On the road again

And so the time came for us to get our passports stamped again. Since our wedding aniversary was close at hand we thought to make a trip of it, so to say. We tried to arrange a visit to Salalah (Oman) to see the old Frankinsense routes and beautiful beaches, but unfortunately there were no direct flights and we couldn't very well stay over for eleven hours for a week-end away! So, Muscat it was, again.

Fort overlooking Old Muscat

Beautiful street view

This time I chose a funky little hotel from the internet. What a mistake! If you ever hear of anyone going to Muscat, please warn them not to go near the Beach Hotel! The first night we had no warm water and the fridge sounded like a jackhammer. The 'fully functional' kitchen had no kettle, and other than two teacups and saucers, no single recepticle that could contain water. No dishcloths. No soap. They then moved us to a second room, where we had no water at all! The mirror frame in the bathroom was badly broken so all the pressed wood fibres got in our toothbrushes, the marble slab serving as a vanity table in the bedroom was broken right through, the fridge was quiet, and we had a kettle, but the microwave didn't work. By this time, the staff were getting rude, we were getting grumpy. But that is the great thing about week-ends away, by the time tempers get frayed, it's time to go!

Muscat was beautiful as we had expected. We visited a quaint little museum, Bait Al Zubair, and, of all things, an art exhibition.We drove out to Nizwa to see their Fort. We got there just in time to see them closing the doors for prayer times so we wandered around the deserted Souq (market) admiring all the woodwork and patterned tiles.

Another highlight was a trip to Sultan Quaboos Grand Mosque. It is a modern building, quite recently completed. It certainly but all the old european cathedrals into perspective for me! The arabic arches and linked patterns repeating and varying were so elegantly and intricately woven into the architecture, carvings and mosaics. There are also numerous plaques with information about historic designs from various regions.

Mieke, of course, had a ball. She had her photo taken by several groups of visitors, and had great fun with the shoes that people trustingly left in the numerous cubbyholes at the entrance to the prayer halls!

My personal favourite memory from this trip was an unexpected hour at sundown on a tiny beach just north of Muscat (I think it was called Quantab). The fishing village that nestles between the jagged mountains is certainly not on the tourist map. No grand buildings, just a cluster of small homes that peter out on a little beach where we sat and watched the sun go down. Some men in their beautiful traditional dress were walking together as old friends at the close of day until the prayer songs called them away and left us by ourselves in a beautiful place.