Wednesday, 6 November 2019
Sea Day:  Sailing to Sir Bani Yas Island, UAE

Today we sail toward three ports in the United Arab Emirates with debarkation in Dubai.  It has been an exciting journey and, remarkably, the blog is back to real time.  Last night, debarkation documents and luggage tags were delivered to all passengers—always a sad sign that the end of the cruise is fast approaching.

There have been no security alerts as we sail through these Arabian waters, although we receive messages about what to do in case an issue arises.  Around noon today we will pass through the Straits of Hormuz and hopefully get a glimpse of the coast of Iran.  I imagine the Encore will stick to a very strict course in the middle of the passage.  Today is the last day of Team Trivia, and, sad to say, my team will not win any prizes, although we raised our standing a good deal since the contest began.  I still kick myself for missing the question about Charles Dickens’ Artful Dodger’s real name (Jack Dawkins).  I remembered it only after the voting round was over. Maybe I should have had another Bloody Mary.

Tuesday, 5 November 2019
Muscat, Oman

If my visit to Salalah, Oman, was very different than what I expected (see previous blog), Muscat, the capital and largest city in Oman, offers a more traditional view of a long-standing historic city reaching into the 21st century

The first thing I note as we sail into the harbor is the variety of geologic features of the terrain, with high, rocky hills sloping down to palm-fringed beaches, with large urban areas in the clefts between the hills.  There also appears to be much greenery here, as I will discover later, planted and nurtured artificially throughout  the city.

Not a Spaceship, but a Giant Incense Burner

The Encore docks just before 10am when I leave the ship and am blasted with heat and humidity—not very pleasant, even at this early hour.  I have a seat on the 10:15am Big Bus Hop On-Hop Off (or HoHo, as I call it), a useful service in almost every port I have visited over many years.  My plan is to make several stops along the route, but I sit upstairs, under a canvas canopy, where the audio system does not work well and no announcements are made about stops.  The bus seems to barrel along oblivious to its riders.

So I remain on the bus for the full two-hour circuit back to the ship, happy that I did because I get a close-up view of the variety of landscape and architecture through this very large city, including far-flung areas that are otherwise difficult to reach.  Unlike in the UAE, where buildings aim for the clouds, Muscat is content to stop at four or five stories, with very few buildings rising much higher.  The buildings are either white-washed or painted a light beige—
kind of reminds me of the Phoenix surburbs, especially with all the super-highway construction and heavy traffic coming into the city.

The Mutrah Area Corniche, Close to the Cruiseport 

One of Many Large Mosques Along the HoHo Route
(Open Only to Islamic Men)

Another Empty Beach

Foreign Workers Trudging to Their Construction Sites

 

 

System of Elevated Forts (Above and Below)

Many Highway Roundabouts Keep Traffic Moving Smoothly and Add Artisric 
Flair to the Streetscape (Above and Below)

Sultan Qaboos’ Royal Palace (Above and Below)

Luxury Western-Style Hotels

The Big Bus brings me back to the Encore shortly after noon, in time for lunch and a short rest, prior to going out again at 3pm.  This time I use the free shuttle bus that goes directly to the Mutrah souq.  Some of the shops in this very large covered market are still closed for their mid-day break, but I am not interested in buying anything, although I did see some interesting rugs. . . .  A large section is devoted entirely to gold jewelry.

More interesting than the souk are the quiet backstreets and the busy waterfront corniche, lined with cafes, restaurants, and several mosques—most of them for men only and forbidden to non-Muslims.  There are several public artworks along the way, as well as a modern art museum, which happens to be closed.

Entrance to Mutrah Souq

Back streets with View of Fort . , .

and  View of Mosque . . .
 

and Another View of Fort

Inside the Souq (above and below)

Modern Art Museum

A local Doorway

Back on Board, the evening is finally pleasant enough to enjoy dinner poolside, at the Earth and Ocean venue, offering a selection of sustainable foods in small portions, panko-crusted shrimp with a soy dipping sauce, skirt steak (remarkably tender) with garlic butter, and three—count ‘em—roasted potato slices.

The Encore sails out of Muscat while I am enjoying dinner with a pleasant married couple from Auckland, New Zealand.