Fish Souk

When you live in Oman, the contrast between old and new is always evident. A few hundred meters from our house is a Bronze Age burial mound. One of the teachers at TAISM first identified it and a month or so back he had to notify the Ministry of Heritage about its endangerment. A two lane expressway is now being built over the site.

A few kilometers from our house are the remains from a large “fort”. It is actually more of a house, but these structures needed to be heavily fortified to keep out the enemy. It is abandoned now, but you can still see the intricate craftsmanship of the roof, the imported wood from Africa, and the central tower which acted as an air conditioner. This particular home was probably deserted just a few decades ago, but with the ease the mud walls erode, it looks much more ancient. The relatives of the people who once lived in this place probably now live just down the street in house made in cement.

When you travel in the desert it is hard to remember that the first tourists came to visit the Bedouin in Oman just a couple of decades ago. During this time, the local people did not use cars; the camel was the only mode of transport. Down by the coast, you see the remnants of countless different types of fishing boats. They had all been made from local palm or imported teak wood. Now they sit abandoned; their skeletons slowly turning a dull grey from the sun. The boat builders of Sur still make Dows, but they are outfitted with diesel engines instead of sails.

It may seem like I am lamenting the fact that Oman is changing, and I guess I am. However, I think it would be incredibly hypocritical of me (a man who visits Starbucks, drives an Izuzu Trooper, and chooses to lie on the beach for relaxation) to tell others that the traditional ways are the best. I just hope someone is paying attention to all that is being lost. This is true all over the world. Just think of the neighborhood you grew up in, how many changes has it undergone? In this crazy age of information overload and technological advancement I hope we do not forget who we are.

Anyway, the reason for this entry was to share a short traditional experience Ellen, Taj, and I had the other weekend. We drove about 20 kilometers to a fish souk. This market takes place every weekend on a very ordinary beach. The fishermen literally drive their fiberglass boats to shore, unload their catch on a tarp and wait for the customers. Some of the fish are still dying as they lay helpless on a piece of plastic staring at the mid-morning sun. If you wish, you can buy Kingfish (mackerel), shrimp, ray, cuttlefish (like a squid), anchovies, grouper, and a lot of other unidentifiable specimens. Right now it is Tuna season. You can buy Tuna fresh or cooked. The way they prepare the Tuna is to slow roast it with coals in the sand. It is wonderful. We bought a pound and a half of fresh Tuna for $1.30.

The real treat of visiting a place like this is that you get to witness the way regular people live. I am sure the souk has been going on for many, many years. The techniques in which the fisherman catch the fish may be different, but the way in which they sell their catch has not really changed a whole lot.

Discover Oman

During the first week of February, TAISM secondary school closes its classrooms and the students and teachers learn about Oman by traveling around the country.

I was lucky enough to chaperone the 7th grade students. I believe that many adults fear being with students this age because their own memories of Middle School are forgettable. Well, what better reason to help make these kids experiences better. Anyway, the 7th grade at our school is great and they made this week very enjoyable.

On the first day we stayed around Muscat. We took a bus to a small village called Ghala. This village is still very traditional even though it is located about 10 minutes from the ministry area of Muscat. Ghala has a colorful history. It is located at the foot of the jebels and has hot springs that served as an important resource for caravans traveling to the interior. Today the springs still feed a communal bathing area (men and women are separated of course) and irrigate date palms and small gardens.

After exploring the shady village paths, we hiked along an old road that ended up at another village called Bausher. The road is falling apart, but was once very busy with camel and horse caravans that brought trade goods from Muscat to places like Nizwa. At one point we stopped for a group photo and a few kids found pottery fragments. These were interesting finds, but probably not too old as this road was used not too long ago. Remember, Oman had no paved roads until the mid 70’s. I am not sure when the current road was made to Nizwa, but probably not until a decade or so ago.

After arriving in Bausher we had a picnic and then explored a wadi. The first time I came to this spot was with my dad last September. We came across an Omani family that was enjoying the weekend and although the man did not really speak English, we were invited to spend some time visiting by drinking Kawa (coffee) and eating dates. Luckily, there were no picnicking families to be distrurbed by the kids racing up the wadi. The hike was fantastic. Exploring the canyons and caves reminded me of our visit to Utah. After an hour, we had to turn around but I don’t think we were close to the end.

