Oman

I am enjoying warm sunny days in Oman, and I have been able to completely abandon my polar fleece. The people here enjoy cloudy weather because it's so rare. In Oman, the weekend is Thursday and Friday. Unfortunately I have grown new skin cells on my hennaed hands and they look like I have an unusual skin disease.

As I watch all the violence that is occurring in the Middle East at the moment - Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, and Lebanon, I feel very lucky that I am in a stable and peaceful country. Sultan Qaboos has done much to make Oman a modern, progressive, and prosperous country since he came to power in 1970. There is oil here, but not as much as in neighboring countries, so Omanis work along side the foreign workers. Many schools, universities, and hospitals have been built and there is constant construction of new highways, buildings, and houses. People drive like crazy here too!

As far back as 5000 BC Oman was involved in trading, exporting frankincense from the south (It is the sap of a tree and doesn't smell that good, but is used to purify the air.) and importing spices. The Portuguese occupied coastal towns from 1507 -1650, but eventually they were ousted. One can see numerous watch towers from their time here. By 1650 Oman was a unified empire and its influence extended to East Africa, especially Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania. When I was in Zanzibar several years ago I was very aware of the Arab influence of Oman in the buildings and market. Because of the East Africa influence, there are many people here of East African descent that speak Swahili.

Oman has mountains, high barren mountains, but also oasis with date palms and other crops in many places. Yesterday I walked part of the rim of the "grand canyon" of Oman, Jebel Shams (Mountain of the Sun). It was a beautiful three hour hike with views of the canyon and the almost dry river bed below. We ended up at an abandoned village which once had 15 self-sufficient families living there. One could see remnants of their stone houses built under a ledge and terraced gardens which at one time had vegetables and food for their goats. It would be fairly cool living there in the summer, but very very cold in the winter. It reminded me of ancient Native American villages in the southwest.

Muscat is a very attractive city without skyscrapers, the buildings are white and in the traditional style with domes and arabesque windows. The port is in the part of town called Mutrah as is the souq (market), a great place to explore with traditional silver jewelry and crafts and everything modern that one would like to purchase. Numerous tiny shops sell the same merchandise and one wonders how each can possibly survive.

I'm staying with friends of friends in university housing. Jamila is from Minneapolis and her husband, Khaled, is Tunisian. I've enjoyed getting to know them, and they have been most hospitable and have taken me many places. Their three younger children live here while two older children attend the University of Minnesota. They have lived here since 1996 and say they have seen many changes since that time.

We visited Nizwa, the capital from the 8th to the mid 12th century, where there is a fort, built in the early 17th century, a majestic building where the ruling Imam who was both the religious and political leader lived and ruled. There is a huge very impressive circular tower which at one time was heavily fortified. From the top of the tower one can see the town and the mountains; there are 23 cannons stationed around the tower. The stairway leading to the tower has "murder holes" where boiling date syrup could be poured on the enemy. It that was not enough, there were also pits which the enemy would drop down into. The fort is wonderfully restored with the rooms furnished with carpets and pillows where visitors could stay. We saw the kitchen and the shower where water was poured into a cistern and then a spigot could be turned on.

Omanis are friendly and Oman is a very pleasant place with many historical and natural sights to explore. The desert will be the destination tomorrow.