were several other people also in search of their guides so we didn’t feel alone.

Finally we found out that we had to take another bus to the port entrance, and wait for our guides there. Sure enough, when we got off the bus at the port entrance, there was Moosa waving at us, so all was well. Now I know for next time that meet us at the ship actually means take buses to the gate to the port.

My first impression of Muscat was that it was thriving, very clean, and well organized. The roads were wide, and in good shape. There were lawns, trees, and flowers everywhere. Not bad for a town on the edge of the desert. The late Sultan, no doubt having seen the skyscrapers of Dubai, had decreed that there would be a maximum height to buildings, and thus you felt you were in a garden city rather than a concrete jungle.

Our first stop was at the Grand Mosque of Oman. Although I thought I was modestly attired in an ankle length dress, apparently not. As I exited the car a man came running over to me insisting that I rent a garment from him that would meet the mosque requirements. I tried to argue, but to no avail, and so Moosa paid him his required fee, and I put on the long black voluminous garment and tied my white scarf around my head – now looking like some crazed nun.

The mosque is amazing – it truly is very grand, and of all the mosques I have visited over the years it is certainly the most spectacular. Our visit there was only hampered by the fact that the ridiculous garment I was wearing was way too long and I kept on tripping over.

Our next stop was at the Royal Opera House. The Sultan was a musician, and loved opera, so he built this amazing theatre. The tour we had was very interesting, the only problem was that our tour guide gave us the heads up that she had flu, as she sneezed and coughed her way through her presentation. We all stood as far away from her as possible, so I missed quite a lot of what she said.

We then visited the Mutrah Souk. Unlike the souks in Dubai where you are accosted constantly by the vendors, this was a very pleasant experience. We didn’t buy anything, however it was fabulous to wander through the alleyways and observe the vendors and shoppers.

Next stop was the Bait Al Zubair museum which had a wonderful display of Omani culture and history. The museum was very well laid out, and with Moosa as our extremely knowledgeable guide we learned a lot of fascinating information. I realized that I really hadn’t known much about this very interesting and strategically important country even though I had visited Oman previously.

Our final stop was at the huge Al Alam palace, where the Sultan entertains his guests. He actually lives in another large palace a way out of town.

The late Sultan seems to have been an authoritarian ruler, but in the 50 years he ruled after deposing his father, the vision he had for his country was amazing. It will be interesting to see the path that the new Sultan takes.

Dinner was delicious again. Some people have complained that standards had dropped in the Britannia dining room. I certainly don’t see this at all. There are plenty of choices offered on the menu, the food is very tasty, and our waiters are very attentive. All in all, the experience is just as wonderful as ever.

After dinner I decided to go back to the cabin and catch up with emails, but the internet was down. Hopefully this will not be long lived.