Oman? Oh, Man! Part VI: I Refuse to title this ‘Muscat Love’…

Monday February 22^nd, 2010.  Our first dawn in Oman was quite pleasant.  We walked on the beach and enjoyed our first glimpses of Qurum in the sunlight.  Pleasantly warm, there were already hints of steamier temps to come as the day progressed.  Next was breakfast at the Beach Hotel, and it was first class.  This was my first ever Arabian buffet breakfast where hummus wasn’t present – it is usually the main ingredient.  We talked over a loose itinerary for the day and leisurely returned to the vast expanse of our apartment.

Here I donned my “Eddie From Ohio” t-shirt, which I wear every time I get to travel outside the US.  This prompted comments of how blatant a tourist I was from John and Mark, who donned their own tacky t-shirts:  John put on his “Lancaster Chopper Riders” tee (a hilarious combination between an Amish buggy and Harley Davidson motorcycle) and Mark his “Lancaster Barnstormers” (Lancaster, PA’s minor league baseball team).  Inadequately attired, the tacky trio ventured out to explore Muscat environs.

Qurum Beach, Muscat (Mark Kirchner photograph)

Our first stop was in Muttrah, the biggest village in the Muscat metropolitan area (much larger than Muscat).  Here we parked and walked about the local fish souk, a smelly but vibrant experience.  I found it refreshing to see so many people cheerfully performing manual tasks in traditional dress…this group appeared more content than the “wealthy” folks I interact with back home.

Muttrah Fish Souk (Mark Kirchner photograph)

Next we dropped in on old town Muscat and parked at Merani Fort, next to the Sultan’s Palace. Slowly the mystique of Muscat began to evaporate.  This ancient port should have been cluttered with narrow alleys to accent stories of sea storms, pirates and intrigue.  However, the palace has completely replaced the harbor buildings and despite a handful of museums scattered about, Muscat is basically the palace and government offices.  Muttrah was a bustling contrast to the silence of Muscat.

I suppose the trick is to consider the larger area as Muscat to recapture the charm.  The official village of Muscat, however, was a disappointment and we shortly pushed on along the coast.  Our destination was Sidab, where we had contacted a boat operator to take us snorkeling and cruise the Muscat coastline.  We couldn’t pinpoint the location and continued to wander, eventually diverting to check out Haramil, another tiny fishing village tucked into the shore.  After snapping a few pictures we repaired to a teensy eatery for lunch, a stereotype ‘hole in the wall’, but quite delightful.  About five tables were jammed into the small interior, with two occupied by Omani men in traditional garb.  I ordered chicken massala, Mark and John the prawn massala.  One thing we were gaining an appreciation for was the value illusion of an Omani Rial, as lunch only cost us 4.5 OR for all three (about $15US), much more reasonable than the 45 Dhirams we would have paid in the UAE, lol!

We had given up on locating the original boat operator, but I had noticed a “boat cruise” sign earlier as we wound down the coast, so we back tracked.  Reading about this area suggested it was quite easy to hire a boat, and that advice was spot on.  Though a bit pricey at 20 OR apiece, we simply walked in and minutes later had already picked out our snorkel gear.  Following our pilot to the nearby dock, we were aboard and underway for an impromptu private cruise in probably a half hour.

The Muscat coastline was exquisite.  Rocky outcrops aplenty, most sporting a stone turret, were immersed in the beautiful blue waters of the Gulf of Oman.  We went up the coast as far as the Sultan’s Palace, then worked our way back until navigating into a sheltered cove where we weighed anchor for snorkeling.  Before diving in, the pilot pointed out some elevated white boxes on the shore and informed us they were mausoleums for Portuguese sailors, several centuries old.

Boat cruise along the Muscat coastline

A superb snorkel.  Not the best selection of tropical fish I’ve ever witnessed, but more than enough to dazzle you.  Mark got to try out his underwater digital camera for the first time and captured a moray eel, conch, and cuttlefish on the trial run!  For John and I, the beauty of the snorkel was simply swimming in the ocean after arriving a couple days ago from winter back in the States.

Rebounding back to Muttrah after the cruise, we dropped in on the storied Muttrah Souk.  This souk got quite a lot of press and it was easy to see why.  Plenty of winding aisles, numerous stalls and heaping quantities of spices, gold, you name it!  John was excited to visit because he was intent on acquiring a khanjar, the curved dagger worn on a belt in formal Omani dress.  We dropped in on several dealers, all of whom were welcoming and provided us with an excellent education on these ornamental knives.

Buying khanjars in the Muttrah Souk (Mark Kirchner photograph)

One dealer in particular had impressed us, so we returned to his shop on the way out.  John initially purchased a pair of Yemeni khanjars (these are technically jambiyas, Yemeni term for the same thing) and I added one for myself.  Then John made the prize acquisition, an Omani khanjar with a pure silver sheath!  Adding one more jambiya, John raised his arsenal to four and we departed.  Hopefully John can get through customs when he returns home. E-mailed my wife about our day’s activities and she thought John’s acquisitions were ‘overkill’…

Wrapping up the khanjar transactions provided a brilliant example of the magic of travel.  Our shop dealer presented us with his card at the conclusion, revealing his surname to be Al-Balushi.  He asked us if we had heard of John Belushi and indicated that he was in the same family, though not closely related.  How often do you get to buy a dagger from John Belushi’s cousin, lol???

My khanjar – camel bone handle and camel leather sheath

After pumping up the local economy we headed back to the hotel, where we showered and returned to the nearby strip mall for dinner at O Sole Mio, obviously an Italian joint.  What a riot!  The head waiters were sporting Italian colors – one in a very bright red suit with white shirt and green tie, the other in a very bright green suit with white shirt and red tie, which smacked oddly of a very tacky Christmas.  The food was top shelf although we found the entertainment lacking.  Some guy with a keyboard was playing a string of pop classics and mumbling the lyrics, something like professional karaoke I guess.  I thought every number was rancid, but he actually got applause two times, which I suspect was because he had performed audience requests.

After dinner we packed up for the two day outdoor excursion (our guide will pick us up tomorrow morning and drop us back off Wednesday night) and everyone seems pumped for the daring hikes.  John had to excuse himself for a bit to continue his game of PINball, and I think he was finally successful.  During John’s absence I continued to beat up on Mark in Spite & Malice, virtually assuring that I will be adding Muscat to the win column.