Muscat and first impressions of Oman
I left at seven on a Friday morning, we arrived late at night and went to sleep in the morning the next day. I shared my room with Antoinette and we chatted until five before going to sleep.
The arrival was like so many arrivals, I seemed to have landed in Amman or Hurghada, nothing too new, but you know, the airports are all the same, a bit 'like fellow travelers before you start to really know them, before starting to share your part of the world with them.
The first day in Muscat instead I started to understand the differences, to understand where I was.
Muscat seems very interesting, too bad to have seen it for a short time (even if we still have the next Saturday to remedy). We arrived during their New Year and in the morning all the shops were closed, in fact they told me that their stores during this party are closed for at least three days.
Antonietta and I went out of the hotel late in the morning, we ventured into some street around, we looked for shops where we could start to see the local culture until we met with the group after lunch.
In the afternoon we visited the city , from the Sultan's home to the souk. The souk is a meeting of people, spices, smells and looks. We must be careful not to stare at men in the eyes, not to take pictures of women, to understand how to move in this interweaving of people and cultures , theirs and ours.
What struck me most here is the absolute sense of peace . Families with children, many men with children in their arms who are buying. Families sitting on tables facing the sea while drinking a mango juice and eating a kebab or hamburger. The red of the evening struck me, the shadows of the mountains, the serenity of the looks of women , the smile of children, the perfectly ironed clothes of men.
At the end of my first day, after seeing the old city of Muscat , the city museum that tells the story of Oman and tasted the local fried fish, I drank a pomegranate juice, and went to sleep happy. #TBnet #NomadiModerni
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