Muscat, Oman - Saturday, April 5th

I'm still smiling after our wonderful visit to Muscat and spending the day with Sean.  It's amazing how even a short visit with any of our children can create such joy within us!  Oman is such an interesting place.  So different from all the other places we have visited.  The geography is stunning.  The city of Muscat is spread out along the coast of the Arabian Sea.  It's a long and narrow city due to the mountains which block further development inland.  The mountains are quite spectacular.  It reminded me of sitting in the Palm Springs area of Southern California and looking up at the sharp, jagged and rocky barren mountains of the surrounding desert.  The town is an exciting mix of medieval, traditional and modern architecture that lends Muscat a very unique atmosphere.

There are crown-topped and onion-shaped minarets sprinkled throughout the city creating a cacophony of sounds five times each day when Muslims are called to prayer.  Although the sounds echoing from the towers are dissonant and discordant,  I actually appreciated the reminder to pray throughout the day.  There is a cantor in each of the towers, and from our balcony I was able to hear many different cantors at once.  Quite fascinating.  If men are within 12 kilometers of a mosque or prayer room they must physically go to the site to pray.  Most work sites and public places have prayer rooms.  Women may pray at home, due to their responsibilities with children, elders, etc.

We were blessed with incredibly beautiful weather for our visit.  It was quite warm but not intolerable.  As our tour bus passed through the port gates it stopped just outside to pick up one more passenger - our oldest son, Sean.  We had not seen him in nearly a year so it was a very exciting and emotional site to see him standing there, smiling and waiting for us.  The entire bus load of passengers erupted in applause and welcoming remarks when he boarded the coach, since everyone knew I was extremely anxious and nervous about making the connection with him in this far away land.  There were many barriers we had to work through, but the people on the ship, as well as our drivers and tour guide helped us and we slid through security checkpoints without any difficulties!!!!

Towering above the city, situated on one of the rugged peaks is Fort Nakhl.  It was built 350 years ago to serve as a lookout against invaders and now serves as a tourist site, after being meticulously restored in 1990 using traditional building materials and period furnishings.  It is quite an imposing site as it sets high above the town, seeming to continue to protect it from any approaching danger.

Oman is ruled by a Sultan.  The current Sultan is quite popular.  It appears the people are content with his rule and life is stable here.  Oman is quite different from most of the Arab countries in the Middle East.  Instead of putting all their effort into oil export they are also focusing on increasing their agricultural products, growing at least 30% of their own fruits and vegetables. ALL of the taxi drivers in the country are Omani.  Foreigners are not allowed to become taxi drivers.  Although there are people from India, Pakistan, Philippines, and other countries who live and work in Oman a majority of people who are employed here are Omani.  The Sultan is considered a hero in Oman because he has opened up the country to tourists, built roads, and opened up the oil and gas industry.  The Omani people don't pay taxes, there are no homeless people on the streets and everything is spotlessly clean.  Sounds like a great life as long as you don't care about being included in the country's decision making process.  There is no democracy in Oman.  Still an extremely interesting country and people.

Our first major stop of the day was a visit to the Grand Mosque.  Although construction began in 1995 it was not completed until 2001 by the Sultan Qaboos.  It is truly a magnificent structure.  There is a separate building for men and women to pray, as well as separate gates for them to enter the grounds surrounding the mosque.  The men's area is MUCH larger and more ornate than the women's area.  The men's room accommodates up to 20,000 worshipers.  The entire interior is paneled with off-white and dark grey marble tiles.  Hanging from the ceiling is an exquisite Swarovski crystal chandelier with gold plated metalwork which hangs down for a length of 46 feet.  Quite spectacular.  As women, we had to wear long pants which covered our ankles, long sleeved blouses/shirts and a head scarf before we were allowed entrance.  As long as we were appropriately dressed, tourists are allowed into the mosque between the hours of 8:00-11:00am, as long as there were no services in progress.

Our tour then took us to a museum where they showcased Omani crafts and culture, including antique jewelry, costumes, household utensils and weapons.  We made a quick photo stop at one of the Sultan's palaces, where he happened to be residing at the moment so we weren't allowed to enter.  The grounds were beautiful, lush, and meticulously maintained. It was probably the greenest grass I have ever seen, which is amazing since we are in such a dry, barren desert.

Our final stop of the day was at the Muttrah Souq, a huge, colorful outdoor market with many unique, exotic and authentic items including frankincense, perfumes, gold and silver jewelry, copper and camel bone.  We only had a short amount of time to visit the market, which was probably a good thing for our pocketbook, since once again I was finding lots of great bargains!  They practically had to drag me out of the market, kicking and screaming.

We returned to the ship with Sean in tow, so we gave him a tour of all the decks and services, followed by a buffet meal in one of our restaurants.  Then, we came back to our suite to hang out, relax, and soak in the joy of being with one of our kids.  Before we knew it, it was time for Sean to disembark and for our ship to sail.  Today was absolutely perfect.  Probably a combination of being with Sean, weather that was less than 100 degrees, not touring any more Buddhist or Hindu temples, and an extremely clean environment.  Really enjoyed our time here.  Next, we have one sea day followed by a last stop in Salalah, Oman.  Then, we'll be at sea for four days on our way to Jordan, Israel, Cypress, Turkey and finally, the Mediterranean.  WooHoo!!  Good times ahead!!!

Still on Pirate alert, so I'm keeping my eyes peeled and sitting on the balcony looking for small boats approaching quickly :)  Within the next day or two we pass directly in front of Somalia, so it should be quite exciting!!!  Oh, one more thing.  The Captain is now running the fire hoses (which are strong streams of water) off the back of the ship 24/7, as well as the ship's officers patrolling the open decks with night vision binoculars.  Some of the repeat passengers are guessing there must be a reason security is so tight this time, since it hasn't been stressed so heavily on their previous world voyages.  Just adds to our excitement.  I will write again after we visit Aqaba, which is in Jordan.  We are visiting the ancient site of Petra while we are there.