Cover Oman emerges discreet and enigmatic, a gift wrapped with care for a cherished recipient
Oman emerges discreet and enigmatic, a gift wrapped with care for a cherished recipient
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Among the many contrasts of Oman stands a quiet wall, between individuals, and between people and the ebb and flow of culture, religion and history. Yet their virtues remain intact.
Muscat 09.2024
How are you getting along?
The Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Muscat lasted just over an hour, yet it felt as though I’d crossed an unseen border from a gleaming metropolis to a land imbued with stillness and soul. Golden sunlight, like molten butter, draped the mountain peaks. Beyond the window, layers of limestone hills rose and fell. Oman emerged discreet and enigmatic, a gift wrapped with care for a cherished recipient, leaving one both captivated and cautious.
Here, traditional Muslim culture pulses gently through the narrow lanes. Men in white dishdashas drift by like ripples in a breeze. They wear kummas or massars, each a quiet narrative told through colour and motif, shimmering as they move through the twilight. Women glide past in black abayas, their eyes the only feature revealed. Do their gazes speak of silent stories? The separation between men and women is more than social etiquette; it’s a preservation of dignity and morality. There’s a reverence here, for self and for others, that stirs reflection on one’s own relationships.
Above The sun sculpts the streets into a patchwork of brilliance and shade, playing tricks on the eye
The sun sculpts the streets into a patchwork of brilliance and shade, playing tricks on the eye
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Muscat unfurls a world of contrasts before me. The sun sculpts the streets into a patchwork of brilliance and shade, playing tricks on the eye. Curling threads of smoke invite reverie like a tale from a thousand and one nights. I wander through the Mutrah Souq, the scent of incense hanging thick in the air. It is not just a fragrance, but a memory, a legacy of those who have tended it for generations. A line by Rumi comes to mind: “In every breath, there is an invitation to return.” That invitation draws me inward, a reminder to hold perspective amid the distractions of the everyday.
A taxi driver, his smile calm and kind, turned down a coastal lane and introduced me to the word habibi—“dear”—a term of affection used warmly here. In English tinged with Arabic inflection, he spoke of life in Oman, and the gentle pride its people take in their hospitality.
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Omani men wear kumma or massar, each a soft-spoken tale told in colour and motif, casting light as they pass through the sunset
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It may not be chance that Oman is home to so many forts. This is how the people safeguard their land, a measured defence against intrusion. Here, restraint is not isolation, but a means of preserving something sincere: a space of quiet integrity. “And forgive and be generous. Does not Allah love the generous?” (Quran 2:273). These words echo the spirit of Oman, a country tempered by history, yet rich in tolerance and grace. Life here is understated, like dates with a hint of bitterness, a sweetness that tells the truth.
Traditional Islamic culture weaves through the narrow streets
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I think about relationships in modern life, and how we, too, build our own quiet “fortresses”, cautious in how we open ourselves to others. In a world where people live simply, yet with such warmth, I feel small, yet somehow more connected.
We pass grand palaces, timeworn markets, a sleek opera house and even a glowing IKEA, the city unfolding like a puzzle where past and present overlap in contradiction, though never in conflict. Along the wide boulevards, cars speed past, the wind brushing sharply by, while in tucked-away corners, chapels sit undisturbed, serene and self-contained.
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Above Oman is not only a destination to discover, but a place to return to oneself
Oman is not only a destination to discover, but a place to return to oneself
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The Shangri-La Hotel, where I stayed, was cradled in the mountains, around 40 minutes from the city. Jagged cliffs and deep blue bays offered a kind of stillness that carried a quiet strength. There, I felt a sense of separation, not from place, but from the noise of the outside world. It felt like standing before my own reflection.
My thoughts drift to the unrest in the world. We are not so far from it all, only an ocean apart. During this journey, I realised that Oman is not only a destination to discover, but a place to return to oneself. Perhaps the truest luxury is in granting yourself the space to feel every moment fully; to let it leave its trace, soft and lasting, on the soul. And maybe, with time, things will begin to flow, quietly, like a river. I hope that one day, we’ll sit down and speak more of travels like these.
With love,
Your friend,
Q D
PS: “salam” (سلام) – peace
Article published from the original article in the print publication Tatler Vietnam November 2024
Credits
Photography: NVCC
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