{"id":3479,"date":"2015-11-29T21:49:44","date_gmt":"2015-11-29T20:49:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.danielebesana.com\/blog\/?p=3479"},"modified":"2015-11-30T13:30:55","modified_gmt":"2015-11-30T12:30:55","slug":"6-days-oman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danielebesana.com\/blog\/life\/travels\/6-days-oman","title":{"rendered":"6 Days in Muscat, Oman"},"content":{"rendered":"

If the DCBKK conference<\/a> in Bangkok was a great excuse<\/strong> for going\u00a0back to South-East\u00a0Asia, the stop-over in Muscat<\/strong> on the way to Thailand was a great opportunity<\/strong>\u00a0to visit my friends Raf & Richie and their recent offspring: Jonah\u00a0the giraffe-eater.<\/p>\n

Oman signified\u00a0going back to an Arabic country, in a peninsula that I had chance to visit a couple of times (UAE, Israel<\/a>, Saudi Arabia and a night in Bahrain) savoring\u00a0the flavors of an exotic culture often misjudged.<\/p>\n

It was a great visit and below my report with some interesting facts about the only country starting with the letter O*.<\/p>\n

*Only valid in English.<\/p>\n

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Driving in a Wadi<\/h2>\n

Wadi<\/em>\u00a0means river,\u00a0but what you see the most in the harsh Omani landscape are dried\u00a0riverbeds<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Those\u00a0riverbeds made of stones boiling\u00a0under the strong sun, are occasionally theater of flash floods that each year are resulting in few casualties.<\/p>\n

Richie took\u00a0his 4WD inside a dried riverbed on our way to Wabi Shab.<\/strong> With the thermometer topping at 109F (that’s 43C!) we drove for an hour between spectacular mountains and occasionally passing by few houses by the riverside.<\/p>\n[peg-image src=”https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-jJYx76Ad_1k\/VimnLv0SKzI\/AAAAAAAAMGM\/SxjFpucpMdg\/s144-o\/DSC00181.JPG” href=”https:\/\/picasaweb.google.com\/100265703514682346312\/Oman?authkey=Gv1sRgCJrUpbmNicTfPA#6208677381563099954″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”DSC00181.JPG” image_size=”2048×1536″ ]\n

\u00a0A surreal scenery…<\/p>\n[peg-image src=”https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-43wrLTcDiTU\/Vimm_ILiS7I\/AAAAAAAAMGA\/OpR6WHsj8KU\/s144-o\/DSC00184.JPG” href=”https:\/\/picasaweb.google.com\/100265703514682346312\/Oman?authkey=Gv1sRgCJrUpbmNicTfPA#6208677164764777394″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”DSC00184.JPG” image_size=”2048×1536″ ]\n

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Wadi Shab<\/h2>\n

Not all wadi’s are dried up. Some of them have water and they are absolutely stunning<\/strong>, like wadi shab<\/em>.<\/p>\n

After parking the car and crossing the river with a small boat, we started walking uphill following the water. It’s 12pm and we have no sunscreen, no hats and of course no water.<\/p>\n

Oh well, actually we have water but we feel heroic anyways.<\/p>\n[peg-image src=”https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-Jn6eRGc8Sbc\/Vimfjq4CkhI\/AAAAAAAAMEY\/7R1w9uzldQY\/s144-o\/DSC00229.JPG” href=”https:\/\/picasaweb.google.com\/100265703514682346312\/Oman?authkey=Gv1sRgCJrUpbmNicTfPA#6208668996460515858″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”DSC00229.JPG” image_size=”2048×1536″ ]\n

The trail ends and the only way to continue is swimming, to reach a waterfall inside a cave. I could not take pictures there, and protecting my new camera was the running joke of the day.<\/p>\n[peg-image src=”https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-lc8BZ-YCbh4\/VimmFDasgRI\/AAAAAAAAMFQ\/2A1WDGIlZ8s\/s144-o\/DSC00202.JPG” href=”https:\/\/picasaweb.google.com\/100265703514682346312\/Oman?authkey=Gv1sRgCJrUpbmNicTfPA#6208676167053771026″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”DSC00202.JPG” image_size=”2048×1536″ ]\n

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Strangers\u00a0in Nizwa<\/h2>\n

In Oman, Skype and WhatsApp calls are blocked, but Tinder works wonders<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

And that’s how I ended up going to Nizwa with a total stranger.<\/p>\n

We drove together the 160km between Muscat and the traditional town of Nizwa, famous for its fortress and the busy\u00a0souq\u00a0<\/em>(market).<\/p>\n

The majestic fortress was close for renovation – someone said that the roof collapsed because of the heavy rain few weeks before.
\nThe near\u00a0town of Al Hamra<\/strong>, described in the guide as ‘Italian feeling with an Italian plaza’,<\/em> had absolutely nothing Italian and the\u00a0Al Hoota Cave<\/strong> was sadly closed (and my friends confirmed later that is\u00a0always<\/strong>\u00a0closed).<\/p>\n[peg-image src=”https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-MD2Nd1I_5rc\/Vij02nWjuZI\/AAAAAAAAMB8\/498-H8qO69g\/s144-o\/DSC00265.JPG” href=”https:\/\/picasaweb.google.com\/100265703514682346312\/Oman?authkey=Gv1sRgCJrUpbmNicTfPA#6208481305443940754″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”DSC00265.JPG” image_size=”2048×1536″ ]\n

