O man! What a Difference!

Actually it is Muscat, Oman, but I could not resist trying to make a pun.  Unlike our last few stops, the country of Oman is basically a desert, at least in the area we visited.  Instead of palm thees and lush vegetation we now see green areas only because of irrigation.  Rugged and barren mountains surround the city.  Everyone seems to take pride in their city.  There was virtually no trash in the streets unlike many of the other cities and countries we have visited.

When the Portuguese occupied the area they built watch towers on the peaks surrounding the city from which they could see anyone approaching from land or from sea.




The current Sultan took over, by overthrowing his father, in 1970.  He vowed to modernize and clean up the city, which he has done.  In 1975 oil was discovered in the area.  The Sultan, an absolute ruler and head of all branches of the government, has used the oil money for the benefit of the people.  They have free or almost free schools, medical care and social services.  We saw neither homeless people nor beggars.  The Sultan has several palaces but his life is very private.  No one knows if he is married or how many wives he has.  (He is allowed by law to have four.)  No one knows if he has sons.  Lately his health has not been good and it is thought that he was in Germany for health treatment recently.  When he dies, the family will choose the next Sultan. Since he has been a stabilizing force in the area, There is much speculation what the next ruler will do.

We also saw no motorbikes, a real switch from India.   When we asked our guide about this, we were told that it was too hot, and anyway, everyone has at least one car and perhaps more.  As we drove around, the road was lined with modern buildings housing every brand of car you could name and a few I never heard of.













New construction and mosques were everywhere.  The buildings look new, and they are all white or beige or some shade in between.  No building may be taller than 14 stories, and most are not more than 4. New construction and mosques were everywhere.  No bright colors are allowed. 



One of the Sultan's building projects has been the Grand Mosque which can accommodate 20,000 worshipers, mainly men, under one roof.  The carpet in the worship area is the largest single carpet in the world, weighing 20 tons.  It was woven but young girls in Iran.  Unfortunately we were not on the tour which went inside the mosque, but we saw the grounds and the outside and it was impressive.  Gardeners were watering the new plantings and cutting the grass.  Everything growing must be watered since they get very little rain.  Most of the water comes from desalination plants.

We made the mandatory visit to the souk, or marketplace.  It usually closed during the heat of the day, from 1:00 to 4:00, but they were staying open this day because there were 2 large cruise ships in town. 

Interior store in the souk

The souk caters to tourists, but local people also shop there for everything from spices to clothing to housewares to hardware.  I saw some of the largest plastic bowls that I have ever seen.

Many of the shoppers were tourists, but some of the local people such as this man were dressed in the traditional garb.









We also saw the official Guest house for visiting dignitaries and a museum which showed the traditional dress for all the states in the country and models of various forts.  However, we were not allowed to take pictures in the museum, so I cannot show you how colorful they were.

The official Guest House

The Museum