Morning trip to Muscat
Trip Start
Jun 13, 2010
1
29
35
Trip End
Jul 17, 2010
Muscat, Masqaţ, Oman
Sunday, July 11, 2010
We left around 9 and got to Muscat in less than an hour. We parked at the mosque and went in. There were a few other tourists there but not many. Pooja brought a scarf with her to cover her head as all women have to do in the mosque. First we walked in this 1st building which was just rectangular with hardly any ornamentation. "Is this the only part of the mosque they will let us see?" I was thinking to myself. Yes, the ceilings were pretty cool and hand carved but I was expecting much more. We asked the ladies at the door and they said there was more around the corner. So we walked around out in the 100 degree plus weather, took our shoes off at the door, and went inside. WOW!!!! This is what I was expecting. This huge domed room that can seat 6,000 people with everything handmade and hand carved. The carpet on the ground is the largest handmade carpet in the world (easily the size of a football pitch). My eyes kept going up to the massive dome with the largest chandelier in the world. The interesting thing about this building is how old it is – less than 10 years old. I did not think they built grand religious buildings of the scale anymore – but I guess they did here. I wanted to stay a little while longer and check out the other areas of the complex, but Kamla was looking tired so we took her to the doctor.
Pooja stayed with her since she did not want to go to the military museum with me. I drove through Muscat with the GPS which led me spot on to the Military Museum. However, to my disappointment, the guard at the gate said it was closed. Though sad, I was not surprised, as half the places I go to in Oman are closed (even though the times say they should be open). Knowing that this might happen I had a plan B and C as far as museums go. My plan B was the Omani Oil and Gas Exhibition. This was located close to the main oil port in Muscat and, surprise, it was open. As usual, I was the only visitor in the place. I have to say a very educational place with everything related to oil – which is important since it is one of the major industries in the world today. It described how oil is made, how geologist determine where to drill, how the drilling takes place, what to do after oil is found, all the ways oil is brought up to the surface, what are the different types of oil, safety measures (BP could learn from this), and what oil is used for. I was here for about an hour and could have stayed longer, but Pooja called and was ready to take Kamala back home. So through the Muscat traffic I went with the handy dandy GPS (it works very well in the cities but not that great outside). Picked up Kamla and Pooja and drove the 45 min. back to the house.
During the afternoon, we had a lunch of rice, chicken and gravy. Then we went back to the room where we did some computer, reading, and a long nap. The bad news of the moment was that someone had stopped-up the toilet while we were gone. The main said that it would take a few days to correct itself – not cool, but what can we do. We'll be heading out in a few days. Guess we’ll need to use the other toilet with the 9 other members of the house. Hilal came by (I thought he was gone to Dubai by now) and we talked a little about our trip to the Musandam Peninsula. Hilal has already booked us a hotel and a dhow trip to some of the islands. All we need to do is buy ferry tickets – at first I thought they were over $100 a ticket (too much), but after much searching, I found the official website and saw that tickets were just a little cheaper (about $80). Still high for us. But I’ll just cancel my plan of staying in a really cool Dubai hotel before I leave.
After the internet gave me fits I went outside to watch the boys put up the tent by themselves. They only watched Pooja and I put it up once during our trip to Salalah, but they remembered most everything. Not many American kids could do that. These Omani kids catch on fast. I sat outside for awhile reading my magazine as the sun was setting and the temperature cools down from the 100s to the high 80s. Kamala was so nice as she made a big tub of popcorn and mango juice for everyone. The kids ran around and did their crazy playing of chase and throwing each other down. These kids will just crash in the rocky ground with a huge thud and get up without crying at all – no overprotection or helicopter parents in Oman. No allergies either. These are sturdy kids who know how to take care of themselves – I remember that when I was a kid these were the ways. Not now back in the States.
After the sun went down Pooja and I took a couple of the kids out to dinner with us – a Turkish Restaurant about 10 km down the road in Samail. The kids had an egg burger (it was gigantic) while Pooja and I shared a big shwarma & humus plate with some of the best bread I’ve ever had. Even this was too much for Pooja and I so we had to take some home for Kamla and the kids. We drove there in another car of theirs, this time an old BMW with over 100,000 miles on it – that’s a lot in this country as most cars are used and abused to the max (so many wadis will do that). After we got home we just did some computer work before hitting the mattress on the floor.