The souq<\/em> got interesting after a man invited us to his air-conditioned boot where he offered us all sort of dates<\/strong> (meaning the fruit), coming from different regions as well as imported, and a cup of traditional coffee with rose water and cardamon hints.
\nBeside that, the souq<\/em>\u00a0is absolutely\u00a0no-woman land and I could count 40 men at once staring at my date<\/strong> (meaning the girl).<\/p>\n[peg-image src=”https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-mhj-4lwiJLI\/Vij09Qtgy9I\/AAAAAAAAMCM\/nGC7c0QgAAM\/s144-o\/DSC00262.JPG” href=”https:\/\/picasaweb.google.com\/100265703514682346312\/Oman?authkey=Gv1sRgCJrUpbmNicTfPA#6208481419625286610″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”DSC00262.JPG” image_size=”2048×1536″ ]\n

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Muscat’s Expats<\/h2>\n

On Friday evening, that is like our Saturday evening, my friends neighbors through a\u00a0BBQ\u00a0party. I really enjoyed because I met\u00a0at once a great bunch of lads<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They were mostly expats from all over the world (UK, France, Italy, India, US, Bolivia, Canada) but also few Omanis joined in – the type of locals that has lived abroad or work in international companies.<\/p>\n

It turned out to be a very interesting evening, fueled by Heineken beers that the expats have license to buy (alcohol is not available to Muslim Omanis).<\/p>\n

They all repeated the same: Oman is the best country in the Arab peninsula to live in<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Few folks asked if was my first time in Oman, to whom I replied ‘yes, but I’ve been in the peninsula before’<\/em>. When asked where, I said ‘Saudi and UAE’<\/em> and watched them frowning at me and quickly\u00a0clarifying that ‘Oman is completely different!’<\/em>.<\/p>\n

They’re having a good life here<\/strong>, making money in a tax-free country where they can live large and well serviced. The evening remembered me when I was an expat too, in Amsterdam, and to be honest I felt a bit nostalgic. Talking with a beautiful Bolivian woman didn’t help, since she was married with a French man with mustaches.<\/p>\n[peg-image src=”https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-SvUgyXypNFo\/VijqDXsbJFI\/AAAAAAAAL7s\/1HXpDqX1O9k\/s144-o\/DSC00443.JPG” href=”https:\/\/picasaweb.google.com\/100265703514682346312\/Oman?authkey=Gv1sRgCJrUpbmNicTfPA#6208469429951079506″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”DSC00443.JPG” image_size=”2048×1536″ ]\n

Oman, like other countries in that region, is undergoing a process aimed to reduce expat workers replacing them with local workforce. This is known as Omanization<\/a>. I hope they’ll have\u00a0better luck\u00a0than their neighbors, where companies ended up still hiring expats (to get things done) and extra locals (to comply with the laws).<\/p>\n

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Around Muscat<\/h2>\n

Getting lost in the Old Muttrah souq<\/em>\u00a0is a must and having a juice<\/a> afterwards while doing people-watching is a great idea. Never had juice topped with ice cream before.<\/p>\n[peg-image src=”https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-DcvUGK-yPrQ\/VhsnC-UT6NI\/AAAAAAAALzw\/fv-T4afZNGk\/s144-o\/20151011_185822.jpg” href=”https:\/\/picasaweb.google.com\/100265703514682346312\/201511292?authkey=Gd4f9XuJ_ok#6204595843674400978″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”20151011_185822.jpg” image_size=”3264×1836″ ]\n

I got the famous Omani frankincense, that comes in different flavors.<\/p>\n[peg-image src=”https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-gMoANwmFmpg\/Vij0Ic0TcjI\/AAAAAAAAMAk\/Jd7FPXzzYhc\/s144-o\/DSC00313.JPG” href=”https:\/\/picasaweb.google.com\/100265703514682346312\/Oman?authkey=Gv1sRgCJrUpbmNicTfPA#6208480512341930546″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”DSC00313.JPG” image_size=”2048×1536″ ]\n

I didn’t buy any gold.<\/p>\n[peg-image src=”https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-BBMtOfJaAZE\/Vij0MdmsXoI\/AAAAAAAAMAs\/I9FzhqhM6Hg\/s144-o\/DSC00312.JPG” href=”https:\/\/picasaweb.google.com\/100265703514682346312\/Oman?authkey=Gv1sRgCJrUpbmNicTfPA#6208480581272755842″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”DSC00312.JPG” image_size=”2048×1536″ ]\n

Also a visit to the beautiful Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is a must. Opened in\u00a02001, it’s yet another proof that\u00a0the popular belief “they don’t build great things anymore” is wrong.<\/p>\n

[peg-image src=”https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-PGc-EjdBxWY\/VijrglImjSI\/AAAAAAAAL9s\/aHYuoqV1dxg\/s144-o\/DSC00390.JPG” href=”https:\/\/picasaweb.google.com\/100265703514682346312\/Oman?authkey=Gv1sRgCJrUpbmNicTfPA#6208471031286762786″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”DSC00390.JPG” image_size=”2048×1536″ ]\n

Food-wise, the cuisine is a mix of Lebanese food with Indian influence, or at least this is my feeling.<\/p>\n

I had traditional Omani food at Kargeen Caf\u00e9<\/a>, a beautiful place with open air courtyard and very Arab feeling,\u00a0including\u00a0Shuwa<\/em> that is goat meat buried in the ground and cooked overnight. Curious\u00a0about the process? Check this 3-minutes video.<\/p>\n