Today was another alarm clock day. 08:15, this time.
The reason, once again, was to visit a mosque before closing time at 11:00. This time, it was the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. This time, we checked ahead of time to find out whether children were allowed and were told by our hotel concierge that this wouldn’t be a problem.
After breakfast, we drove across Muscat to the mosque and were alarmed to discover that no children under 10 are allowed inside. But not to worry, a bit of politeness goes a long way here, and so after asking the guard nicely, we were admitted inside, Eloïse and all.
I could describe the mosque to you, but I’d really be wasting your time and mine. Tasteful, opulent and grandiose are adjectives that come to mind; breathtaking is another. The central chandelier is extraordinary and reminded me of the mothership from the film Close Encounters of The Third Kind.
The grandeur of the building left one in awe; I was quite gobsmacked. That single experience this morning made my entire day.
We decided to hit a couple of the local shopping centres afterwards, namely the Sabco Centre and the Al Araimi. We checked out the “most valuable perfume in the world”, Amouage, not to be confused with the most expensive perfume in the world, which would mean something else entirely.
After a coffee at Barista, we went back to the hotel and spent the afternoon in the swimming pool, splashing around and playing with Eloïse. That was a really great family activity and lots of fun.
Dinner this evening was at Kargeen Café, the restaurant we didn’t manage to find yesterday evening. It was tricky this evening, too, but we eventually located it. The dinner, thankfully, was well worth it and the ambience was fantastic. We sat outside on comfortable one-person benches, with frankincense burning all around us and the occasional restaurant cat sauntering by. Simply lovely.
We’re going to have to get some chocolate-covered dates before we leave here. We checked out Bateel before dinner; the only branch in Oman is within walking distance of our hotel.
Speaking of our hotel, I love this place and would recommend it to anyone who’s considering coming to Muscat; especially in 2007, as the Al Bustan Palace is closed for a year for renovations.
When we came back to our room from dinner, a gigantic birthday cake was waiting for us on our table. The staff had noticed it was my birthday and had brought in a lovely cake for us. How’s that for attentive?
It has to be said, by the way, that the people here are the kindest and friendliest people we’ve encountered since our honeymoon to Thailand, Laos and Vietnam in 2002. They drive courteously, they love children, they are pleased to help you with directions and questions; they’re always willing to go to a little bit of trouble for you. Common courtesy, you know? If you give it, you’ll receive it, too. You don’t see that so much in the west any more.
It just keeps getting hotter, by the way. It was about 31 or 32°C today. Do you know what they call this kind of heat here? Their name for it is: winter. The coldest winter days here average around 25°C. That would have been a great summer’s day back in The Netherlands before mankind ruined the climate. I just don’t know how people cope here in the summer, when the temperature can rise up above 50°C.