Museums, gardens and sunsets

Outside the museum

We did visit one museum in Old Muscat, one that was at one time a private home. We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but we saw lots of traditional daggers and sabers and old rifles  - all a reminder of how often this city was the site of armed conflict so that the winner could control the port. There were also lots pieces of jewelry - very heavy and ornately decorated silver worn by the women around their ankles and necks. Coral was a popular stone and it was believed that the red color kept evil spirits away. There were also examples of traditional clothing - different styles popular in different regions of Oman, but the styles were very colorful rather than the black that the women wear today. There were also household items - beautiful dishes and silver serving pieces.

We also visited one of the gardens in Muscat. This style of cupola adorned the corners of the garden walls.

We went to the garden partly because it was described as a good place to see birds. Oman is situated in the migratory path of many bird species  and was listed as a bird watcher's destination.  We saw this type of bird often, but have not identified him yet. 

At the garden, which is situated right in the city, we saw some interesting species, some familiar like the Great Blue Heron, but one blue bird that we saw we never have seen before, but I was not able to get a picture of one either.

The garden had some pretty areas, but unfortunately, there were many signs of neglect, especially around the pond. 

Trash - especially the discarded water bottle - is everywhere to be seen. The Middle East locations that we have visited need a "Don't be a litterbug campaign"- which was part of the Keep America Beautiful organization's effort to educate Americans to prevent litter along America's highways - it actually started in the late 40's. Visiting in the Middle East, where most people drink bottled water and where there are no recycling or anti-litter campaigns that we are aware of, makes us realize how successful the anti-litter campaigns have been in the US. The most disagreeable part of living here for me is that there is no recycling, so putting glass, and plastic in the trash along with fruit peels is very disconcerting. 

We enjoyed our visit in Muscat and were especially impressed by the enthusiasm for their country expressed by the Omani men we met. One cab driver was insistent that we come again and get out of the city to see some of the other beautiful spots in the country. Many people come here to dive and see the coral reefs off the coast.

We saw some beautiful sunsets from our hotel balcony.

Sightseeing in Muscat

Stephen, wearing his Pappy visor, at the Souq

We spent some time exploring the sights in Muscat, one of which was the Souq Muttrah. Shopping in the Souq is quite an experience. All of the shopkeepers call to you to take a look at their wares. Of course, the competition is fierce. There are many shops selling pashminas, so the bargaining is part of the process. There is also a lot of silver and another product they seem to specialize in is frankincense. Many have hookas - water pipes and decorated boxes, seen in the display behind Stephen.

This is the entrance to the Souq in Muscat. The Omani men wear full length white shirts and traditional hats instead of the traditional dress of the Qatari men which includes the gutra in white, or in white and red cloth and held in place by a black rope.

This is a picture I took at the Souq in Doha, so you can see the traditional dress of the men. I am amazed at how beautifully starched and white the gutras are. The laundering of these items would be no small chore. 

The juxtaposition of old and new is a common site in Muscat. 

I thought this mosque was really pretty. The fort behind it seems to be carved out of the rock.

This is the view along the corniche in Old Muscat. Sultan Qaboos' yacht and some traditional boats are moored in the harbor. 

This is as close as we could get to one of the forts. There are two forts on either end of Muscat Harbor. Here is some information from the Oman tourism site: Like the rest of Oman, Muscat’s buildings never rise more than ten stories - a longstanding decree by His Majesty the Sultan to ensure that the city’s magnificent mountain backdrop is never overshadowed by man-made structures. Rather than skyscrapers, pride of place on Muscat’s skyline are its twin forts of Al Mirani and Al Jilali which sit perched atop the headlands on either side of Muscat Harbour. They represent just two of the many forts and watchtowers from centuries past which can be seen on the mountains surrounding the city.

Along the corniche, men fish off the bridge.

I think the lack of sky scrapers is one of the most striking differences between Doha and Muscat. The buildings are almost all gleaming white and no taller than ten stories, so the city and the mountains behind create a beautiful site. 

We found one outdoor cafe along the corniche and had some hummus and Arabic bread and a Mango smoothy. There aren't a lot of outdoor cafes, at least at this time of year. Maybe more restaurants set up tables once the weather cools. Either that or it is a business opportunity waiting to happen.

The Grand Mosque

We visited the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque of Muscat, the third largest mosque in the world, and it is truly spectacular.

Unfortunately, I did not take a great shot of the whole building from a distance, but here is a link to a beautiful picture taken at night
You may need to copy and paste in your browser.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Grand_Mosque_muscat.JPG

This is the room where the women pray.

The morning hours are the only times that non-Muslims may enter the mosque.

This is the main room of the mosque, where the men pray. A guide told us that the chandelier weighs eight tons. To get a sense of the scale, notice the people standing in the lower center. 

This place of worship is clearly something the Omanis are very proud of.

Beaching it in Muscat, Oman

This was our view from our hotel, the Crowne Plaza

We had a room on the top floor of our hotel which gave us a beautiful view of the beach and the city. Muscat today is actually a blend of three smaller villages that have grown together over the years; therefore, the city stretches for miles along the coast. The mountains in the background are made up of Plutonic Rock (rocks pushed up from below the earth's surface,  the name coming from the Greek God - Pluto - God of the underworld). The mountains are completely barren - nothing seems to be growing on them at all. From the air plane, they looked like miles and miles of ridges and valleys made up of chocolate cake mix.

The tides coming in and out create a dramatic difference in the beach. The water is fairly shallow for many yards. 

This is the view from the beach and looking in the other direction. The dark line shows the depth that the water can reach at high tide. 

The people on the beach do more wading than swimming, and we saw very few women.

