Wednesday
afternoon and evening we went to Majan beach as usual with a picnic lunch to
share. The day had been very hot (40s) and humidity was about 87% which makes
for an uncomfortable situation. The
beach was much cooler and the water was just about bath water temperature. One
of our friends brought her three little girls to the beach and some of us were
trying to help them learn to snorkel. We stayed in the water a long time and I was
thinking about the cold water at home.
Thursday morning I was up early and finally figured out why my marks
would not save on the school system. Finished entering them all and went back
to the apartment and packed to go to Niswas.
Niswas is a town about 180 km inland from Muscat and there is an
interesting fort and souq there. We
arrived in the afternoon and found a place to stay, at “Majan Guest House” and
checked in. We needed a bite to eat so
we stopped at a restaurant. Looks like we were their first customers in a while.
The waiter came and placed a clear plastic tablecloth where were sitting and
set the table. No menu, they asked us if
we wanted chicken or meat. The ½ chicken
was BBQ with a salad and rice and it was very good. When he came to clear the
table he picked up the four corners of the table cloth and lifted everything
and took it all in one motion. We did some exploring and found the souq and
some of the shops were open and then took a side trip to Lulu’s a large
department store to pick up fruit for the ride home.
Next morning we
had breakfast at the hotel and went to the goat market at the souq for about
7:30. People were parading their goats around the square to auction them off to
the highest bidder. There were big goats, little goats, stubborn ones, tiny
ones and multi coloured goats…. so many goats.
There were also cows and bulls with the big hump on their back, similar
to the Brazilian cattle. Mature goats sell for about 45 Rials and a small one
for about 30 Rials. The people there
were mostly men with a few Omani women dressed in Omani dress, some with their
faces covered. Linda was dressed modestly, she
thought, with pants just above her knee and a shawl over her shoulders, but
it didn’t stop quite a few of the men/boys from accidentally patting her on the behind.
The souq sold
fruit vegetables, meat, fish, dates, pottery, baskets, silver, guns, knives,
spices, chickens, and many other meat birds as well as rabbits and pet birds.
So much to see, I bought two palm frond baskets and a few other small items. We arrived home about 12 and went out to eat
with some friends and went to the beach for a swim in warm, warm water.
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| Pottery in Niswas |
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| Our meal sitting on the plastic table cloth |
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| Linda sitting in the courtyard |
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| Birds for sale |
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| Marveling as to how they can ride a bike wearing a disdasha. |
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| Men at the goat market |
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| Goat sold |
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| Date sellers |
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| Bought spices from this fellow |
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| Bought 2 of these baskets |
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| Yes it is a gun, they sell them at the souq. |
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| Bump back bull. |
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| Where we stayed. |
