Muscat., Oman...Been There, Done That

I was looking forward to my visit to Oman since very few westerners visit there.  I had seen a story about their sultan showing what wondrous things he has done for his people giving them a much better quality of life raising the average lifespan from 47 to 75.

It is a mountainous, dry, arid, desert country devoid of much vegetation.  It is also strongly conservative Islamic where water is more costly than fuel.  The water has to be reclaimed from the sea.

Everything is two colors, white and tan, (and once in a while a dash of blue) and it is HOT......

 

 

The men wear the traditional long robe and cap (as worn by our guide) and the women are covered from head to foot.  Although I saw men on the street, there were NO women except the few in the bazaar.

Our first visit was to their Grand Mosque.  We shed our shoes and the women covered their hair.  We had to wear long sleeves and long pants as well.

It is a beautiful building with magnificent architecture, stunning chandeliers and mosaics...

It also had this stunning carpet that is one piece, over 40 square meters and made with over 4 million knots.....

Then we were taken to the bazaar that was frankly a rip off, lots of haggling, not someplace I would go again...

We made a visit to their small museum before leaving which was interesting for its information about their lifestyle...

Although they tried, frankly there is not much to see here.  It is on the sea and had this one pretty area I could see but the place is a very hot, arid, rocky place.

One very unusual thing I saw was this HUGE incense burner they use for frankincense.

Next time I come here, if ever, I'm staying on the ship.

Next stop is Dubai!