When we got orders to Bahrain we quickly realized that an entire part of the world was opened up to us for travel. Obviously we could travel to the middle east before this, if we'd chosen to, but now were here and its easy and relatively inexpensive to see this part of the world. We've made lists of things we want to see and places we want to go and this past week we started to make a dent in that list.
Oman is located at the mouth of the Arabian Gulf and shares land borders with Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Its officially called the Sultanate of Oman since its ruled by a Sultan-- who happens to be one of the longest reigning monarchs in the world and the longest serving current ruler in the Middle East.
This is the sultan-- his picture is all over Oman like this. (And the Bahrain kings picture is all over Bahrain as well)
We took a morning flight on Thanksgiving morning and arrived in Oman by lunch. It was a quick hour and a half flight and we flew over some gorgeous sights! I think sometimes we get so focused on the destination that we forget to look out the window and over the wing sometimes. I've been lucky enough in my life to fly over some crazy amazing things and the Middle East is no different. From our vantage point we could see the Palm Islands of Dubai, the vast desert, and the Arabian gulf. It was absolutely incredible.
After landing we headed to our hotel and wove our way through the amazingly gorgeous mountains that tower over the city of Muscat. They were giant and craggy and so, very different from the mountains we grew up around, but beautiful in their own right.
We got into our hotel and went out for a bite of lunch and then headed to the Souk. Only a few shops were open so we went back to the hotel and rested a bit and headed back out there in the evening. It was a completely different place once the sun had set. All the stalls were open and it was bustling with people. We stopped and grabbed some drinks and I had one of the best cups of chai I've ever had! It was sweet and creamy and spicy.
The entrance and ceiling to the souk-- gorgeous!
We walked around for a little bit, getting lost in the winding streets of the market, sucked in by the lights, the bright colors, and the smells of exotic spices. Stella even picked out some fancy Omani shoes to take home with her.
One thing we noticed about Oman right off the bat is how different the dress is from Bahrain. Here in Bahrain the thobes that men wear are white and unadorned and they wear a red and white Ghutra (the scarf) on their heads. The women are in black abaya's; some decorated but mostly plain black and there are a lot of women who are fully veiled. In Oman, the men wear thobes with tassels and two different types of head coverings-- a kuma, which is a small, embroidered cap, and a massar, which is an embroidered, wool turban. Both of these are brightly colored and patterned and I don't think we saw the same one twice! The women were in more colorful abayas or at least more embroidered abayas and we saw very few women who wore veils. Everything about the people in Oman just seemed vibrant and colorful!
Some kumas for sale in a shop
Another difference in Oman is that everyone seemed more welcoming. Not that the Bahraini's aren't welcoming, they are, but it was different in Oman. In Bahrain the Muslim men won't hardly make eye contact with me and they always address Christopher instead of me. In Oman, they spoke to me and made eye contact and I felt a lot more seen and not as ignored or looked over. Maybe it's all the color or maybe the fact that there's grass instead of just sand and dirt, but the omani's just seemed a much more jovial people!
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