Thursday, November 28, 2019; Mina Qaboos (Muscat), Oman. Happy Thanksgiving!

Thursday, November 28, 2019; Mina Qaboos (Muscat), Oman.  Thanksgiving

We arrived in the Port of Mina Qaboos as the dawn was breaking over the Arabian Sea.  Mina Qaboos is just a short bus ride from Muscat, the capital of Oman.  This is our last port of call on the Arabian Peninsula, and another Muslim country.  While Oman does have some oil resources, they are not awash in it like some of their more fortunate neighbors.  Their location at the eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula made them a strategic location for trade between Europe, India and Asia.  The Portuguese controlled it for 150 years before the Ottomans ran them out in the 18th century.  

Our shore excursion loaded us into buses and drove us to Muscat Grand Mosque, which is the third largest mosque in the world.  It also allows visits by infidels.  It is a grand architectural work of white sandstone imported from India with Italian marble floors, and Austrian crystal chandeliers.  We had to take our shoes off, and were allowed to enter the women’s and then the men’s prayer halls.  When we entered the mosque initially, we had to form sexually segregated single file lines.  Once through the main entry, we were then allowed to remix.  

Our guide was an actual Arab, which is quite a change from the UAE where native Arabs rarely are seen directly by tourists.  He is 23 years old and single. He says most people remain single until they approach 30, when marriage matches are made.  The current rate for a woman’s dowry runs about US $50,000 which is usually spent on gold jewelry, which stays with the woman if there is a divorce.  Interestingly enough, if you keep the marriage to within the immediate family (cousins are the primary pool of candidates) you can get a $10,000 discount on the dowry.  He also said it’s possible for an Arab husband to have 3 wives, but he must treat all 3 wives with equal attention and support.  He said that doesn’t happen that often because in these modern times, women tend to get jealous.  He did try to emphasize that women have equal rights in Oman, and are treated very fairly.  For example, he said women can drive in Oman, and there isn’t a law that forbids them from walking around in western clothing, but because they are practicing Islam, they choose to wear the garments that are so concealing.  

When we toured the women’s prayer room, it was nicely appointed with marble floors and crystal chandeliers.  But when we went into the men’s prayer room, it was more like stepping under the dome at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.  It was at least ten times the size of the women’s prayer room, and much more ornately decorated.  What was nice was that we weren’t rushed through the rooms, and could take a good look around and take pictures at will, unlike in the Vatican or in the Mosques in Abu Dhabi or Dubai.  What is notably absent from these mosques is any religious iconography.  While a Catholic Cathedral is covered with statues, mosaics and paintings depicting Jesus, the Holy Trinity and the apostles, there is absolutely no imagery of human or animal forms- only floral and geometric designs, and lots of Arabic Script.  

We then drove 160km outside Muscat to Al Hazm Castle, one of the most magnificent castles in Oman.  This is on the short list to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is an interesting place.  It was built to house Imam Sultan bin Saif al Yarubi, and is quite a fortification, complete with turrets housing canons, “Murder Holes” in the walls allowing snipers to pick off any potential invaders, tunnels and secret passages.  There is a spring that flows through secret channels under the castle, and rooms for storage of vast quantities of grain and dates.  There is also a built in natural air conditioning system that you can peer from the top floor all the way down into the subterranean passages 3 or 4 floors below. It was fun to climb through the secret passages and explore the castle.  

Our last stop was the Al Nadia Resort and Spa for lunch.  This is surrounded by the Jebel Mountains and Nakhon Springs, where we could see date plantations and other agricultural fields.  Lunch was a buffet, which was all you can eat with soda and bottled water included, but fairly uninspired cuisine.  It was marginally better than the buffet we ate at outside Petra.  

Most people napped on the long drive back into Muscat.  There is an impressive old city wall that separates Muscat from Mina Qaboos that looks like a freeway overpass.  When we got back to the ship, we walked from the ship to the main terminal building to get a little exercise and to check for free wifi.  Unfortunately, there was no free wifi, but we found a large wooden Dhow tied up next to our that was loaded up with goats.  That was an unusual find.  

Sailing out of Mina Qaboos was quite scenic as the sun was setting, and there were several lighted sunset dinner cruise dhows on the water.  

We got back to the ship in time for the 4:30PM trivia and pulled together a team with Bob, Pam and two Australians, Ron and Carolyn, who had joined the cruise in Dubai. We tied with one other team for the top score and had a tie breaker of how long is the world’s longest worm?  The other team guessed 2.5’ while we guessed 25’ figuring a tapeworm could easily be that long.  The host had said the answer had to be closest without going over, so we were afraid to go too big. Well, we won because the answer was 90’.  That’s some worm.  

It was Thanksgiving, so they had turkey with stuffing but mashed potatoes were absent from the menu.  Americans make up only about 25% of the passengers on this itinerary.  The majority are Australians, while the second largest group is Canadians.  We Americans probably only slightly outnumber the Asians, but for an itinerary that ends in Singapore, that’s probably to be expected.  

The Princess Theater show featured a comedian Chris Strait, who pretty much bombed.  A significant percentage of the audience snuck out of the theater during the show.  The Sapphire Princess singers and dancers did do a very short disco number to open the show, so it wasn’t a total loss, but from now on, we’re sitting close to the exit for the comedians.  

Our clock go forward another hour tonight.  We have 3 consecutive sea days as we make our way across the Indian Ocean to Sri Lanka, but we’re sure to continue to keep busy.