Whilst this horrendous war that we're currently involved in is going on I find my thoughts drawn back to my stay in the Middle East.
The country I resided in for three months was Oman, where the family joined hubby who was working there.
My visit made such a lasting impression that I ... Read review
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Whilst this horrendous war that we're currently involved in is going on I find my thoughts drawn back to my stay in the Middle East.
The country I resided in for three months was Oman, where the family joined hubby who was working there.
My visit made such a lasting impression that I thought I'd share it.
Firstly, the reason for us being there was my husband was involved in building a tunnel through a ... ...the first its kind ever ventured. This was to allow the Sultan to drive directly from his palace to his waiting yacht at the port. So if you ever get invited to visit the Sultan, you'll know who to thank for the direct journey you take, cutting out the town centre.
We lived in a small multi national compound where I learned so much about different cultures before I even began exploring the country itself.
Whilst this horrendous war that we're currently involved in is going on I find my thoughts drawn back to my stay in the Middle East.
The country I resided in for three months was Oman, where the family joined hubby who was working there.
My visit made such a lasting impression that I thought I'd share it.
Firstly, the reason for us being there was my husband was involved in building a tunnel through a mountain at Muscat, the capital of Oman. This was the first its kind ever ventured. This was to allow the Sultan to drive directly from his palace to his waiting yacht at the port. So if you ever get invited to visit the Sultan, you'll know who to thank for the direct journey you take, cutting out the town centre.
We lived in a small multi national compound where I learned so much about different cultures before I even began exploring the country itself.
My next door neighbour was a brilliant Greek lady who introduced me to their cuisine. A lovely lady fromthe Seychelles taught me how to cook some amazing dishes and another from Africa introduced me to the art of sugaring ("hair removal"). The list of nationalities is endless as is what I learned from each of them. All this learned before I even started exploring Oman itself.
The first thing you notice when you get there is the heat. Such as I have never experienced before or since. Imagine walking into an open oven of Sunday dinner temperature and that's what it felt like.
The country is predominently of the Muslim faith and our visit coincided with the beginning of Ramadam, which is the ninth month of the Muslim year, a time of atonement, and every Muslim is required to observe a strict daily fast and no food or drink is to be consumed during daylight hours until the next new moon is visible.
The only ones spared from this fast are children and visitors to the country are dealt with severely if observed breaking the fast in public.
This was definitely not a good time to be introduced to such searing heat, as you could only quench your thirst in the confines of your own home.
It took me days to summon up the strength to drag myself and two kids the five minute walk to the swimming pool on the complex.
A further five minute walk took us to the shores of the Arabian Sea/Indian Ocean (I'm not sure where it changes from being sea to ocean so I've clumped both together().
I was warned by several residents at our camp that "nice" English women did not venture on to the beach unaccompanied by a man but I thought I wasnt particularly nice anyway and ignored the warning. Especially as the beach was like paradise with clear blue skies, white sands and many exotic shells scattered around.
It didnt take me long to find out the reason for the warning as a very strange man clad in flowing robes leapt out on several occasions to expose himself.
As he looked a hundred if he was a day, he didnt seem to pose much of a threat so I continued to drag my poor kids past him on an almost daily basis.
Every foreigner who works in Oman has to have a sponsor. Ours was a Government Minister called Omar, who made a lasting impression on me by buying me a gold watch approximately four weeks after our first meeting, for which I will be eternally grateful.
He visited uson a regular basis, often accompanied by his two children
Women are definitely second class citizens here as his wife was never away from her home whilst Omar, clad in his pristine white robe (dish dash) took us on numerous jaunts.
He introduced us to the local coffee houses which are also a closed shop as far as women are concerned and the only females to be seen were Westerners like myself.
Oman is what is called "dry" which means no alchohol but does not enforce this to cover foreign workers and many Omani men befriended us purely to get an invite to your home where religion went up the spout and they supped spirits, which were readily available to us, like good uns.
We met many Omani men whilst living there, but never their wives.
In fact, they seemed to be a taboo subject and as I was enjoying myself so much there, I didn't do my bit for women's lib and press the point but have often thought since what these poor women do all day whilst their husbands and kids are swanning about and entertaining westerners
As my time spent there was not really a holiday, I wont be able to give a proper opinion on a set holiday but will be able to share my experiences of this wonderful country.
As it is mostly desert, you will be amazed at how much greenery there is. The flora is watered constantly as it is a very rich, money no object, sort of a country.
I expected to be catapulted off the plane into a barren desert, but it's not like that at all.
You will be bombarded with posters of the Sultan everywhere.
The towns are beautiful. Again, no expense spared to make them visually appealing.
You will see loads of very expensive cars, quite a few abandoned at the roadside when the novelty wears off.
Although you will see villages with chickens, donkeys, whatever roaming in and out of houses, the overall impression is of great wealth.
Anything connected with the Sultan is opulence itself.
Find a hotel he has commissioned and you will see real gold taps, fountains, lawns and luxury. I'm sure any holiday maker who books a "proper" holiday will be directed straight to such a place.
The souks (markets, usually under cover) are unmissable.
You will be overpowered by the smell of herbs and spices as you enter.
Your eyes will pop out at some of the gold (nearly always 22 carat) on offer. Another unmissable experience.