The next day, we split the grade in half. The group of kids that I was chaperoning (along with another teacher) was called the turtles. We took a bus to Ras al Junaiz which is renowned for its sea turtle nesting. However, our first stop at the beach was to visit an archeological dig. The archeologist who met us was a young Italian. In fact I had met him previously in the year at a friend’s house. At that time he was returning to Italy. He had been part of a government sponsored project to build a replica of a 3500 year old boat that tried to sail to India. However, after just a few days, the boat sank and the crew (including Allejandro) rescued. At Ras al Junaiz, he was investigating some bitamin that had recently been found. Bitamin was used as a water proofing agent in ancient times. Anyway, the site was quite fascinating. Here (on the eastern most tip of the Arabian penninsiula), they were discovering there was once an ancient sea faring village that had once traded with the Indus Valley and even Mesopotamia. As proof, the archeologists had uncovered, pottery from those places. After visiting for 30 minutes, the students went for a swim in the ocean, but one boy stayed talking with an archeologist about how to get into the profession. Ahh…experiential education at its best.

That evening and the next morning we came to the beach to look for nesting turtles. We saw two medium sized (1 meter long) Green Turtles. We watched the one in the morning finish covering her nest and then go back to the sea. She laid close to 120 eggs, but only about 1 in a 1000 will survive. She laid them close to the water which means they will most likely turn out to be males (sex is determined by the temperature of the incubating sand). During the nesting season (June, July, and August), you can see 400 or so turtles a night. This is a very important place for these endangered animals.

The next day we visited a very interesting mosque. The building is still used and reminds people that Oman was once ruled by the Persians. Our guide informed us that it is the only mosque in Arabia to be of “Persian Style”. It is decorated with over 20 domes and dates back 1300 years.. If you wanted to see another like it you would have to travel to Iran.

After the mosque the kids refreshed themselves by swimming in a beautiful swimming hole called Wai Bani Khaled. They spent most of their time jumping off rocks into the aqua blue colored water.

In the evening we went “dune-bashing” in the Wahiba Sands. Dune bashing is basically off road driving on dunes. Some of the 4x4s are extremely powerful (4 L engines). However, since the Bedouin (local people of the desert) have adapted the Land Cruiser as their main mode of travel, they are very adept at sand driving. I guess it is not uncommon for these people to drive across the desert on their own (I would always go with someone else as a means of getting out of the soft sand). After dinner, the kids and chaperones all danced to the beat of some local Omani musicians. The instruments used were drums, hands, and an ude (guitar like instrument). What amazed me most was the songs and rhythm. They were all very African. Upon more careful listening, they were sung in Swahili. In fact, the men even danced a lot like the east Africans I met in Kenya and Tanzania. It was an interesting example of Zanzibar’s (the southern capital of Oman) influence on Oman.

The final day in the desert we visited some local Bedouin people. It is amazing to think that there was no tourism here just a decade or so ago. Even 10 years ago, these people still used camels for their transport. Now, everyone has a Land Cruiser and the camels have relatively easy lives. The big business now is camel racing. The animals can do a km across the desert in 1.5 minutes. Hmmm I wonder if all this “advancement” is good for everyone.




Discover Oman ended last week and this week has been extremely busy. I had surgery yesterday and am pretty immobile today. I had a few veins removed that were causing circulation problems. The surgery was pretty superficial, but I still had a general anesthesia and I will be unable to play football for 4 weeks. Having the anesthesia is scary. Our life is flying by now and so much is happening. By the time I feel better, Ellen will be giving birth. What a roller coaster!

Same versus Different

5 months in Oman?!
And yet some things continue to feel so different and other things that once felt foreign are now normal.
How is Oman different and how is it the same from our lives in the states?

I remember when I first arrived in Oman, I would see a typical Omani man walking down the street. His dark skin would be an attractive contrast to his traditional white cotton gown (dishdasha) and on his head he would have a simple embroidered pill-box style hat (kuma). I remember thinking how different we were and wondering what this traditional Arab man was thinking of me- a young western woman. I guess I connected this stranger more to pictures of Arab men in Time or on CNN than I did as anything else. And lets face it, the western press certainly emphasizes the differences between Arab and Western culture! Now when I see an Omani man or woman I am more likely to think of similarities between us than differences. Yes, Arabic may be their primary language, they may normally write from right to left instead of left to right, and they may be Muslim however, a majority of Omani’s that I meet speak English, are very open to Western-ways, are as curious or more curious to learn about me as I am to learn about them and are far from the typical angry exclusive Arab as portrayed in the press. In fact, I would say that Omani’s in general are some of the most friendly people I have met. I have been invited to my Omani neighbor’s house on many occasions.

