It may have been a holiday to celebrate Australia Day back at home, but in Oman it was business as usual, which is to say it was another full working day.
I set my alarm for 7:00am and had breakfast at about 8:00am, before being picked up by the Principal and driven to school for the day’s work. The focus of work today was one-on-work with the Principal to follow up the previous two days of workshops, and it was highly productive and satisfying.
We actually re-located our work from his office to the foyer of my hotel in the early afternoon because I was having a rental car delivered at 3:30pm and I needed to be on hand to receive (and pay for) it. After having received the car, I had a work-related phone call followed by preparation of a draft scoping agreement for potential work with another school. Nonetheless I had about half an hour available before my next commitment, so I took a short walk for the first time ‘uphill’ from the hotel along Al Qurm Street into a very pleasant new residential area known as “The Heights”. It bwas not a long walk (just under 3 kilometres) but the exercise was invigorating, especially given the cool windy overcast conditions.
Then, at 6:00pm, I was collected (again) by the Principal for what turned out to be a really interesting evening. With his son we drove to Al Khuwayr South, one of Muscat’s ‘Little India’ districts. We enjoyed an amazing dinner at one of the three identically named Turkish House Restaurants there, and then had a fascinating wander around the streets and laneways of the district. It is interesting that in an area that some might describe a a bit seedy in other cities of the world, the atmosphere was really calm and peaceful, with none of the edginess that an uninformed person might expect. Everyone was relaxed, women and children were out and about, happy and calm, and it was a lovely example of the tranquility, peace, harmony, and tolerance for which Oman is justly famous.
After our wander through the laneways, we drove via the Principal’s house to Qurum Natural Park, located just 2.3 kilometres from my hotel. A month-long festival is underway there called “Muscat Nights”. It might be considered a bit tame by overseas standards, but this was clearly the biggest thing happening in Muscat at the moment. Brightly lit by garish coloured lights, the main attraction seemed to be the fast-food stalls that lined the pathway surrounding an oval lake in the centre of the park.
Suspended for several years because of the Covid-19 pandemic, “Muscat Nights” was apparently something of a pale version of its former glory when large areas were devoted to showcasing Omani culture and history. There was a laser show and a dance with flaming sticks, but unfortunately the planned highlight of the event, a synchronised drone show that climaxed with a portrait of the Sultan in the night sky, had to be abandoned because of the strong winds.
Nonetheless, the tens of thousands of people present seemed to be enjoying themselves despite the strong winds, seemingly happy to be sitting, ambling or consuming fast food. It was a fascinating insight into community entertainment Omani style.
The visit to the park made for quite a late evening given the early start I knew I needed the following morning, but after three full days of solid work it was most refreshing to enjoy an evening that achieved a perfect balance between being both relaxing and stimulating.
