Day 72

April 4, 2019 – Muscat, Oman

We arrived in the capital of Oman, Muscat, at 8 am. We had no tour scheduled and we are going to see the sites on our own.

A short bus ride took us to customs. A quick baggage scan was done, and then back on the bus. We were dropped off on the Mutrah Corniche. This is a 3 kilometer promenade along the water.

The Souk, or Bazaar in non-Arabic countries, was not far from here but it doesn’t open until 9 am. Time for a walk to Riyam Park which is about 1.5 kilometers away.

Our walk was along the waterfront and was extremely clean and well maintained. The sidewalks were made of marble with an etched pattern.

The area around the promenade was meticulously manicured and watered. Very little rain here so everything has the be watered. The water comes from the ocean and must be desalinated before it can be used.

What a difference from India. The waterfront in India looked just like this photo of the Muscat waterfront but the Indian waterfront had mounds of trash everywhere. None here.

I don’t think I have been anywhere that looked as pristine as this. Maybe Disney World.

Our goal was the giant incense burner monument.

The path up was not open and we learned later that this monument is closed for a few months. We headed back to the promenade to a watchtower that would afford more views.

These watchtowers are found all over Muscat. Some are inside forts, others, such as this one, are mounted high up on a hill.

It was getting very warm and we knew that as more people got off of the ship the city would become very crowded. Another ship, the MSC Splendida was already in port. I learned later that this ship had 3500 passengers on it. It was definitely time to get to the Souk.

Just in case we decide to move here.

The Souk reminded us of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. Shop after shop. Jewelry, antiques, household goods, clothing, Chinese Rolex watches. You name it. It’s here.

We made a few purchases and headed back out. Two things we wanted to see were the Grand Mosque and the Opera House. They were on opposite sides of town and over 10 kilometers away. We were approached by a taxi driver and started negotiations. $60 USD. We offered $40 and he balked so we walked. A few yards away he called us back. He had a driver that would do it for $40.

The Grand Mosque was our first stop. Little chance we were getting inside because it closes at 11 am for visitors but the outside was still beautiful.

The next stop was the Opera House. The Sultan loves opera and he had this built less than 10 years ago. It looks like a good tour for the DCCB.

Everything about this hall was superb.

Our driver, Sami, gave us a bonus stop at the Sultan’s Palace (at least one of them). He has been Sultan of Oman since 1970.

All of the buildings above are part of the Sultan’s Palace.

Sami dropped us off back near the Souk. It was absolutely packed with people. We wanted to hike up to a Fort nearby. Why not? 95 degrees and 350 steps.

The fort was interesting only for the views. There wasn’t much to see inside. Here one can see both of the Sultan’s ships.

It was 3:30 and we decided we had enough. All aboard was 5:30 and we did have a bus to catch.

Evening entertainment was two cellists from Poland. They called themselves Celli. Both were classical trained cellists and they performed with the house band. They opened up with Bach’s Tocatta and Fugue in d minor. They made it through the fugal section and then broke into some Bach inspired rock and roll with the house band. They did an arrangement of Vivaldi’s Winter from the Four Seasons. The pair introduced themselves and then spoke a bit about opera and how every single opera ever written is the same and it contains the following four items. An Overture, two lovers, someone who does not want them together, and a death.

“We’ve decided to save everyone 4 hours of their life and to do that we have written a little opera”. The pair explained that the overture is just some noise being played while the audience waits for everyone that is late. “You are all here, so we don’t need that”. They described a happy male figure and then played a happy sounding minuet stolen from a famous opera. He was happy because of the woman he had just met. The woman’s mother appeared and they played an excerpt from Carmen. Someone is killed! Another excerpt. I recognized every excerpt and couldn’t help but laugh. Exceptional playing by both. They did selections from Mama Mia and then finished with a montage of pop music.

It was nice to hear some great musicians play.

We received this in our room after the concert. looks like the pitrates in the area may be trying to starve us into submission. Little do they know that we have been on 17 meals a day for 70 days and can outlast anyone!

Terri thinks people on the ship will start hoarding food when the chef cuts back to 15 meals a day.