Kids in Matrah

Some local Omani kids were playing soccer outside in Matrah after the evening prayer was let out. They may actually be Indian. Nevertheless they insisted on flexing for the camera and asking me to throw the soccer ball like an actual (American) football. It was fun.

Sultan Qaboos University

This is the view from the back garden at Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat.

A rare Omani tree growing in the University garden that is capable of producing several types of Dates from the same branch. Very cool.

The SIT group outside Sultan Qaboos University...like most important buildings in Oman, it's a big place.

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque and Sheikh Hilal

Sunday. August 29, 2010: I had two very interesting experiences today. First, I had a chance to visit Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. I’m just not sure how to describe the place other than by saying that it is truly a special one. Grand, majestic, extravagant, large beyond belief… descriptive words that only begin to scratch the surface. Go there for yourself and you will not regret it. It’s quite the ‘face-melter’ to say the least. A fun fact is that no Omani knows or cares to know how much the mosque cost to build…it is widely believed that only Sultan Qaboos himself has that figure. This adds to the divine nature of the place and ensures that one’s focus while at the mosque remains on worshiping God rather than any financial matters.  It is also one of the only mosques in all of Arabia that is open to non-Muslims. Women can pray there as well, just as long as they do it in a separate area from the men. For men, prayer services at the mosque are obligatory, for women they are an elective. No shoes are worn in the temple area, as the carpet, believed to the biggest one in the world, is hand crafted and possesses an intricate design unparalleled in the modern world. I was so inspired by this place that I am entertaining the idea of doing my independent study project on the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque.

            Today I also had the pleasure of sitting in on a lecture by Sheikh Hilal, a prominent religious figure in Oman. He spoke about Omani culture as well as Islam in general. Some interesting things he said:

-       The Sheikh often referenced both Jesus and Moses as prophets and after using either name always said ‘peace be upon him.’ Similarly he often eluded to the tolerant nature of Islam. He claimed that, “Islam forbids killing because everybody has a right to live.”

-       I asked him several questions after his lecture.
1.) Do you believe that the Koran is the direct word of God or is the Koran made up of stories that have developed out of the life of Mohammed to teach Muslims how to live a pious and peaceful life? He responded by looking me directly in the eyes and saying in a low tone…”No. The Koran is directly the word of God to Mohammed. We do not worship Mohamed, he is the respected messenger.”

-       2.) Do you believe that Islam spread from Mohammed outward…that is, from a central portal with Mohammed at the focal point, or did Islam arise on the fringes of societies popping up in random locations in Arabia?... ”Again, it developed out of Mohammed as he spread the word of God. He was illiterate and could not read but had a keen memory and was challenged by God to spread his word.”

Some blog topics to look forward too:

-       1/9…I move in with my home-stay family (currently I know noting about them)

-       10/9-15/9…The expected Eid Al Fitr Holiday

-       29/9-1/10…Trip to Salalah

-       7/10-14/10… Trip to Qatar/UAE (Dubai)

-       29/10-4/11…rural stay in Nizwa

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque

This is a picture of the ceiling in the main worship area of Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. A picture really does not do this place justice. Its breathtaking to say the least.

 The actual mosque itself is massive...the grounds/gardens and the various libraries and worship areas can hold roughly 25,000 people all praying toward Mecca at the same time.

The view standing outside the al-Naseem hotel in Matrah

Almost every Omani I have seen has a cell phone...even older men. The ship in the background is the "Al-Sa'id" (Sultan Qaboos' private yacht stationed in the port of Mina Qaboos.

Day two in Matrah..."The Souq"

