December 5, 2009 – Muscat, Oman was our first port of call and a destination that we had little knowledge of before our visit there. Unlike some other destinations, the bookshelves and internet are not full of information for travelers that are planning a visit. This rather small country is bordered by Saudi Arabia, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates and the Arabian Sea. This was a very sleepy, mostly desert country, until large oil deposits were discovered in the 1960’s. The official name of the country is the ‘Sultanate of Oman’, and the current Sultan who took power in the early 1970’s has used some the large oil profits to bring the country into the modern era. When he came to power the entire country had only two schools, one hospital, and only five miles of paved roads – all of these aspects have expanded by more than a thousand fold since then. However, the Sultan does appear to rule with a heavy hand with strong Islamic principles and the populace knows that they are always being closely watched by their government, and almost all decisions are monitored by it. For example, every structure built must be either white or a light color according to Islamic law, and must be approved by the government. And foreign workers are granted only limited rights within the country and are limited to stays of two years or less.

Western investment has been limited, but some of the major hotel and restaurant chains are now starting to have a presence here. The Sultan has eight palaces around the country with several being in Muscat, although even the servants to do know which palace the Sultan will reside at each day. The Sultan also spent millions of dollars of his ‘own funds’ to build one of the largest and most extravagant mosques in the world - it can hold up to 20,000 worshippers. All of the areas we saw on our tour seemed to be well manicured and maintained, and we did not see any slums or areas of abject poverty. The Omani men seem to wear either western clothing or the long shirts and cap head coverings, while the Omani women wear the full black robes and veils, although few wore the full face coverings. Visitors and foreign workers are allowed to wear modest western clothing.

One of the most authentic and interesting highlights our tour was a visit to their local souk. This is a marketplace frequented by both locals and tourists that has been in existence for hundreds of years. It is located close to the seaport and is built mostly underground and has narrow sidewalks and alleyways that spread out in all directions. Everything from souvenir items, to colorful fabrics, to toys, to household items, to exotic spices and perfumes, to shoes, to the most exquisite gold jewelry can be found. And of course you must employ your keenest bargaining skills to obtain the best prices from the aggressive, but friendly vendors. This port call did give us a good glimpse of life in a small, fairly isolated Arab country.