Shark's Teeth and a New Friend

"Mr. Matthew, I want to tell you something."  Dass pulled me over to the side to talk privately.  We were having lunch at an Indian restaurant in Ruwi, a section of town whose inhabitants are mainly Indians.  This is where much of the expatriate workforce imported to build Muscat's modern economy live.  Dass came to Muscat over 30 years ago to work in Oman.

He told me a story. "A long time ago my friend was fishing off the coast of Muscat.  He caught a big shark.  He was so proud of it.  He had the jaw removed and cleaned.  And then, because he was my friend, he gave the jaw to me.  It has been in my house all these years.  Now, I would like to give you the jaws.  I cannot take them with me."

Dass was leaving Oman in a few days to move to Seattle, Washington.  He had recently gotten a green card to live in the U.S.  He had sold everything he owned and was down to two suitcases and the shark's teeth.    And now, in a gesture of friendship, he was passing the teeth to me.  I was honored and thanked him for this incredibly kind gesture.  The jaws were in a bag being held by the Maitre d'.  He would get them after we finished our meal.

Our family joined Dass's wife, his daughter, and his son-in-law at the table.  In another act of friendship, Dass had invited us to dine with him and his family at the restaurant.  His nature was to reach out and befriend others. We still had a ways to go with the coconut curry fish, dahl, and tomato paneer spread before us. Everyone was in a happy mood as our host waved over the waiter and asked him to bring more rice.  I looked around and noticed the restaurant was full.  We were the only non-Indians in the restaurant, we knew the food was authentic.  I reached down and scooped up a handful of rice and curry from my plate and placed it in my mouth  (food is eaten by hand, only newbies like us used forks at this restaurant) .  It was turning out to be a fantastic lunch. 

I had met Dass a few weeks back when I called him about a car he was selling.  He had exactly what we were looking for; a used vehicle big enough for a family.  The car was well maintained, drove well and cheap.  As Dass succinctly expressed to me when I test drove it, "a car perfect for going from here to there."  We got together a half a dozen times to process the insurance, registration, inspection, and tags.  At each meeting we talked and got to know each other.  He invited us to lunch on the day we completed the transfer of the car.

The boys standing in front of the car.

In front of the restaurant.  Dass on the left and his wife and daughter on the right.

Note the big elephant in the background.

Shark's jaws.

The Oman Dive Center

The local weekend here is Thursday and Friday, so we are at the tail end of ours, reflecting on the new experiences we had.  One of the highlights was a trip to the Oman Dive Center, about 30 minutes from town.  It's a full scale dive operation, but they also offer snorkeling, dolphin-watching trips, kayaking and an incredible beach!  I am sure you can see that from the photo.  It's in a beautiful cove.  They also have little beach huts if you want to overnight, which I think would be amazing when the weather cools down a bit.  Things were fairly quiet there this past weekend because of the sweltering heat.  You will notice in the photos of us on the beach we are wearing our sandals -- that sand is beautiful but it will burn the soles of your feet right off!  We swam for a few hours, walked on the dock and then retreated home to the AC because if you were not in the water it was just too  oven-like.  In any case, it was really great to splash around and see the little fish swim by in the shallow water, some striped ones, yellow ones and little schools of minnows.   Hope you enjoy these picturesque photos!


 

Keep those shoes on ...

 

 Ready to wade in ... 

  

 Aaaaaahhh...refreshing!

 

 

        

Sandcastle Magic

Yesterday was a special treat; the Muscat sky had substantial cloud cover.  It almost felt like it was going to rain.  Of course any hope of rain would have been false.  Showers occur 3 or 4 times a year in Oman, and only in December or January. But, the overcast sky did help to lower the air temperature a bit.  We took advantage of the relatively cooler weather and spent several hours at our neighborhood beach.  This stretch of shoreline could not be any more kid friendly.  The sand is really fine and soft and slopes gently into the ocean.  The waves are small and there almost always seems to be a sandbar not too far off into the water.  And, the sand is perfect for building castles.

Volcano style sand castle.

Click play to see what the castle builders are thinking.

Rolling in the waves.

Click play to see how rough the surf really is.

Click play to see a bobbing toddler.

 Click play to see mother and son afloat.

At the end of the day we headed to a nearby stretch of beach bordered by a number of western and Arabic restaurants.  The draw was the outdoor seating.  We had been under the impression that sitting outdoors for a meal wouldn't be possible until October when the summer heat dissipates.  Well, we dined alfresco, and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Note the fashionable ladies in the background busy on their cell phones.

Our House

Our house is located in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos, (or "Sultan Qaboos City" in English) a residential neighborhood in Muscat about 15 minutes from the historic port and souk.  It is named after Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Oman's head of state.  He's beloved by the Omanis and his picture hangs in most buildings and many shops throughout the country.   

