Downtown Muscat

Today was about having a wander downtown. I wasn't planning to do a whirlwind tour of the whole Muscat as I only got the morning before catching the flight home. Having a look through the taxi's window was already good enough to give a good first hand impression of the place. I made a stop at the Muttrah Souq, a small souq with its own unique characters.

The most evident character is the smell and burning of frankincense and perfume oils. There seems to be plenty here and the prices are quite

cheap. The other interesting aspect of the souq is the displays of Omani silvers, pots, paintings, hookah pipes and framed knives. One could also find many stalls selling gleaming white dishdashas and embroidery. Overall a very fascinating place. Of course for size, the Al-Hamidiah Souq in Syria and the Grand Souq in Istanbul are much larger and got more variety.

On the way back while stopping over at a supermarket to buy some dates, I was startled when a familiar face spoke to me from behind. He was a fellow Bruneian who lives here. Apparently the 20 or so Bruneian families here are having a function at the nearby Ambassador's resident.

As for the Eid next week they are sacrificing a number of cows and a handful of goats - that's a lot and definitely need a lot of help. But that is not a real issue as there is a very close-knitted Bruneian community here. As for the experience of living in this place, those that have or are currently here got nothing but real praise and enjoyment of this place, some even contemplated to continue working for a number of years or even forming own company here.