Oman The Introduction and Day 1

Feb 3-4, 2023

Kindness Abounds

Our decision to travel to Oman, was met with not only questions of safety but with questions on my sanity. There were the obvious concerns of travel to the Middle East as an American, but when friends and family found out it would be just Jenny and me traveling, they were more stunned. When they found out we were renting a car and driving around a good swath of the country, they called in my sanity. When I tried to alleviate their fears, they were quick to insist that women alone in the Middle East was a recipe for trouble. 

The thing is, I am meticulous about making sure we are as safe as possible wherever we travel to. I research everything about our destinations ahead of time, but most importantly I don’t fool around when it comes to our safety, especially when Jenny is along. I learn all the scams to watch out for – in Paris it is the gold ring scam; in Barcelona it is signing a petition scam; in Lisbon it is the taxi fare scam; and in Buenos Aires it is the bird poop scam – funny thing is I could find nothing for Oman. I read blogs, forums, and State Department alerts from the US, UK and Australia, yet still I couldn’t find anything we needed to be on alert for, except for crazy drivers and flash floods – both familiar and manageable (and some might even say I fall into the former category).

The narrative surrounding the Middle East has been deeply perpetuated for us as Americans, and while I fully understand there is truth to it, I have NO choice except to find an alternate opinion. Jenny is planning on getting her master’s in Islam and the Middle East. She wants to work for the government or an NGO or whoever it ends up being, she is going to focus on the Middle East; I have no choice but to come to understand it and get to know it, so that I can have some semblance of peace when she begins her career. Does it scare me? Yes. But not like it did… Did our trip to Jordan open my eyes, my heart and my mind? For sure! Do I hope delving deeper into the Middle East begins to assuage my nausea-inducing concern? Most definitely, and I am ever so slowly getting there. So I am hoping our Oman trip unlocks another misconception, disproves another falsehood and brings me to another level of comfort. As they say in Arabic… “inshallah”

In as much fun as Jenny and I have traveling together, there is always a sadness when we travel without Billy. The three of us have always been, dare I say, a perfect pack. This trip falls during Jenny’s school break and had no wiggle room for dates, thus with obligatory meetings along with other planned get always, Billy could not join us. But we love and appreciate his encouragement and enthusiasm for us to have this opportunity, and if he was at all nervous he kept that to himself! 

This trip was not a guarantee until the day before I left. I have been having some issues with my ears and wasn’t sure I was going to be able to fly, let alone handle all the travel this trip entails. T -24 I made the decision we were going. I finished booking hotels, confirmed with guides and gave Jenny the word. My trip began Feb 1, driving to New York where I boarded my flight for Frankfurt then connected to Belgium, arriving Feb 2. I had one entire day solo in Brussels before meeting Jenny at the airport Feb 3 for us to fly onto Doha, Qatar where we would layover for two hours in the middle of the night and then continue on to Muscat, Oman arriving bright and early at 4:30 AM. I had a guide picking us up, dropping us at the Sheraton so we could shower, cat nap, and grab breakfast before he picks us back up a few hours later at 9:45 to start our 1/2 day tour of Muscat and then he will deposit us at the W where I imagine we, me especially, will feel half dead! From the time I will have left home to the time I step foot in Oman, It will have been 57 hours… Yowzer! 

I met Jenny at the airport this morning and after big hugs and my utter shock that everything she needed for the trip was packed in her school backpack, we giggled about how strange it was for us to meeting in Europe to begin a trip elsewhere.

Back in November, I was able to score us some great mile redemptions to fly Qatar Airways business class. Qatar is consistently rated one of the best airlines and our flight demonstrated exactly why – it was a real treat indeed. Unfortunately our flight was pretty rough, at one point I had my hands covering my drinks just hoping the plate of food they had just deposited minutes earlier was not going to end up in my lap. Jenny likened it to being in a bowl of Jell-O; neither of us too happy about it.

Beginning our descent into Qatar, we flew over Saudi Arabia and the tiny island country of Bahrain. Jenny was quick to point out the bridge that links the two and what she deduced must be the border checkpoint in the middle of it.

Landing in Doha we were met by one of the things Jenny hates most while traveling, parking on the tarmac and being bussed into the terminal, “Not a good first impression,” were her exact words! This quickly was rectified by designated business class busses that whisked us away before the rest of the plane was allowed to depart and honestly it was very nice because the flight was full and the busses were going to be jam-packed (But I’ll admit it was a bit bougie – though not as much as the passengers that were being picked up at the bottom of the stairs in chauffeured driven Audis).

Entering the Doha terminal we were struck by not only its size but its complete feeling of being anywhere but the Middle East. It felt more like Paris with Jenny remarking, “It was such an international group of people.” It certainly wasn’t anything like we experienced when we flew into Amman. 

We had two hours to kill before boarding so we headed to the ridiculous first class lounge which was also cavernous, understated in its elegance with mesmerizing indoor water features and a completely over-the-top, gratuitous, dining experience. We stuffed ourselves with cooked to order filet, pasta with wild mushrooms, chocolate soufflé topped with a delicious beet sorbet and an oversized crème brûlée. I only hoped that the next flight was not as bumpy as the last one otherwise, there was going to be a problem!

