HOT, DUSTY, AND SERENE

Sunday – 5 April 2015 – Muscat, Oman

Silver Wind's course from Mumbai to Muscat hugged the coasts of India, Pakistan, and a bit of Iran before heading south across the mouth of the Persian Gulf

We could barely see the nearby coast of Pakistan. At a briefing for the passengers, the Captain told us that the air would be dusty for a week due to massive sandstorms in the Arabian Peninsula. Of more immediate interest, he also said that the ship would take a course close along the shore. It would be “safer” as we would be within the reaches of the local navies during our transit of the Sea of Bengal. The Song of Flower had crossed directly between India and Oman during my three crossings of the Indian Ocean 20 years ago. I guess it was a simpler or maybe less informed time then.

The precautions were appropriate as the northern half of the entire Indian Ocean had been declared “a pirate zone”. For the last five years maritime law has dictated that most ships’ itineraries be modified to stay within the jurisdiction of cooperating countries. We were to skirt Pakistan for two days and then a bit of Iran before crossing the Persian Gulf. The route seemed counter-productive to me. We were to learn more in a few days as this was only the beginning of what was to become a number of days of the "hide under the bed" cruise.

Muscat on the Persian Gulf was a new port for me. I was most interested in seeing Oman's capital and most populous city. At matter of fact Muscat has one-third of the country’s entire population of 3.2 million.

As two days of my closely watching the coastline, we sailed into Muscat's harbor at dawn passing a strange-looking structure. After a perilous but uneventful crossing of the Arabian Sea we hoped that this port would be an introduction to one of today’s more prosperous and calmer Middle East nations.

We sailed into Muscat's harbor passing a curious structure most of us took to be a mosque. We later found out this was a park for the citizens. The structure is an observation tower "built in the shape of a frankincense incense burner". Note the ferris wheel at the lower right. 

Kansas sized country Oman is ruled by an absolute monarch. Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said seized power in 1970 and has only increased his powers since then. The climate is hot and arid. Only 3.2 inches of rain fall each year, and that’s mostly in January in the more mountainous south. Muscat is on the north coast of the country in the entry of the Persian Gulf. The lengthy border with Saudi Arabia is marked on most maps, “Undefined.”

Outside of Muscat, hardly anyone lives other than in the handful of small cities, and all Omani citizens practice Islam. It's apparently a requirement to maintain citizenship. As you might guess Omanis are not big on universal human rights, but the Sultan has both formal and informal friendly relations with both Iran and the West. As such, Oman has been an increasingly stabilizing influence and negotiator between adversaries in the Middle East. Our tour guide said that since the succession of the ailing childless sultan has been worked out recently, their biggest worry is that their Western border is with increasingly unstable Yemen. The country is very concerned about terrorism, but. I suspect their primary fear is that refugees will come across the border and dilute their prosperity.

Oman is rich, but it's not Saudi Arabia. Over the years the country's oil has been produced carefully, and the economy has been managed to grow slowly but steadily. Everything appears very orderly. All Omani men wear dishdashas, ankle length long sleeved gowns. The only variation is their headdress, one for formal occasions and one for everyday wear. The men seem to mostly stand around in small groups chatting. They don't seem to do a lot of work. They have foreign workers for that. Except at some upscale shopping centers, women are not visible.

We were photographed as we left the ship for our morning tour of Muscat

Barbara negotiated to buy the actual scarf she liked in the air conditioned souk

The outdoor refreshment stand was not busy on this very hot morning

I had been disappointed that a tour had not be scheduled in advance for this “turn over day” when most passengers end their cruise and new passengers board for the next segment. But one perspective passenger who had booked the two segments “back to back” had contacted headquarters repeatedly to request an “in-transit tour” of Muscat be offered. I can report that he was most happy that this request was granted after we boarded in Singapore and felt obliged to sign us up for it.

The tour left soon after the proverbial ship’s clearing by the local authorities, a bunch of dishdashied guys who majestically strolled on board and proceeded to drink tea in the ship’s Card Room for most of the day. One official on the pier took our pictures as we walked down the gangway. After a short wait our brand new very air conditioned tour bus proceeded less than 1 km to a very antiseptic shopping center. Omani women and children, all eating ice cream cones, were slowly eying the wares for sale. We saw very few foreign tourists. Barbara negotiated for a lovely scarf at a stall in the enclosed air conditioned souk. The only time voices were raised was when she insisted on buying the scarf on display and not one sealed in a plastic wrapper that the salesman quickly put in a bag he handed her. After I walked over looking stern, he relented and let her stuff the display scarf into the bag as he took the no doubt smaller and cheaper scarf back.  I shook hands with the bewildered salesman. Then we exited the shopping center briskly.