Here in Oman children, and especially babies, are treasured. I have had complete strangers (checkout women at the grocery store or the man at the gas station) tickle Taj’s chin or sweep him out of my arms in a warm embrace. In the US, if anyone did this you would fear he/she was a child molester. Here, it is just pure love and affection and trust. It is refreshing.

Surprisingly, Oman is very diverse. On a daily basis I interact with Philipinos, Indians, Americans, Canadians, Japanese, Spaniards, Scandanavians – and those are just my co-workers. Not to mention, the diversity of students at TAISM and within the expat community. It is truly amazing!

Stress. I haven’t started Arabic lessons yet but I wonder if the word translates. Oman is so laid-back. Most stores open from 9-1, close from 1 -4 and then reopen from 4-8. Most Omanis and Indians approach their work with an “ En Shallah” attitude. This means that it will happen if “God wills it”. This can be a good way to approach life on a daily basis but it can also drive you crazy when you are waiting around for the cable installer or internet installer to show up (it could be weeks!). A good example of the laid-back attitude within the culture is the way holidays are approached. As Greg mentioned on our website, Muslim holidays are lunar. So it may say on the calendar that we will have a holiday on January 30 to celebrate the Islamic New Year however, the holiday may actually be called anytime within a week of January 30. My need to plan has been severely challenged here (and I think it’s good for me!!!!)

Lastly, you’ll have to forgive me for sounding conservative but living in Oman has made me realize how sexual American culture is. Fashion, music, advertising, t.v., --it all seems so sexual in the US. Especially when you live in a culture where Omani women wear black robes in public. I don’t see a woman in black robes as a bad thing, in Oman it is truly a choice. However, the pressure put on people (especially women) in western society to look and act and buy seems very unhealthy- it is so pervasive.

What else is different?
There are no old cars in Oman. All cars are new and very clean (otherwise you get a ticket!).

You have to look hard to see animal life. There are a few birds, lizards, goats, sheep and the occasional stray cat or pet dog. Other than this, you have to travel outside the city to see a donkey or camel. It makes me appreciate even the annoying squirrels we had at home.

There are not many overweight Omanis however, exercise is not something that is emphasized in the culture either.

There are no high-rises in Oman. I think the tallest building is the Sheraton Hotel and it is about 15 stories tall- nothing else comes close!

As you can tell from our city photos- all of the buildings are white or a shade of beige.

So, what is the same?
Most people speak English.

You drive on the “right” side of the road.

A surprising number of Western restaurant chains are present (McD’s, KFC, Chilis, Cinnabon, Baskin Robbins, Starbucks, Pizza Hut, Pappa Johns, Orange Julius)

Grocery shopping is much more similar than you might imagine. First of all there are grocery stores- you don’t do your shopping at an open-air market. There are 2 grocery stores that we frequent. One (Al-Fair) carries many western brands and products (even some organic items at outrageous prices!). It is very similar to a small grocery store in the US. On the other end of the spectrum is LuLu’s. At night, you can follow the neon to get to LuLu’s. There are neon palm trees and neon fireworks outside the market- it is tough to miss. Shopping here is a social event for most people. It is more packed than any store I have ever been to on weekends and evenings. The store is 2 stories high. The bottom floor is a huge grocery store. They have most things you need including an entire 30 foot aisle dedicated to rice (available in bags of 30 lbs or less). There are escalators going to the second floor and the grocery carts have special grooved wheels that allow them to sit in the escalators (but which makes them very difficult to wheel around the rest of the store). The second floor is kind of like Target but cheaper. It has everything from appliances to clothing to lingerie and Christmas decorations. The only thing that is VERY different about grocery shopping here is that most food to not have ingredients and nutritional information printed in a readable format. Maybe this is trivial to many of you, but I was quite the label-reader in the states.

Lastly, you will be comforted to know that medical care is very similar to the US. Doctors are trained in the US or Europe. The facilities are immaculate and all of the latest technology is available. Communication between Dr and patient is key. Whenever any of us have visited a Dr, he/she spends great lengths of time to insure that all of our questions are answered and we are comfortable. I’ve never felt rushed to get out of the office so that the next patient could come in (that is different from some of my experience in the states).

