Eid Mubarak

Deep apologies for the hiatus, and I hope to make up for it by providing visuals with this longer-than-usual post. [alas, the photos will not load. so the post will be shorter than expected. click here for my photos in one large lump.]

Things have been changing here in Muscat, mainly due to the end of the Holy Month of Ramadan and the start of Eid Al-Fitr, marked here on Saturday. New life has been breathed into the city and it seems that local "hang out" points have become more crowded earlier in the evenings. Last night, Meredith, Amelia and I ventured down to the Shatti Al-Qurm beach after dinner, only to find two impromptu parties and streams of various groups weaving in and out of the sand. The sky was pitch black and dotted clearly with stars, an impressive feat in any capital city, as light pollution often distorts such a romantic view of the evening sky, but thank goodness for Sultan Qaboos and his royal decree that buildings in Muscat cannot be taller than 6 stories.

I spent my Eid with a good friend from MEI in Salalah, the capital of Dhofar, the southernmost province - "wilayat" - of Oman. Dhofar is famed for its cooler temperatures and lush green landscapes during the summer months, mostly between June and August, which is known as the Khareef. Omanis (and other Gulfis I suppose) flock from Muscat and elsewhere to Salalah, to escape the heat and humidity (which can reach up to 45C!). Kristin and I just missed the Khareef, so landscapes weren't as green as expected, but the atmosphere definitely had a unique quality to it. Unfortunately, we didn't do as much exploring as I would have liked, due to our fierce independence and insistence on renting a car and exploring the area ourselves, but it was beautiful nonetheless. That said, I will definitely have to return during the Khareef and explore the places I've missed. This area of Oman is pretty ancient; there were 2 official archaeological sites of ancient cities dating back to the 1st century BC, cities visited by Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo, cities that flourished with the ancient frankincense and sea trades alike.

Southern Arabia is famed for its frankincense trees, but aside from the trees on display at the frankincense museum (which we visited in the wee minutes before our departure from the city), we found this one on our own. Sitting in the middle of Salalah's industrial area:

It looks so lonely.

Other sites visited include Mughsail beach, which is famed for its blowholes that spray seawater during high tide. Looks like we missed prime viewing time for that as well. Alas. At least the views were breathtaking (when are they not?) Salalah definitely has a tropical quality to it, with coconut palms and banana trees abound, making me reminisce about the Philippines. Kristin and I definitely filled our bellies with fresh coconut juice -- for 150 baisas (around 0.50USD) per coconut, we couldn't get enough! The fresh fruit stalls lines the roads near the beach, attracting the droves of Indian tourists that seemed to take over all of Oman during Eid.

Kristin was a good sport as I dragged her to visit little fishing villages east of Salalah, Mirbat and Taqah, to see my first forts and castles in Oman (they're everywhere here, reminding the modern tourist of Oman's past of warring lords and defense mechanisms against the Portuguese). Mirbat is supposedly famed for its breeding of Arabian horses, but we didn't see any of those. Thanks to the good help of some locals, we located the old castle (closed for renovations), and I relished in being able to communicate clearly with the locals and marveling at the old architecture.

In Taqah, we were greeted by gorgeous views from the top of the fort, and I spent a few jovial minutes with some local children, proving to myself that I can indeed carry on a conversation in Arabic (with some Omani dialect too)! Al-hamdulillah.

Later that evening, Kristin and I ventured into what the map had said as the "gold souq" but instead found the streets teeming with Indian tourists abound. I think I saw just one Omani wandering in the crowds, and he definitely looked out of place in what we dubbed as "Little India."

Thankfully, in the hours before Kristin's flight back to Abu Dhabi, we explored the Muttrah souq, which is always a treat. And we did not feel like we were in "Little India." Al-hamdulillah.