Living Abroad in the Middle East

Oman

 

       Living abroad is full of opportunities and surprises. For one thing, I traveled places I'd never have gone otherwise. In fact, I'd probably never have gone to the Middle East at all, had I not lived and taught in Qatar of eight years. Since the UAE, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman were all nearby, I visited each of these Middle Eastern countries (I went to Jordan twice, and would love to go again!).



      Oman is a lovely country to visit. Like the other Middle Eastern countries, Oman is Muslim. It seems to be a "softer" culture, however. Or appears to the outsider to be. For one thing, the Omani men wear different colors as opposed to the Qatari and Saudi men who wear stark white.
     My friend and I spent time in Muscat and then traveled to Salalah in the south. While shopping in a tiny village there, two children followed me from shop to shop, staring at my white hair and light skin. I felt like a spectacle! I guess I was to them.
     The above picture was taken while we traveled around the desert in an SUV. We'd stopped, and were walking around, enjoying bare feet in the sand when a group of Bedouins passed.