Oman has some of the most beautiful beaches imaginable. You can walk two feet into the crystal clear sea and watch tiny fish swimming around your ankles.
Some of the beaches are famed for turtles and you can visit them on tours and watch tiny baby turtles upon hatching, rushing towards the sea.
Although it is some years since I visited I sincerely hope that this war will not sour relations with Arab countries and prevent others experiencing the joys that we had on our visit there.
in less troubled times I would recommend anyone with a desire to see different parts to visit this beautiful and friendly country.
Advantages: Friendly people, nice hotels, some nice things to visit, good weather Disadvantages: No history, too much like other cities
I visited Oman in November. The temperature was in the 20's, and it didn't rain while we were there.
Oman is a at the bottom of the Arabian penninsula. The language spoken is Arabic, although most people we met could speak English. Oman is a pretty country, with mountains and deserts, although it has been built up a lot in the last few years. We stayed in Muscat, which is the capital city.
How to get to Oman
We flew with Qatar air via Doha. We ... ...from Heathrow, came back to Gatwick). If you decide to do this, I would recommend you go into the Oryx Lounge on the ground floor of the departure lounge - it costs about 15 dollars, but you get comfy sofas and free snacks and drinks, which is better than trying to find somewhere to sit in the busy terminal. You can also get direct flights from England to Muscat (Seeb International Airport), but this is more expensive.
How to get around
We used ...
depurple2 02.10.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of General: Oman
Advantages: Little-known, quiet, very very beautiful Disadvantages: Becoming more touristy and built-up, pricey
As with one of the previous reviewers, I too used to live in Oman. Holidays once a year when my folks lived there, then spent a year there myself. I am sorry if this information is a little out of date (I was there in the late 1990s) but some things never change, and I thought I would put in my two-pennies worth in order to spread the news about Salalah.
Oman is best visited avoided in the summer, when it has been known to be over 50 degrees! Flight ... ...and Kuwait. If you look at that area of the middle east, it sort of resembles a big fat boot - Oman is the sole and up to the toes.
But first, where to stay? There are now several new hotels in Oman. The great thing about hotels in this part of the world is that they take their lead from the big american places, so they tend to be very large rooms, and quite luxurious, even at the somewhat lower end of the price bracket. The intercontinental in ...
KatieBoo 03.04.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of General: Oman
Advantages: Warm weather all year round, Absoloutley beautiful beaches and scenery, Great wildlife tours i.e. Turtle beaches, Friendly and helpful people, generally cheap Disadvantages: Many products unavailable due to its remoteness, can be extremely hot from May to September, Excluding main cities - not many people speak english and will need an Arabic phrasebook
I have recently travelled to Oman, and oh my, what a country! I travelled with Emirates flying from Manchester to Muscat with a connection in Dubai, for approximately £470 through Dial-A-Flight. You will only need between £300 to £600 spending money for a large group of people as food is generally cheap, as is camping equipment.
In order to really see Oman, you need to visit it via a camping holiday, otherwise you wont see the true beauty of it. ... ...on it however, and will definately need to purchase in detail maps of the country, as many parts of it have un-tarmacked roads, and without a detailed map, they wont show up.
I rented a Nissan Patrol from Hertz Rent-a Car for about £240 for the 10 days I went for. I then purchased camping equipment once I got there from one of the hypermarkets in Muscat called Carrefour. I only paid in total about £34 for the whole lot ( tent, sleeping bag, pillows ...
anthmack 09.03.2004 (13.03.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of General: Oman
Advantages: Sunny all year around, breath taking scenery (mountains and beaches), an amazing culture a must see is the forts, the palace, a ride in an abra (little boat hope i spelt it right), lovely people, cheap gold!!!! (ladies.. phew) Disadvantages: Long flight from the UK, you have to know where to go,unfortunately becoming more westernised
I write this review having live in the countries for 13 years, this review is more specific to Muscat the capital.
The travelling to Oman is long and does involve a stop regardless of which airline you fly with, usually a six and a half hour flight to Dubai (a beautiful country in itself) and a 40 minute connection flight to muscat (Seeb Airport). To be fair to the country its does not have a rocking androlling night life however you can have a ... ...to note ALWAYS tell the taxi drivers where you want to go and agree a price before you get in the car... (they try to rip you off)
There are many daily options during the day,
*visiting Ruwi
a sort of a small bustling trade area, expect peple to stare and beep there horns at you, also bargaining with the locals is normal (only tip... smile nicely)
*visit the Al Bustan
the most beautiful and happily situatuated place you will come across. Inside ...
BigBird08 20.04.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of General: Oman
Advantages: Very different but safe and friendly Disadvantages: Expensive, and possibly awkward to get there
Anyone intrigued by, but suspicious or frightened of, the Middle East, should think about Oman as a destination.
It is ancient and steeped in history, but it's also modern and exciting. It's still off the beaten track, and remains an unusual destination, but it's safe, stable, friendly and beautiful.
You can live, play, dine and travel in 21st century comfort, then have to pinch yourself as you look out over minarets, craggy mountians and a world ... ...you've moved to another planet. Then you can pass through towns and villages that seem to have been frozen in time long ago. But most of all you can mingle with friendly, interesting and interested people who share much the same day-to-day thoughts, values, aspirations and problems as those of us in the west.
I will go back as many times as I can afford. ...
Choosy 26.09.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of General: Oman
