Salalah, Oman - Monday, April 7th

Today was our last stop in Oman.  The weather remains quite warm, in the low 90's but so much better than the previous 100's.  The terrain of this area is much different than it was in Muscat.  Salalah is mainly flat with lots of trees and lush vegetation, in sharp contrast to the surrounding barren, bleak landscape of the seemingly endless desert.  There are frankincense trees everywhere, date palms, coconut palms, and a variety of fruits and vegetables growing in the carefully irrigated sandy soil.  Salalah, known as the Garden City, is a small and quiet town with very little traffic.  Once again, the city is spotlessly clean and all the structures are covered in light colored tiles.  No motor scooters zipping around here.  Most people drive cars since there is no public transportation system.

Our ship didn't arrive until noon so we had to hurry and see the sites very quickly!  We hopped off the ship and onto the bus immediately.  Our first stop was at the Grand Mosque.  Although it's smaller than the mosque in Muscat it is still quite beautiful.  The architectural lines are very clean and modern and the building is surrounded by beautiful, extremely green grass and trees.  Since tourists are not allowed in the afternoon we were unable to go inside, however, our guide opened the door of the main men's prayer room so some of the men could sneak a peek.  It was not as large, elaborate or ornate as the Grand Mosque in Muscat but it still had a huge hanging crystal chandelier.

Our next stop was at the Al Balid Museum and archeological site.  This area was once surrounded by water, with enormous gates and turrets.  The ruins are historical evidence that a grand mosque, palace, houses, and tombs once existed here.  Currently, university students from the U.S. are excavating the site.  Historically, the local people enjoyed a thriving export business, sending frankincense and Arab horses to India and the Far East.  Inside the museum there were items excavated from the ruins as well as traditional costumes, household items, weapons and jewelry.

We drove through the grounds of another one of the magnificent palaces of the Sultan.  Once again, however, since it is one of the current residences of the ruler that we were unable to venture inside.  Consequently, this was just a photo stop.

Finally, we reached our most interesting stop of the day - a visit to the local Souq (marketplace).  There were a couple of items I was specifically looking for and luckily I found both of them.  I must say, my husband has become quite good at the bargaining process.  He starts immediately with half of the asking price and works from there.  I'm terrible at bargaining so I usually just walk away while he's playing the game.  Most of the time he is quite successful so I am thankful one of us has the skill to negotiate.

Our guide for the day, Rasheed, was quite an interesting fellow.  Of course, every guide we have had has a slightly different version of the same stories so you have to be guarded with how many of their stories to believe.  However, he made a huge point of saying repeatedly that Oman is a completely transparent country and we could ask him anything.  He would not be offended by any of our questions.  He told us that Oman's current Sultan makes it a priority to stay out of other countries' business and struggles.  His often repeated phrase is "Don't play with fire."  The Sultan has been asked to join the neighboring countries to join them in their fight again Iran, but he refuses.  It seems that some time ago Iran came to Oman to help them fight off invaders, and after the war many Iranians were offered, and chose, to live and receive citizenship in Oman.  So the Sultan refuses to participate in any action again the Iranians.  Furthermore, the Sultan claims that when many of the surrounding countries enter into a civil war they don't know how to dig themselves out of the conflict, such as Syria.  In the end, he chooses for Oman to distance itself from the domestic struggles of other countries.

One passenger asked our guide about the Sultan's family - wives, children, etc. to which our guide smiled slightly, paused, and told us that was a difficult question.  After emphasizing many times that Oman is a completely transparent country, they do not know ANYTHING about the private life of their Sultan or his family.  People THINK he has been married two times, but don't know if he has any children to follow him as ruler of the Sultanate.  It is considered inappropriate to ask about the royal family and consequently the population know absolutely nothing about the family.  So different than in the U.S!!!  Doesn't sound very transparent.

When someone asked him about religion we were told that 100% of the Omanis are Muslim.  Hmmmm.....I know there are at least some Christians here so I'm wondering if they worship in secret.

Another passenger asked about why women are discriminated against in Oman.  Our guide quickly shot back that women do NOT face discrimination.  He said they are free to work, drive, vote and worship.  When we asked why women are excluded from the main (men's worship) halls he had no answer.  Before women can enter the mosque they must wear long skirts (covering their ankles), long sleeves, and head covering.  Although men must also wear long pants they do not have the other restrictions in dress. 

Although women compose 25% of the work force, fewer than 10% of them are in managerial positions.  They are seen as suitable secretarial workers or for marketing work (since, according to men, the women can flaunt themselves in front of the buyer).

Further instances of rules for women:

Women are not allowed to serve as judges.

There is no law against domestic violence.  Rape against a spouse is not considered a crime.  There are leniency laws for a man who kills his wife.  If a woman brings suit against a rapist she will find that her actions are criminalized along with the actions of the perpetrator.

Men can have many wives.  Women cannot have multiple husbands (as if they would want them anyway)!!!

Men can divorce their wives unilaterally, but women can only divorce within a narrow range of circumstances.

Children born out of wedlock are considered illegal, and the child is taken from its mother and placed in alternative care.

Muslim women are not allowed to marry non-Muslim men, but Muslim men can marry non-Muslim women.  In fact, our guide is married to a Russian women.

No women's rights organizations exist.

Finally, our guide told us that his own daughter had come to him not long ago asking to marry the young man she loved.  Her father was against it and she did not marry him.  When we asked our guide why he was against the marriage he changed the topic and didn't answer us.

Soooo, each one of us can decide whether or not these practices seem discriminatory.   None of these laws would fly in the US.  However, it continues to be very interesting to visit Arab countries.  Obviously, the men here do not believe that women face discrimination.  Since we weren't given an opportunity to interact with the women (hmmmm) we don't know what they would have to say or if they would say anything at all.  However, it is extremely informative to hear the opinion of the Arab men.

I have talked more about the culture than the sites we saw here.  As you may have guessed, the sites were interesting but somewhat limited.  However, I continue to be fascinated by the local people, beliefs, and cultures.  So, this entry was a bit off the usual sightseeing narrative  Our next stop will be in Jordan, another Arab country  We will not have too much of an opportunity to talk to locals since we are will be making a trek to Petra, which will be a full day, exhausting journey.  Hopefully, I can complete the walk to see one of the Seven New Wonders of the World!!!!  If not, Bob will certainly make it the entire way and take pictures for all of you.  Should be absolutely breathtaking.