Muscat: Farewell Middle East

A two hour direct flight from Riyadh landed us in the great city of Muscat, Oman. Being our most sporadic stop of the trip (CJ and I still can't remember whose idea it was or why to come here), we were pleasantly surprised to be a 30 minute walk from the beach and five minutes from a strip mall of restaurants. Our flight got in late so after settling into the airbnb, we crashed early. This is the view from the roof of our place. 

The next morning, our host Muhammad picked us up bright and early to bring us to an ATM so we could pay him. I was in a groggy haze so CJ did most of the talking. Apparently he is quite the sweet talker because after this brief interaction, our host continued messaging him frequently throughout our stay and even after we left. Below are some highlights. I'll let you be the judge of the subtext on this one. 

Our first real stop of the day was an Egyptian restaurant at the aforementioned strip mall where we feasted on some delicious koshary - a mix of lentils, rice, pasta and meat. Kind of an everything but the kitchen sink situation. Although we spent eight days in Egypt last month, our obsession with shawarma and grilled meats at the time caused us to overlook all traditional Egyptian dishes. So this was our first one. It was hearty and offered a new set of flavors. Success. 

After our meal we took a walk to the beach with a quick pit stop at this seemingly abandoned amusement park. Nothing new for the middle east. 

We eventually reached the beach which stretched for what seemed like miles. 

We walked, changed into swimsuits under a bridge, and took a dip in the water. CJ then began to rest on a patch of grass just off the sand. He was quickly interrupted by a swarm of fire ants crawling on him and biting his legs. As the evening drew near, the beach filled with people and a pickup soccer game ensued.

Even with our tight schedule, we found the time to sit and watch the entire game. The players were shockingly good for their age and physical statures. The highly entertaining game, consisting of 15 players per side on a small field with tiny goals, ended with a low final score of 1 - 0. 

They played till the sun set.

We then taxi'd to the Mutrah souk, one of the oldest marketplaces in the Arab world. Clean, lively, and vibrant, this souk dethroned Marrakech as our favorite souk of the trip thus far.

Upon walking through the gate, we were immediately greeted by the voices of 10 different men shouting "Frankincense and myrrh" and gesturing for us to smell their colored rock collections. Other than resins for incense, the most common items for sale were Persian carpets, jewelry, and various silk items. 10/10 products for looking and not buying. 

The handmade silk rug leaning against the left wall was being sold for around $4000 USD. After we asked the kind shop owner for the price and shuffled toward the exit, he proceeded to show us six more rugs, in hopes that we may cave for a piece of mere $1500. Sorry dude - we were never gonna buy a rug in the first place. We just like looking at stuff.  

That night we planned out our next day. After a resounding success with our first Trip Advisor tour (reference the Riyadh blog post for further information), we decided to book a day long tour to the Wadi Shab - a famous canyon known for turquoise pools, hidden waterfalls, and trails that require both hiking and swimming. We made a stop at the grocery store to fuel up on snacks for the long day ahead. This was the biggest Nutella they had. 

We woke up bright and early to be picked up in a van by our guide Qais. We were the first of five pickups (three couples and two singles). Once we had everyone, we began our two hour drive to the Wadi Shab. 20 minutes in, the couple in the back row asked to pull over, said they would take a taxi home, and left. Shortly after, a woman in the next row up noticed there was puke all over the back of the van. Nice. 

After the quick cleaning detour, we continued our drive. An hour later, Qais pulled over to a random convenience shop and told us we needed to buy brand new waterproof phone cases and water shoes. Totally unaware of what we were getting into, we bought the stuff. When we arrived to the trailhead, they were renting both water shoes and water proof cases for a fraction of the price. Thanks Qais.

Here is a picture of Qais explaining something. 

Anyways, the Wadi Shab lived up to the hype. We hiked,

we swam,

we hiked to different swimming locations,

we snaked our way through this tiny opening,

and eventually reached this.

All in all, it was a 10/10 trip for us. One older Australian couple, who expected a leisurely swim and not a two hour triathlon, were not as thrilled with the experience.  

Afterwards, we had a tasty group lunch. Starving from the combo of cardio at the Wadi Shab, CJ and I patiently waited for everyone to finish their food and then deleted every remaining calorie on the table. On the drive home, we stopped for a dip at the Bimmah Sinkhole, a crater formed from collapsed limestone. While only 150 feet wide, the sinkhole reaches as deep as 300 feet!

The rest of the day, we rotted at the airbnb and tried camel meat for dinner. It was incredibly rich and flavorful. We even got our own carpet booth. 

For our last full day in Oman, we sped run the remaining major sites. First stop was the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. And grand it was. From the outside and the inside, it was mesmerizing. 

The chandeliers were enormous.

 

And the prayer room was big enough for 20,000 people to pray at a time. Shoes off policy of course.

Next stop was Muscat's Royal Opera House.

Which, for some reason, was attached to a high end shopping mall. We took a brief stop at a luxury real estate firm to use their free golf sim.

Finally, we made our way to the Mutrah Fort to watch the sunset over the harbor. 

The fort had two cannons. Pretty advanced security if you ask me. 

The bay is home to one of the Sultan's two yachts. This one is valued at $500 million. Glad to see Oman is using tax payer money to support the welfare of the people. 

And some more photos from the fort.

Oh quick note - CJ would be beside himself if I didn't include his shuwa lunch, which he eloquently described as "potentially the top flavor bomb of the trip bro."

What started as a peculiar pit stop turned into one of the most relaxing and enjoyable legs of the trip. Till next time Oman. And with that, we close the chapter on the Middle East. We shall never forget you. I hope to meet more Muhammed's in the near future.