Our house has three stories and is surrounding by a wall.  To the left of the big tree is the door to our garage.  To the right is the (open) gate which leads to our front door.  We are fortunate to have a big leafy tree in our yard.  When we don't put the car in the garage, we park under its shade, a luxury in this part of the world.

A view down the street from the sidewalk in front of our house.  We get little traffic.  After the sun sets, stray cats come out of hiding and walk up and down the street looking for scraps of food. 

This is the view from the back balcony.   The mountains in the background are only a few miles away. 

The boys hanging out in our spacious living room.  At certain times of the day, the living room becomes an indoor track with the two of them chasing each other around the furniture.

Our local supermarket, less than a 10 minute walk from our house. 

Our local mosque. 

Our local Starbucks.  It's hard to see in this photo, but the entrance is in front of the parked red car.  Starbucks and Costa Coffee are popular in Oman.

July 4th Weekend Away

Our 4th of July weekend was memorable.  We spent the 4th in Muscat and attended a BBQ at the embassy's rec center.  It was a full-on American buffet, with burgers, 'dogs, corn on the cob, potato salad and water melon.  Dessert was extra special, as part of the event was a "dessert contest" among families, so unfortunately for us, we just had to sample several desserts. The red/white and blue cake won the prize! There was a US history quiz competition and American themed crafts for the kids to complete, so we had lots of reminders of the stars and stripes.  On a whim we left town the next day to go to a beach resort with another family that invited us to take advantage of the summer deals the hotels offer to lure people to the beach in the blistering summer heat.  We were so happy we did!  We drove about 35 minutes outside of Muscat to Barr Al Jissah, where the Shangri La hotel has a beautiful hotel complex on a cove surrounded by tall cliffs which jut out into the water.  The hotel where we stayed is classified as a "family hotel," which means they totally cater to kids!  In addition to the lovely beach, there was a gigantic swimming pool, a playground of water fountains (sprayground), and a huge indoor playground with enormous slides, and all manner of obstacles for climbing and tumbling.  Even the restaurant had a kid-sized buffet table with plastic plates -- so Eddy could help himself to all the waffles he wanted!  It was nice to see all of the Omani families enjoying themselves too.  Some of the Omani and Arab women wore head to toe swim outfits - others wore leggings and t-shirts.  There were British ladies in bikinis, and me in my swim shorts and rashguard shirt.  The nice thing about Oman is that no one seemed to really mind what you were wearing (well maybe the bikinis got an extra eyeball).  Everyone was just there to have a good time and laugh with their kids.  We hope you enjoy the photos of the beach, the sprayground/playground and my gorgeous boys (the big one and the small ones).

Nice beach!

 

Click on the "play" button to see us in action at the sprayground!

The Beach

One of the main reasons we decided to move to Muscat was the beach.  We have not been disappointed! Less than a 10 minute drive from our house is a beautiful stretch of shoreline lined with palm trees, a paved walkway, and patches of well irrigated grass.  In the morning hours, when temperatures are still in the low 90's (it typically reaches over 100F by 10am), the beach is definitely the place to be.  It is especially nice when the tide is low and there are tidal pools where one can sit and play in the cool ocean water. During the week, the beach is almost completely empty.  I've been told that it is more crowded at sunrise when people go strolling, getting in their exercise before the day gets too hot.  As long as our supply of sunscreen holds out, I'm sure that going to the beach will be a regular summer activity for us.

Standing on a sandbar with a tidal pool in the background.

Most of the palm trees in Oman are date palms.  Along the beach they are coconut palms.

Beach, kids, and buckets - a perfect combo.

Sahwah Park

We recently enjoyed a weekend evening in Sahwah Park about 25 minutes outside of the city.  Our friends who have been living here for about a year also have two boys and they suggested it was a great place for all of our little guys to run around.  They were right.  The park is a lovely, green, manicured oasis in the midst of the desert, and we had a little picnic in the shade of the date palm trees lining the lawn.  The center of the park has a huge fountain in the center with a gazebo and little bridges in the center.  The highlight of the evening was the kids area where the boys could run through fountains that spurt up from the ground lit with colored lights in the evening.  The water was oddly warm, but the kids loved it and it still had a cooling effect.  The grown ups also loved the people watching.  The park was full of Omanis, Indians, Pakistanis, Filipinos, young, old, rich and poor - very interesting for one of our first evenings out.  We will definitely be back.

Sunset in the park.

The boys enjoy running barefoot in the soft green (irrigated) grass.

Running through the hedge maze

Enjoying the fountains and the departure of the sun!