It is currently 11:35 pm and this is my second night in Matrah. Saturday 28^th. Today was hot. Really hot. Like 112 degrees hot and I was outside walking around for awhile…we started the morning with an excursion back into the ‘Souq’ (market). SIT’s academic director tasked our group to find an interesting object, buy it for under 5 OMR (Omani Riyals) and bring it back to the group. 5 OMR is roughly 13 US dollars so this took some bargaining skills and a decent run-around of some Arabic terms… ‘bikam hadtha?’ or how much is this? Was my go to phrase.  I ended up stopping in a little shop near the end of the Souq and bought a number of items from an Indian man named Mullah Hamziz. He cut me a deal on a hand-crafted letter carrier made of sterling silver. I bought some other cool stuff too, including an Omani ‘Kanjar’…the traditional dagger worn by Oman’s more prominent individuals…Sultan Qaboos is rarely seen without one. I wandered the Souq for about an hour and thirty minutes before realizing that I was completely lost. I was pretty sure I was getting followed at one point and just decided to dip in and out of a few alley-ways at a brisk pace. I got even more lost. Miles of intricate alleys clustered and dotted with shops…jewels, gold trinkets, silver, counterfeit items…you name it and its probably not in the Souq, but they have allot of very unique items at for various price ranges. Converting OMR to US $ is a skill I developed while watching a few merchants try to scam me. It’s not hard math and is really necessary if you are not going to bother with losing some cents on the dollar at an exchange depot. After downloading the compass app on my iphone and asking for directions about 6 times I finally found my way back to the coastline and back to the Naseem Hotel. The Souq is truly an invigorating experience. Its like nothing I’ve ever seen and it will always stick with me as one of those places where you just don’t want to let anyone bump into you or graze your hip as you take in the reasonably priced but ‘barter-able’ eye candy coming at you from every direction…nevertheless its an awesome place that everybody needs to get lost in once in awhile, it really brings out a sense of independence and puts the worlds materialistic saturation in perspective. I like the Souq at Matrah. 

            After the Souq I went to the SIT World Learning Center and took my Arabic placement test…I think I’ll be in the intermediate level. My speaking and reading are much better than my writing. I get a solid internet connection at the Center and can post my blogs/facebook/skype and Stumble there. It’s a modern villa about 10 seconds from the beach that has been converted into classroom space…I have a locker and a comfy sofa there. Most importantly its air-conditioned…its air-conditioned. I also had the chance to eat lunch at the World Learning director’s home in Muscat. He is a wonderful man and his wife showed our group stupendous hospitality in true Omani fashion. We ate plenty of food and learned a few things about Omani culture…some of them I did not know before:
            1- Coffee is commonly served after meals…or tea. It is polite to defer a serving for one’s self onto the oldest male in the room…this is done by looking at the ground and gesturing toward him with the RIGHT hand…not the left. The left hand is considered the personal hygiene hand and it is disrespectful to use it when making a motion toward another person. Omani’s are very clean people.

            2- When coffee is served…to you. Never set your cup down as it too is a sign of disrespect. When you want a refill you just hold the cup out and the server fills you up. Unless you shake the cup with a slight back and forth gesture at the server, you will always get re-filled instead of giving your cup back.

            3- I also got to try a desert dish called ‘Helwa’. This is a thick and dark gooey substance with the consistency of frozen pudding. But its not cold and it has some nuts mixed in. Its sweet and dissolves right on the palate. Its very very delicious. I also ate Dhofari grown dates which were amazing.

            Around 9:00 at night the Ramadan prayer got let out and Matrah came alive…

Ramadan involves fasting all day and breaking the fast at around sundown. So those who celebrate it pretty much shut down during the day and work through the night. This means that although the Souq was open during the day (because most merchants are Indian and probably Hindu) it was not really full… after the last prayer it truly was a bustling multicultural organism with women fully decked out in Islamic attire (only their eyes visible) and men wearing traditional robes…men come strait from the mosque.  I went back to the Souq and walked around…bought another dagger for not too much money and took some cool pictures.