We touched down in Muscat at 4:12 AM in the dark. Upon entering the terminal there was no one to be seen. A gentleman, who had been traveling in first class with us, turned to me when I said how empty it was that it certainly wasn’t like the chaos at Doha. He was obviously Middle Eastern but dressed in a western style, baseball cap included, but was quick to chat with us, asking if we were transferring on to somewhere else and surprised when he heard that Oman was our destination. When I told him we were staying eight days and would be getting a car to drive around, he seemed genuinely surprised. Did we have friends there, he wanted to know. Turns out he was Omani, lived in North Carolina for five years, his son is currently at UPENN and he is a professor of economics. Mohwar was a very friendly guy and we would have loved to continue the chat if it had been possible but we said our goodbyes as we entered immigration, where we managed to crack a smile from the customs agent – a good start!

And just as our guide Nasser had said in his email, “I will wait for you at the information desk, you too [sic] won’t miss tall, dark and huge guide.” He was, and he wasn’t joking. We had our own BG if needed, but it turned out Nasser was already much more than that.

The streets of Oman were empty and the buildings pitch black which made the Magnificent Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque stand out all the more as we drove upon it. Nasser pulled over so we could get a nighttime photo of it and let us know we would be retuning to the same spot tomorrow.

We pulled into the Sheraton, where Nasser proceeded to pull out a box of flowers and handed them to Jenny, “The scholar. Just invite me to your graduation,” he cajoled her. Oh wow…what an incredibly kind gesture. I had mentioned in an email that Jenny was studying Arabic and going for her master’s in the Middle East and he took this incredibly gracious step to welcome her to Oman…unreal!

9:45 came fast…too fast but before we knew it, we were greeting Nasser again and heading out to start our tour. Our first stop was the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque which was only open to the public until 11:00. We hit a bit of a snag in roads blocked due to the Oman Ironman Race being held but Nasser pulled a couple of turns, talked his way past the cops and got us to the mosque with just enough time to do a condensed grand tour.

When it opened to the public in 2021, the mosque had the world’s largest chandelier measuring a staggering 14 meters and holding around six hundred thousand Swarovski crystals. But the Reflective Flow chandelier in Qatar now claims the title. It also had the world’s largest single piece carpet, which is now the second largest single piece carpet in the world until the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi snatched the title (I think the rest of the Arab Peninsula has some Oman envy).

The mosque is the country’s tallest structure, with an imposing 270-foot minaret. The mosque has four other smaller minarets, and together the five towers symbolize the five pillars of Islam: profession of faith, prayers, giving of alms, fasting and pilgrimage.

The mosque was an incredible sight and along with the beautiful and peaceful grounds. Nasser did a wonderful job giving us the history while playfully quizzing our knowledge about Islam and Muslim history.

Our next stop was the Mutrah Souq, a labyrinth of narrow alleyways packed with vendors selling everything you can imagine. The souq is more than 300 years old and still going strong. Unlike other souqs with aggressive vendors and notorious pickpockets, this was a very laidback experience with none of the aforementioned hassles to contend with. Did I mention Oman is very safe? The only bandit was Jenny, who made off with a shiny new gold bracelet, bought at the market price per ounce of gold, negotiated down 20% by dear Nasser – an overdue token of our pride in her for the stellar grades she received last semester during her law minor.

As the day was warm, we were hungry and beginning to fade, we skipped a stop at the National Museum (though I do think unlike many museums, we would have really enjoyed this), made a quick stop to see the palace from the outside and headed for lunch.

I had asked Nasser ahead of time, if he would please consider joining us, my treat at a traditional Omani restaurant, and if he could please select a location.

Upon entering a completely nondescript front door, we were led through a set of swinging doors to a private room where we kicked our shoes off before entering to a small space with a wall to wall Persian rug on the ground, a 3’x3′ plastic cloth on top, about six throw pillows, a box of Kleenex, salt and pepper shakers and a bottle of hot sauce. Nasser suggested we order a traditional lamb and rice dish with a lentil soup starter – perfect Jenny and I both agreed.

We had wonderful conversations again about history and traditions – Nasser explained how he watched us carefully, gauging how fast we ate so he would pace himself to not finish too far before us or after us as to not let the company feel rushed or slowed. He said in Muslim culture, the prayer comes after the food, teasing that it is that way so people with rumbling bellies like Jenny didn’t have to wait so long to eat and that the prayer is not rushed.

Oman food is heavily influenced by the spices that came from trade with India and now the large Indian diaspora. The unique things is that Omanis eat with their hands. Nasser gave me a lesson on how to scoop and pinch the rice with my fingers and then using my thumb push the pile into my mouth. I gave it a whirl a few times but figured we would be there until sunset if I had to try and eat my plate of food that way so I quickly retreated to my fork. When we were finished, Nasser asked Jenny if she would give a Muslim prayer, to which she responded that she wasn’t too sure of one but she would love to hear Nasser do it in Arabic, to which he obliged.

The last stop was another kind and unexpected one, Nasser stopped to buy us ice cream – saffron for Jenny; Mango for me; and he chose coffee. The ice cream was delicious and a perfect call!

Again, Nasser walked us into the hotel to make sure there were no problems and that we got checked in alright. He let me know that I should not worry if anything happens to my car and at least three people stop, all they want to do is help, nothing more and not to panic.

We made spontaneous plans to meet up again on our last day, when we return to Muscat. Before coming, I had read about the unbelievable kindness of the Omanis and their desire to share their life and culture with visitors, and clearly I read correct. Jenny remarked how we did not receive any of the strong stares from the men we had like when we were in Jordan, and except for a group of teenage girls in abayas that were obviously taken by Jenny, watching her and smiling intently, we never felt on display and certainly never felt uncomfortable or even out of place. Our introduction to Oman was more than we could have hoped for and certainly not what we were anticipating. It was a very easy going feeling today, of course it could have been because we were with a local, but if tomorrow and the next day prove to be even 1/2 as comfortable as today was, I think that will be a win!