Muscat, Oman

As we approached Muscat, Oman it was hard to make out the city built at the base of the mountains. Closer in we began seeing Portuguese built forts on the outer rock islands with several other large forts on outcroppings protecting the harbor and city. The initial view of the city and the white flat topped roofs of the buildings was quite spectacular and it didn’t change as we got closer. Oman looked like it was built by Hollywood with it’s sheer Mountain backdrop.

Oman is both the capital and largest city of the Sultanate of Oman. Located on the Arabian Sea it has been ruled by the Persians and the Portuguese. Because of this Muscat has always had a diverse group of people not native to the Arabian Peninsula. Although Arabic is the predominant language of the city, English, Balochi, Swahili and other South Asian languages are spoken. In 1970, Sultan Qaboos bin Said staged a bloodless coup in the palace with the assistance of the British and took over from his father as ruler. He married his cousin but got divorced and has no heirs. That should make for a good fight when he dies.

We took a morning tour and visited the Grand Mosque (one of the largest in the Middle East), the Palace and the history museum. We were also able to see quite a bit of the interior of Oman which looks similar to the coast with white flat topped buildings nestled in the mountains. We asked to be dropped off in the Muscat walled city before the bus returned to the ship and wandered around the city before hiring a taxi. The taxi driver, Silah, knew the area well and took us to a remote working fishing village complete with goats, the harbor area overlooking the Palace and several forts. He encouraged us to climb one of them, which was higher than it looked. Finally he took us back to Mutra, which is famous for its Souk (market) and overlooks the harbor where the Rotterdam is berthed. The fare had to be negotiated (I paid half what he asked) and he was on his way. After lunch at an outside harbor restaurant we walked the narrow streets of the souk and town. A few small negotiations in the Souk told me that these guys were not the most honest we had met. They were friendly but I wouldn’t turn my back for long. Oman borders Yemen and Saudi Arabia and feels like it’s on the edge of being safe to Americans. We saw lots of German tourists but no other Americans. They are trying to promote tourism but we found many guards with AK47’s around the city and its various museums—they’re not yet ready.

Back on the we headed out on a 3 day cruise to the Seychelles off the coast of West Africa. This will be 2 beach and wander days in preparation for a busy two weeks in Africa.