I imagine that you have heard much of this information from us before. Honestly, I’m sure that there are other differences and similarities that I don’t recognize anymore because I am so immersed in “living in Oman”. I guess I’ll have to address this topic again after we return from our summer in the states.
Can’t wait to see many of you then!

The Weekends

The weekends in Oman as in any country are something to look forward to and get excited about. Before the days of Taj, Ellen and I would plan out our adventures the Friday night and if something came up, we could quickly adjust. However, as anyone with children knows it does get more difficult when you have a child’s needs to think about.

One of the reasons we decided to move overseas was to expose our family to different cultures and to travel and see new places. When we first arrived in Oman it was very hot. We did make a few escapes to the mountains, but the beaches were off limits simply because you would eventually need to get out of the water and roast. Since November the climate has improved substantially. Over winter break, we took a trip with my parents to a remote beach near Tiwi. This beach although beautiful is a few hour trip on a rough road.

This past weekend, Ellen, Taj, and I went to a much closer beach called Seifa. The road to Seifa is paved except at the end when you really need to gun your 4WD to get up on the dunes (where the camping spots are). A few years ago, the road was unpaved and I guess it was one of the hairiest off road adventures you could undertake. As I drove through the jebels (mountains), I was consistently reminded of the amazing road engineering as the pavement passed through tight passes and impossible declines. I can’t imagine doing the trip before pavement. A lot of people talk about going to Seifa, but there were only 3 other people camping on the beach when we arrived.

We arrived at 2:30 and it took us an hour to set up camp. The wind off the ocean was quite strong and we had to attach ropes to rocks and bury them in the sand to keep our tent down. There are sand tent stakes available but we have been unable to find them as of yet. The evening was spent making dinner and watching Taj entertain himself. One of the best things about camping on the beach is that Taj can pretty much do anything and remain safe. We also set up a fire from some wood a couple local kids sold us. Taj must have watched the fire for 30 minutes without moving.

Although 7 months pregnant, Ellen was still willing to sleep on the ground. I don’t think she slept extremely well, but that may have been due to her son doing laps around the tent as he slept. I know I woke several times with different Taj body parts stuck in my nose.

The morning was glorious as we lounged on the beach, made sand castles, snorkeled, fished, walked and investigated some tidal pools. This one picture is of a typical Omani fishing shelter. Depending on the fishing being done there would be various supplies under the shade. There would also bee some logs or plastic pipes to roll their boat into the surf.

Sometimes we do not go anywhere during the weekends. In this case we need to work a little harder to entertain Taj. On this particular day Taj became very excited to where his PFD to the playground. I guess he is getting ready for all the canoeing he is going to do this summer in Minnesota.

Happy New Year

It may be February 1st for most of us, but here in Oman it is also the beginning of the New Year. New Year was called on January 31st. Since the Sultanate of Oman is a Muslim country, it follows a lunar calendar. Thus, the year is a little shorter than the regular calendar. Also, this fact makes the holidays change significantly (always earlier) from year to year. I really enjoy watching the night sky and so I appreciate how the importance given towards the phases of the moon makes astronomy more prevalent in everyday life.

However, the way a holiday is called here is almost silly. The government has, in fact, a special observer who will “make the call” when the crescent of the new moon shows itself (by the way this is why so many Islamic countries have a crescent in their flags). The event usually happens right at sundown and as the moon shows itself for only a few minutes. Anyway for any holiday that is religious, Ramadan, Eid al Fitr, the New Year, etc. you sort of wait and talk with people about what day may be called. It is sort of like talking about the weather in Minnesota. I hate to show my bias, but with all of our advancements in celestial physics, I think they should be able to predict when the crescent will rise. The other day I found a web site that could show you the night sky 4,000 years ago, but we do not know when the crescent may show.

I want to also enclose a few pictures of a place we recently took a day trip to. The place we visited a few weeks back is called Bander Khayran. It is a very interesting area. Here is a spot where the Eastern Jebels drop right into the ocean. The result is spectacular scenery with a lot of bays, coves and inlets. Many people take boats to some of the more remote beaches, but we drove and then walked a little way. However, we still spent the entire day by ourselves on a sandy beach looking out onto the placid waters. I was going to snorkel but landed on a pretty painful Jelly Fish. The sting raised my skin for several hours. Anyway, I decided to fly a kite instead.