Although there was time afforded, we did not celebrate her purchase with tea in the outdoor café adjacent to the shopping center. The mid-morning temperature wasn't at the usual high of 122F degrees yet, but it was kind of warm for hot tea.

The private museum held a wonderful collection of Omani artifacts. The painted creatures outside were a remnant of a recent fundraising event that "no body knew where to put", said the guide

We were now driven around the block—Muscat isn't really very large—to a private museum, very private as it had to be unlocked for us. Omanis are proud of their way of life and cultural traditions. The museum was actually pretty nice. The museum’s displays of historical and modern objects were fascinating. Even after a teenage school group appeared, inside the building was very calm despite the somewhat disquieting display of painted animals outside its entrance. 

Muscat's "Old City" looked beautiful. All we were allowed to do is look.

Our guide told us that the was not the actual Sultan's palace but a hotel on the grounds of the palace

The government administrative offices for the country of Oman weren't very busy from what we saw 

The tour description promised photo opportunities in the very well preserved Old City. The bus stopped on a hillside above the town, and our guide said we could take pictures after advising us to look both ways before crossing the street to the overlook. There was no traffic at all. He said we were not to actually tour within the city. The itinerary said a photo stop. That's what we got. The old city was photogenic. Next was a visit to the Sultan’s Palace complex. I haved learned to read tour descriptions very carefully. It didn’t say we would visit the Sultan’s actual palace which in fact we did not see on this tour. But the building we approached was immense and looked like a palace. Our guard explained that this was the Sultan’s guest house, essentially a hotel for visiting dignitaries and businessmen. Across the street was the even more palatial government building. Although this was not the Muslim weekend or a holiday, no one was about. It was very calm. After our morning in what for all the world could have been Epcot Center’s version of Oman we returned to the ship. The guide offered to stop en route for those who wanted to get out and do more shopping at the souk. Nobody moved a finger. It was too hot.

We watched the sail out from Muscat with refreshments not available on shore in Muslim Oman

Shortly before we sailed at 7pm, I asked our butler to bring us martinis. We sailed east out the mouth of the Persian Gulf and turned southwest along the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. The sea and we were very calm.

Tuesday – 7 April 2015 – Salalah, Oman

Barbara read up on next port in Oman, Salalah, which we would reach after lunch

Salalah's new port is prepared for a great deal of cargo, but there was only one ship at the extensive container facility

Our view of the shoreline of Oman during our sea day was obscured by the remnants of the sand storms. We could not see the striking mountainous backdrop to Salalah that I had remembered from our earlier visits. We did see what looked like another brand new container port, much larger than the Chinese-built one we had sailed by entering Colombo. Despite its size, the port was servicing only one container ship. Otherwise the port was very calm. What a calm country Oman is, I thought. As I had taken the standard tour of Salalah three times during my earlier trips as passenger and then ship’s tour escort, Barbara took the half-day tour entitled, “Serene Salalah”, solo. The city is 2,000 year old and has fewer than than 200,000 inhabitants. She wanted to see the recently excavated ruins. 

Barbara tending her tour ticket to the guide and ship's escort in Salalah, Oman

As in Muscat, each tour participant was photographed as they stepped onto the pier in Salalah 

As each tour bus arrived back from the short tour of Salalah, a line of sweating butlers greeted them with a hearty, "Welcome Back." 

We arrived at the pier in Salalah after lunch. It was already very hot. I was happy to stay onboard and save $99. Oman doesn't feed their economy only from oil revenue, I figured. I watched Barbara from our balcony as she entered the tour bus.  A local official carefully photographed each tour participant as they left the ship. She returned four hours later as a line-up of butlers who were melting in the 100F shouted "Welcome Back" in unison for each person. Barbara will report at length on her experiences in Salalah in the excellent trip report she is preparing.

I was told that the Silver Wind's chocolate Easter Display included a white chocolate windmill "because the chef is Dutch"

On the way to dinner we passed the display in the ship’s lobby commemorating the recent Easter Sunday. This time I noticed the chocolate windmill. I asked one of the helpful Reception Desk personnel if a windmill was an Easter European tradition. She said it was not as far as she was aware. After a moment's thought she said that the Executive Chef is Dutch and “likes windmills.”

When we returned from dinner, there was a notice for a Mandatory Meeting for All Passengers before the ship leaves Omani waters! The meeting was to be held the next morning when we would begin a four day transit of the Gulf of Aden along the Yemeni coastline and into the Red Sea. Oh joy.