Many people enjoy the beach fully clothed with pants rolled up so they can wade in the water.

There was a lively game of soccer going on one afternoon.

So much diversity on the beach. There are wave runners just beyond the swimmers.

I was one of a few women on the beach in a western style bathing suit, but even with a long skirt over it, I got a lot of stares. 

Stephen, dressed in his Pappy visor and tee shirt, was impressed by how high the water level rises.

Discovering Muscat, Oman

I returned to Doha on October 14, 2013, and got to see Stephen's new apartment. It is much nicer than the hotel and I look forward to spending the next few weeks here. But since Stephen had some days off due to the Eid Holiday, we departed from Doha and flew to Muscat, Oman, on Wednesday morning. We had been looking for a place to visit and originally thought of Prague or Bangkok, but then decided that these were too far away for a short holiday and decided to visit some place much closer, but so many of the places nearby are in such turmoil. I would have loved to visit Greece or Istanbul, but there is so much negative news about unrest and violence in these cities that we were afraid to go at this time. So we chose  a city very nearby that everyone who has been there told us is one of the most beautiful in the Middle East - Muscat, Oman. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine touring in the Middle East as we are doing, but I find the places and the people and the cultures fascinating and beautiful. If you are wondering just where Muscat, Oman is, here is a link to a map:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.vacationstogo.com/images/ports/maps/367_w.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.vacationstogo.com/cruise_port/Muscat__Oman.cfm&h=613&w=700&sz=62&tbnid=u9mT0FzkZ3kSlM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=106&zoom=1&usg=__CuTzCl57FDY9LkV5JU0jTXgYWP0=&docid=GZq7rhbim54uSM&sa=X&ei=w61jUuXQN-eh0QW34oHoCQ&ved=0CHAQ9QEwBQ

This is a typical view of the houses and architecture found throughout the city

Reading about the city of Muscat before arriving, I learned that unlike Doha and Dubai, Muscat is a very old city due to the very deep harbor; one source said it is one of the deepest in the world. The location is mentioned by Ptolemy and Pliny the Elder and there is evidence that people have lived here since the sixth millennium BCE. Because the port or harbor is so highly desirable, the city was conquered by the Persians (the Sasanian Empire) in the third century CE, and by the  Portuguese led by Alfonso de Albuquerque in 1507. Once he conquered the city, he slaughtered most of the remaining residents, men, women and children. The Portuguese then occupied the port city for a century, but were repeatedly challenged by Persia and then bombarded by the Turks in 1546. The city was fought over by the Turks, the Persians, the Portuguese and the Omani people over the decades, but the Portuguese were finally defeated in 1650 by the Omanis.

This is a part of Old Muscat. We tried to climb up to the fort, but the stairs are blocked off.

Because of this history of struggle, the city has many ancient forts that can be seen in contrast to the gleaming white architecture of the more modern city. One of our cab drivers told us that all cab drivers in Muscat are Omani men, and they are proud of their city and show their enthusiasm for their home in their conversations with visitors. In Doha and Dubai,  cab drivers are typically from someplace other than Qatar or UAE.

Maybe because the city has such a long and proud history, the town feels much more settled and calm than Doha. We were there for the Eid al-Adha - the feast of the sacrifice- an important holiday in the Islamic faith commemorating Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, and Allah's intervention to spare the son and provide a lamb to slaughter instead. So, among Muslims, the Eid is a celebration of children and family, and everywhere we went, people were in a festive mood and kept greeting us with the expression - Eid Mubarek - we think it is an equivalent greeting to Merry Christmas.

Beauty and the Blight

A series of construction sites near the Souq Waqif

Doha is undergoing major transformations. Look in any direction along the city skyline and the horizon is marked with tower cranes,  like a seam of jaggged stitches attaching  earth and sky. In the next few years, this country, smaller than the state of Connecticut, will spend, by some estimates, close to $50billion on infrastructure projects. There are hospitals, museums, highways, sports arenas, hotels all under construction.

The contrasts within the city are stark. Signs of great wealth and signs of poverty - especially among the laborers, all foreign workers who have come from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Philippines, and various countries of Africa, just to name a few. Certainly the newly completed skyscrapers are impressive, but there are also neighborhoods where the construction is still raw and the demolished buildings stand waiting for their turn to be wiped away and replaced with something new.

This is a fairly common site in the neighborhood of Al Saad, where Stephen lived the first four months in Doha.

Another scene in Al Saad. Beyond the corrugated sheets is a construction dump.

The contrast between old and new is also striking.

A beautiful new facility is at Katara, where this amphitheater provides a venue for all sorts of cultural events.

The amphitheater faces the sea.

The beach at Katara - no bikinis allowed.

Doha, Qatar

We returned to Doha on Saturday and headed to the beautiful Museum of Islamic Art (MIA). The building is itself a stunning work of art designed by I. M. Pei.

The interior of the building has so many stunning elements. We toured the permanent exhibit and came a second time to see the Afghanistan exhibit, a collaborative effort between the Turquoise Mountain's  Institute for Afghan Arts and the MIA. The exhibit paired an ancient work or a piece from the museum's collection with a student work which was inspired by the earlier work of art. I was so impressed that the quality of the student work was so fine, it was difficult to distinguish the museum piece from the student creation. In a video, the artists explain that this project inspired them to raise the quality of their workmanship so that their creations would meet the quality of the museum piece. Here are a few examples.

With this one the painting is the student work.

The beautiful gold pendant repeats the shape of the dragon.

The wood carved door (left) is the student work

A view of the Museum of Islamic Art in evening.

The Islamic Cultural Center

The Souq Waqif in evening.