We changed time zones, we changed languages, we even changed overall color of the scenery around us – oh, and not to mention its 110ºF in the shade. With a quick late night flight and a stop-over in Dubai…
…welcome to the Sultanate of Oman.
If you think back a few pages to the sights of Ethiopia, you will quickly notice that this:
…is not Ethiopia. There are very few similarities between the two.
In our travels exploring the history of coffee and its reach into the pages of history, we began the next chapter in our visit – the Arabian Peninsula. But first, to establish a more concrete understanding of the culture in which coffee had its roots, we made our way to the local mosque: where better to learn about Islam.
Being that this mosque is not exactly a subtle structure, it doesn’t take long to realize this is not just any mosque.
The Grand Mosque of Sultan Qaboos is extraordinary…
The Grand Mosque was built by the much-loved Sultan barely a decade ago. The Sultan, having ruled extraordinarily wisely for 40 years, is a testament to the old adage quoted by many a political science professor and parent alike: “The best and most effective form of government is a benevolent dictatorship.”
The Sultan has taken his country’s wealth garnered from the world’s addiction to oil and, not built grossly extravagant structures and constructed entire islands like the UAE in Dubai, but made huge advances in the people and the city itself. Knowing that the county’s oil will someday dry up, he has gone to great lengths to employ his subjects, ensure their water is clean and their roads are well paved and maintained.
In fact, along every highway in Muscat the roadsides are decorated with immaculately manicured grass and trees and the parks are plentiful. The third photo in this post shows a bit of that…
Moreso, there is an actual law forbidding the construction of skyscrapers, ensuring the money is used elsewhere to fund truly constructive ventures.
Okay, well, enough of that…
Now you might say, is this mosque not a contradiction to what you just said?
Considering that religion plays such an extraordinarily important part of life in Oman, does it not make sense that their house of worship – something frequented by a massive population of the country – would deservedly be so well appointed.
Anyways…
The Grand Mosque was a heck of a thing…
…and we spent time there.
The day ended with a dinner with a local group of women who are part of a sewing cooperative, teaching sewing in order to provide independence and a steady income.
I really loved the food, but couldn’t eat much of it… remember yesterday?
More soon, stay tuned…
-Noah D.
1 Comment
Seeing you post on Oman I’d have hoped that you might have come up with a portrait of an Omani man, with these beautiful caps. That’s been the first thing I always appreciated about entering Oman from the UAE: Change in headdresses, nicer people.
But it’s amazing to see how much time, effort and money is invested into building these mosques. Makes one wonder how Saint Peter would look like if it was being build today, with the same drive and dedication as these modern mosques like in Musquat or Abu Dhabi. My employer down there build the wood-inlay works for the Abu Dhabi mosque, and no-one can say how many little mother-of-pearl splinters have been glued on wood for this!