EXTRA
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Ex Pat Encounters There are tons of ex-pats living in the Arabian Peninsula from all over the world and many come to vacation in Oman which is sort of a Colorado of Arabia, a pristine environment for nature lovers and active travelers. Although so very close, we chose to avoid going to Dubai or Abu Dhabi, which to us exemplify vulgar capitalism. But it was interesting to talk to the many UAE ex-pat families to get a feel for life there. Given the reticence from the Arab end of mingling with Westerners (infidels?), life in the UAE is like a gated community with ex-pats mostly sticking to themselves. The Arabs' soft separatist stance presumably allows Muslims to tolerate Western ways, including scantily-clad bathing suits, liquor, and worship of money. Ex pats are all paid fantastically well. It's not a realistic option for ex-pat kids to go to public schools (although they are allowed to) so most children attend private schools which are inordinately expensive, practically wiping out the family's outsized pay. Most ex-pats see the UAE as a fast, exciting, cosmopolitan adventure, but few stay more than a couple years, adding a transient dimension to the ex-pat lifestyle.
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Back Road to Muscat From Sur driving north to Muscat there is supposedly a highway that hugs the coast, but we didn't succeed in finding it. As we approached Muscat we were given a tip to turn off at Yitti and come the back way into the city. The scenery was awesome. See this 19 sec VIDEO.
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Women's Masks We saw many women with masks on their faces. It is a part of Omani culture that is hard for us to grasp. We abhorred them and found them hideous and demeaning. Each region has its own mask style. Some cover almost the whole face with big round holes for the eyes, like an owl. Other masks leave the eyes open but give the wearer a thick black line above her mouth that can only be described as a moustache. Another mask looks like Batman for ladies. We certainly didn't take any photos. We could copy paste images from online and plop them here but instead we encourage you to do a Google Images search, type in "Masks of Oman" and you'll get an eyeful, no pun intended.
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Oman's Mosques Oman's mosques merit a coffee table book. Even the smallest town boasts a beautiful dome and minaret. Unfortunately, the pictures below barely capture the glory of these national treasures all inimitably unique. No mass production here.