Oman

 3/18/23

We are in the country of Oman, docked in the port of Mina Qaboos, in the community of Muscat.

Muscat is one of the fabled ports of the Near East, a legendary trading center connecting Europe and Asia. Archeologists maintain that Muscat has been a crucial port for at least 24 centuries with links to India and beyond dating back as earl y as the 6th century BC.

This is an absolute monarchy with a wide and varied history . Over the centuries it was ruled by different countries .

In 1970 Qaboos bin Said ascended to the sultanate and began an ambitious program of revitalizing Muscat and Oman. Part of the revitalization process has been the development of tourism. Visitors to Muscat will discover a fascinating amalgam of the ancient and the modern.

Our Princess print out says :

Muscat, in short,is a city out of the Arabian nights. And if you should have any doubt, enjoy a cruise along the bay in a traditional Arab dhow as merchants, adventurers and dreamers have done for centuries.

Today's adventure is a just that, a cruise on board a dhow.

We were up early this morning, at six o'clock . By seven thirty we were finishing breakfast and land forms began to appear. I was so surprised by what I was seeing. This is not a flat dessert area. There is very little flat land. The area is covered with high rugged mountains of brown and beige rocks. Ancient fortresses hang on the edge of the cliffs and white buildings fill what flat space there is. I cannot figure why people stopped here, the land is so stark and so desolate and so uninviting.

As we entered the harbor we saw a very attractive sculpture standing on a mountain top. It resembles an incense burner. We would learn from our excursion guide that it was made as part of a televised promotion of the area.

As we watched the ship dock we were surprised at how very hot it was already. The sun was so very bright and penetrating and every bit of the 28 degrees C was being felt already. I sure hope it is cool on the dhow.

The heat is demonstrated by the group of guides standing in the little bit of shade being cast by the buses as they wait for the ship to complete docking.  Thankfully our balcony is shaded and actually quite comfortable.

Soon it is time to head for Explorers Lounge to get our sticker for our tour for today. It is strange with tours, your must read all of the descriptions and decide which one you want to take on that day in that certain location. How do you decide? The things we use to make a choice have changed over time. When we first began cruising in 2009 we had very few restrictions. But we are older now and our priorities have changed.

Basically it is a crap shoot as to whether or not you make a wise choice for you. We do not climb mountains or walk for hours, we do not sky dive, we no longer bounce around in a four wheel drive vehicle, we do not bungee jump, or para-sail.

 The guide for this is how excursions are ranked, if it says "strenuous" I pass it by. If we are in a hot country I try for mornings before the extreme heat of the day. I also read the classification of "moderate" carefully.  The excursion that I chose for us for this port was ranked moderate but it looked doable for us.

CRUISE ABOARD A TRADITIONAL ARAB DHOW

This fun two hour cruise off the coast of Muscat, is a truly enjoyable way to see Oman from a different perspective. Your seafaring tour starts with a short motor coach journey from the ship to Bander Al Marina, where you board your wooden dhow. Relax on board as you view the dramatic mountains, nibble on some dates, drink Arabian coffee and take pictures to show the folks back home. Dhows have been sailing the Muscat waters for centuries where they were used to on trade routes, connecting Oman, India and Iran. She features open-air seating on her raised decks as well as a charming interior salon complete with cushions and beautiful stained glass windows. Eventually the dhow will head back to the marina where you will board your motor coach for the picturesque journey back to the ship.

This looked pretty good and we would be back on board by 1:15.  This turned out to be a great choice. The moderate part was the walk from the bus to the dhow. It involved pavement and a very steep ramp to the actual ship. It was only about 10 minutes but on the return in the heat of the day it was not easy for some of the mobility challenged passengers. Ken and I were fine.

Price is also a consideration. This one was close to the top of our range. It was $139.00 US each plus we gave 15.00 US in tips.

Busses Wait for the cruisers:

Sites on the way to the Marina, Because of desalination they can have some lovely landscaping in the winter months which is when this is.

This short drive( about 10 minutes) brought us to the dhow. Several large yachts were docked here as well. The grandest one in this photo was said to belong to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

We thought it was a small cruise ship. WRONG!!

The dhow was exactly as described. Because there were 2 sailing today I could take photos of one on the water while we were in the other one.

Some views from the dhow.

Portugese Forts.16th Century Forts Jalai and Mirani are perched on top rocky outcrops, guarding Muscat Bay and the Sultan's Palace

Sultan's Palace (blue and gold) with government buildings on either side.

There was a lighthouse but we do not know its name or if it is operational.

Our treat of dates and Arabian coffee was very tasty and enjoyed by all.

The day was warm in fact it was what I consider to be HOT, but the ocean breeze made it quite comfortable.

All too soon it was time to head back to port and the waiting bus. . 

All in all it was a great choice and we really enjoyed it. The excursion did not include a stop to shop and it was too hot to consider taking a shuttle into town to look for my tree decoration. I will frame a small picture of our day to hang and it will have to suffice. Others we spoke to said the shopping was terrific. 

Our guide spoke English and if you listened carefully you could understand. We had a guide, a bus driver and the operator of the dhow. Each of them did a great deal to assist those who were mobility challenged. It was difficult and perhaps they should have made a different choice.

We spent the rest of the day onboard enjoying the ship. Saturday is duck day so we walked around and found a place to hide today's duck. We hid it outside the Future Cruise office. It was gone this morning so someone found it.

We were finished our dinner and back on our balcony in time to watch the sunset over Muscat.