culture shock in oman, perched on the southern tip of arabian peninsula, can be a pleasant surprise. i wasn't sure what to expect, i've never been to the middle east. kai had been wanting to visit a desert and so i began making plans to visit the sahara in morocco but then...
an omani woman, seated next to stefan during one of his work flights, spoke poetically about her country. he was hooked and our destination changed from africa to the middle east, just like that.
when we told people about our plans to visit oman, what came to mind for them was either 'where?' or 'but isn't it unsafe?' the reality couldn't be further from the truth. oman is the safest country in the middle east; we never felt unsafe. most importantly, oman is filled with otherworldly landscapes from craggy mountains and lush green oases to crystal blue waters and orange sand deserts. and the people, rooted in tradition, are kind.
but first, our one day stopover in dubai... it wasn't all glitz and skyscrapers, we found some cozy spots too...
one thing i found that's striking about dubai is it's futuristic skyline and that everything looks spanking new. there's a lot of hype around going to the top of world's tallest building (828 meters/2716.5 feet and more than 160 stories!), but since we were there, we just did it. it was silly expensive, the view is crazy, and the mall next to is insane... an ice rink, indoor theme park, a dancing fountain, an aquarium and underwater zoo.
then we spent the rest of the late afternoon on the beach... kai stripped down and jumped right in.
bur dubai (old dubai) is a world away from burj khalifa. a mix of stone, tent and palm tree structures, it was once home to the area's fishermen. in particular, al bastakiya is a wonderful area to explore; good eats, shops, and galleries.
we definitely didn't have enough time to really get to know dubai but i'm glad we ventured into old dubai, to get a more local perspective.
in oman, we started our vacation in the capital, muscat... greeted by sunshine, 5am prayer calls, water infused with frankincense, and traditional charm.
we wandered the labyrinthine alleys that make up the muttrah souk, browsing at all the stuff from copper pots and traditional daggers to gold.
in the heat, we climbed the 100 odd steps to the top of the watch tower on the eastern end of esplanade for views of the harbour. our taxi driver, whom we hired to take us around (just too hot to walk everywhere) thought we were crazy. he also took us to visit his friend where we were offered qahwa, traditional cardamom infused coffee.
we stopped at the sultan's palace too, al alam palace. of note, the sultan ousted his father in 1970 in a british backed coup and is responsible for modernizing oman with roads and schools. back to the palace, it's the funkiest royal palace i'm sure to ever see.
muscat's seafront, once the city's old commercial area, comes alive at sunset when families come out to stroll.
one morning, we visited the lavish sultan qaboos grand mosque, set against the hajar mountains, clad in smooth marble. leaving our shoes at the door and covering my head with a scarf, we step into the prayer hall and look up... from the ceiling hangs an eight tonne chandelier adorned with 600,000 swarovski crystals. the domes and pillars are intricately tiled in shades of blue, green and turquoise. it was jaw-dropping; so glad it's available to non-muslims so we might glimpse the beauty of islam.
the food is influenced by lebanon - slow cooked kebabs and hummus-based messe are popular dishes - as well as india. needless to say, we ate well.
up next... into the mountains!
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