            Before going back to the Souq, I had one of the more meaningful experiences yet in Matrah. I was taking a picture of the mosque when a man sitting on the boardwalk (actually a long curved stretch of intricately designed tiles running along the coast in Matrah) motioned me to come over…I asked to take his picture and he obliged. He asked my name to which I replied William. He introduced himself as Mr.Saquhet. He spoke very little English and a little Arabic. Mr. Saquhet was clearly lonely and just wanted to chat or ‘shoot the shit’ with someone he found interesting…or at the time maybe I looked vulnerable, I don’t really know. Anyway, he asked if I liked pepsi? I said yes and he asked me to wait in the spot I was standing. Mr. Saquhet ran across the street ( which is no easy task as cars go over 60 mile an hour consistently and won’t stop for anything) he bought two pepsi cans and we drank them. He asked about me and my time in Oman… 21 and here on a 3 month student visa. Mr. Saquhet however, was an ex-military man from Pakistan. He had been a soldier there for 24 years and now drives a truck around Oman to deliver food supplies to various stores and hotels.  He spoke fluent Urdu and needless to say the linguistic barrier between us was wide. Sometimes I didn’t know what he was saying and I’m sure he was lost in my translations at times too. It didn’t really matter. We shared “good” conversation about the US/Pakistani military efforts in the Federally Administered Tribal Area of Northern Waziristan…at leas that’s what I was talking about. And we just laughed at the countless Omanis who walked past us and stared with curious bewilderment at two very different people from clearly different regions of the world, different socioeconomic backgrounds and senses of fashion that clashed like the titans. I was having fun. Mr. Shaquhet asked me if I had any work for him while I was in Oman…like if I needed a driver because he knew “every street and cliff hole in Oman country.” I took down his cell number and gave him mine. The he asked, in traditional Omani fashion if I would share a bite to eat with him…I said yah, I was starving and the prayer had just gotten out so roast chicken and lamb smells wafted from the Souq into my nostrils. I asked if he knew a good place with authentic Omani food…he said he wanted to go back to his home and “grill food and smoke hookah on his roof”. Now, Omanis are friendly people…more than most people in big cities…but really? I’m alone and we just met, you’re a grown man who claims to be an ex-soldier/truck driver with no family in Oman. Not a chance in the afterlife my friend. I said I couldn’t go to far from the hotel because I was expecting a package soon. Maybe he was really just an interesting and friendly guy who needed a friend. Maybe we would have eaten good Omani chicken and lamb and smoked some hookah (which I’m refraining from due to athletics). I’ll never know.

In Matrah with a local Omani after some gift buying.

Finally in Muscat.

            I am currently sitting in the Indianapolis International Airport waiting to get on a plane bound for Detroit. I'll touch down in Detroit around 6:30. In Detroit I have about an hour to make my connecting flight bound for Amsterdam. Amsterdam...red light districts and debauchery for all...except me, I won't even leave the airport. Instead, I'll find my gate again and finally get some wings headed for Muscat.

             Iv'e been talking about heading to the Middle East for roughly two years...maybe even longer. I'm actually doing it now and I couldn't be more excited or more prepared. I've taken the language courses, read countless books on the Gulf region and slept with the idea of walking through the streets of Muscat for some time now. It's taken a serious financial and logistical commitment on behalf of myself and my family. I will not let us down.

             To date, I guess you could say this is my dream...I've always wanted to consider myself as being kinda "badass". The thing is, most everything in my life until now fails in comparison. Traveling half-way across the world solo, let alone to a region of the world characterized by oil sheiks and Jihad pretty much takes the cake. I'm ready...to immerse myself in a culture and a society that may or may not be entirely unlike my home. I’m ready to let my comfort zone stay here in Indianapolis. And I’m not worried about that, I’ll pick it up on my way back around.

             I started this blog in Indianapolis, at the airport, on the ground. I didn’t have time to finish it then and I was not permitted to take out my laptop for the subsequent 40 minute flight…I made it to Detroit. However, I had about 10 minutes to run from one terminal to the next… I went through additional international security measures/customs and boarded my flight just before it left without me. Currently, I’m 10,000 feet above the “Golfe du Saint-Laurent”. I know this because there is a computer screen on the head-rest in front of me that has an option to view the planes flight path, among other entertainment options.  “Duree restante jusqu’a’ Destination” is 5 hours and 6 minutes. And yes, my remote is broken so all of the wonderful entertainment options provided by Delta, are in French.

I read that Schiphol airport in Amsterdam is only 20 minutes from the city by cab…

Oman: Located on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, Oman looks to the accession of Sultan Qaboos to the throne in 1970 as the day when modern Oman was born.  Over the last few decades, Oman has seen dramatic improvements in standards of living, education, and infrastructure, fueled by judicious spending of the country’s limited oil wealth.  Recent plans focus more intensively on trying to diversify the economy and

make the country more attractive to foreign investors. This effort to improve the lives and future of Oman’s population has been coupled with a drive to create a unified national identity amongst the country’s very diverse population. There are more than 12 languages native to the country, and significant differences in identity exist amongst people with backgrounds in East Africa, Dhofar, Baluchistan and the interior. Steps toward political liberalization have been slow, or “gradual,” as it is often referred to locally. Oman is a hot country.  From March through November, it is very hot (reaching 140 degrees or more at the height of summer), but it is quite pleasant from late November through early March (when daily high temperatures drop to the seventies or eighties by January). Muscat is also quite humid, which can make the hottest months seem even hotter.

