Today was a busy day at the port. The Sheikh of Dubai’s private yacht arrived this morning. We have no idea if the Sheikh is actually on it or not. It is a flashy multi-million dollar vessel, but we were actually expecting something bigger and flashier. After all, the guy is a sheikh. A cruise ship arrived this morning, as well, and stayed only for the day, leaving before sunset. And in the afternoon, another US military warship arrived. This one was bigger, and had an incredible array of antennas atop of it.
We laid low on Kosmos until 1630 (4:30 pm), then headed into town. We knew nothing would be open until then since today is the Sabbath. On the way to town, we stopped for gas (petrol) for the car. Diesel is USD$0. 41 a liter (about $1.50 a gallon) and gasoline is almost the same. And it is a full service gas station! Too bad marine fuel prices aren’t as low.
We drove around in search of the museum, but never found it. We drove around some more looking for a suitable restaurant. We saw a sign that said “Bin Ateeq Traditional Omani Food”. That was the spot for us. We went in and were ushered into a small private room with a Persian rug and pillows on the ground.
Our food arrived on a large serving tray. The waiter put the tray on the rug and showed himself out, carefully shutting the door behind him. We sat on the pillows and leaned over the tray, using it as a table. It is definitely easier to eat at a table. Eric got the Sharkha Naship, which is pieces of lobster fried with tomato, onion, and spices. It was really good, similar tasting to schwarma (sweet, seasoned meat), but not as sweet. Christi got a curry dish. It was mildly spiced, which made her happy. She doesn’t like it when there is so much spice that her lips feel like they are on fire, which was pretty typical in Thailand and India. We got an order of hummus, which is ground up chickpeas. We ate a lot of hummus at home. There was a vegetable sauce on the tray. We are not sure which dish it was supposed to accompany. It had the same texture as applesauce, and it was very spicy. Definitely a “lips on fire” food.
When we were done eating, we walked outside and were surprised to see that the city had come to life. The roads were packed with cars and pedestrians. Most of the shops were open. The city was all lit up with colorful lights. It was happening. We also saw something that we have not seen since we left the United States: American cars on the road. There weren’t very many percentage wise, but there were definitely quite a few.
We’d say about 40% of the men wear salwar kameez looking outfits, with loose, long sleeved shirts that go down to their knees and loose pants. They almost look like pajamas. These outfits are always solid colors. About 40% of men wear the choir robes, also always in solid colors, and usually light colors. The other 20% wear western style clothing, usually pants and a button down shirt. Most of the men in the more traditional clothing also wear the round needlepoint hats or small turbans. Almost all the women wear black choir robes with a black headscarf. Many women also wear a black face cover, so only their eyes show.
The tradition of completely covering the body is an Arabic custom that goes back thousands of years before the inception of Islam in 610 AD. The Arabs were primarily nomadic people living in the desert under a very bright and powerful sun. They chose light fabrics, such as linen, to keep cool and covered their entire bodies to protect from sunburn and insect bites. The founder of Islam, the prophet Muhammed, was an Arab. When he wrote the Koran, he instituted proper attire for a Muslim to be the style of clothing the people already wore. From the little research we have done on Islam, it sounds like both men and women are told to cover their bodies and heads. In Indonesia, Malaysia, Southern Thailand, and the Maldives, we saw plenty of women with head coverings, but no men. Here in Oman, the majority of men wear a head covering of some sort, but only the turban really covers the whole head, and none of the head coverings protects the neck. [87]