            Two goals (maybe pipe dreams) I have for my stay in Oman :

1.) In the early 1970’s, the Omani government under Qaboos fought a rugged civil war in the region of Oman known as Dhofar. The Dhofari rebels received aid from Marxist regimes in southYemen and China. Ultimately, with the aid of Great Briton, the rebels were defeated and granted amnesty in 1975. I think it would be amazing to interview a former Dhofari rebel and ask what he thinks about his youthful actions of insurrection nearly 40 years ago. What would he say about risking his life for an idea? Was it worth it? Is he content with contemporary Oman? Can any lessons be applied to current ‘youths in revolt’ across the world? I’m not sure. But I know it would make for an interesting story.

            Dhofar compromises about 1/3^rd of the area of Oman and blends unnoticeably with Yemen to the southwest. The fertile Salalah Plain runs about 30 miles along the coast and 10 miles inward. It is widely considered one of the most beautiful and majestic places in all of Arabia. The Dhofari people maintain their own cultural habits and lingual dialect. They deeply resent Northern Oman and believe that the reforms under Qaboos have not yet taken hold in their society. I want to go there.

2.) On a different note, I read that Oman is the last remaining home to several species of animals… - The Arabian Wolf and the Arabian Leopard have recently been reintroduced in Oman. The Arabian Tahr is a small mountain goat found only in the Hajar Mountains around the Jabal Akhdar region. The real treat would be to see an Arabian Oryx, a very long single horn stretches from the Oryx’s head…this antelope probably inspired the myth of the unicorn. It is found ONLY in the Jiddat al-Harasis region of Oman. It would be so cool to get a picture of one of these. Similarly, the Daymaniat Islands are home to a splendid migratory bird reserve and the region of Ras al-Hadd is one of 3 nesting sites in the world for the Indian Ocean turtle population.

Just sitting in the plane at Abhu Dhabi International right now…plane is about to taxi onto the runway and head for Muscat… its 11:20am back home and 8:30 at night here, around 112 degrees outside the plane. 40 minute flight…

Wow. Now I’m sitting in bed in this little room at the Al-Naseem Hotel in downtown Muscat in the region of Matrah. I arrived at the airport and met up with the rest of my SIT group. We were greeted by the program’s academic director Issam Khory. He’s a nice guy and he’s really knowledgeable about Oman. We dropped everything off at the hotel and walked around some of Muscat. From what I can tell, this place is a mix of dirty and disgusting alley-ways mixed with majestic architecture. There are mountains surrounding the whole city…I believe they are the Hajar Mountains or the Jabal al-Akhdar, I’m not quite sure. Our hotel is right in front of the Mina Qaboos port facility and although we don’t have a view of the water…I can hear ship horns and smell fish from under the covers. It’s also about 90 degrees here at night…they say you get used to it. As we walked around town, I noticed a few things…there are a lot more than just Arabs here…Americans pop up ever now and then. I see a lot of Indian people and some Asians. Women drive and travel outside in groups with and without men. Almost everybody wears traditional clothes…long white robes with a hat that wraps around the skull and sits about 4 inches or so above your hair... and sandals, most women wear traditional black robes which cover all of the body except the face and in some cases only the eyes of a female can be seen. Men seem to only socialize with men and women with women when out in public, this is simply just apart of the Omani culture. 
            The shopping district or "sook" is a vast maze of alleys and tunnels, yes, underground tunnel shops… filled with every Arabian trinket imaginable, hookahs, long currvey daggers, perfumes, rugs…they have a lot of cool stuff that I’ve only seen here in Oman. Seriously high pressure sales come from all angles when you clearly look like an American. I ate dinner at a little place on the bay…I had chicken shwarma and a juice drink called ‘spicy lemon mint’. I’m still burping up the mint.

            They have Mcdonalds and Starbuks in Muscat. I’ve seen Porsche and Landrovers as well as Hondas driving around…mostly some little Euro cars I’ve never heard of. I saw one mustang.

            My satellite phone from Inmarset technologies is not online yet, but I called them and they said they would make sure it happens in the next day. The iphone works here better than anything but I’m sure it is pretty expensive. I am not staying with a homestay family yet, so the only internet connection I have is at the SIT World Learning Center.