Wednesday 12th April 2006

We did not have to be up and away so early this morning. At about 11.00 am, the coach came to take us back to Salalah airport. Rhona asked the driver to stop at the end of the street however and let us look at some Weaver bird’s nests they had found in a palm tree. It was a good opportunity for some of us to try the coconut drink from some of the coconut and banana stalls where we stopped for a few minutes. A hole is made in the coconut and a straw is inserted and you simply drink the coconut milk.

Then we took our last look at the greenery around Salalah and quickly arrived at the airport. We checked in and had about an hour or so to wait until boarding for the flight back to Muscat. Again we were fed on the flight, with a lunch of chicken, rice and a vegetable curry, and a delicious lime mousse with a chunk of chocolate on top. This was some of the best airline food I have ever had!

We landed at Muscat and retrieved our luggage. We were collected outside again by one of the drivers we had seen before so he was familiar to us, and the small coach this time which was hardly suitable for us with all our suitcases – this coach had no boot or luggage compartment, so they had to stack all the suitcases at the back of the coach, and by that time there were barely enough seats left for us all to sit down. The coach headed back to Muscat, past the “Welcome to Muscat” sign which I managed to get a photo of this time. I never did manage to get one of the McDonalds sign however, the “golden arches” with McDonalds in Arabic (we presumed that’s what it says) underneath it, or even the Starbucks Coffee House, near the hotel. We were returned to the Crowne Plaza, where we checked in, and shortly after, the coach returned to take us not to the Natural History Museum as scheduled, no, everyone voted to go shopping! We turned up at yet another modern shopping mall, where there is the Omani Heritage Centre. All of the crafts here are authentic Omani craftsmanship, and also Fair Trade rules apply, the craftsman or woman is guaranteed to get a proportion of the price of each item directly, and a fair price at that. Most of us bought something in there, souvenirs and gifts. Then we went back to the Sabco centre, where we were due to meet Ahmed, in the Amouage store. Ahmed, we had been told, had a creative flair for mixing and blending the perfume oils according to local tastes – if a customer came in who didn’t like the standard perfumes available, Ahmed would do a little bespoke service, blending a little of one with others, and we found out he also had a cupboard full of other ingredients he can use. Ahmed has been quite successful at this, and has kept records of the formulae he has made. However he was quite in awe when faced with a group of professional perfumers! He showed us for example, a container which he said contained civet, and he says he only uses a little of this in a blend, as it is very powerful. We smelled the liquid, and if it contained civet (or synthetic civet) at all, there was not very much, as it was far too pleasant to be civet! He brought this out in response to our questions about were the fragrances natural, and we pointed out that natural musk and civet are not in use therefore there must be synthetics in them, but he denied this saying, “not synthetics, they are “compounded”. Well, the oil they call “White Musk” most definitely contains synthetic musks, to our noses!

A few of us had other purchases we wanted to make, and so we excused ourselves, agreeing to meet at 6.30 p.m. for the coach back to the hotel. I returned to the arcade where the jewellery stores were, and found again the one with the lovely pink mother of pearl and silver bracelet I had noticed a few days before. This piece looked nice hanging in the cabinet, but once I took it out and draped it over my wrist the lustre of the silver was just beautiful and as I had not spent very much money at all during the trip, I decided to treat myself. I also chose a smaller bracelet with lapis lazuli for a gift. The prices combined would have been 36 rials, but the shopkeeper mysteriously told me not to worry about the marked up prices. What, I thought, I am going to get a discount here without even having to haggle for it? He wrote out a receipt for the two bracelets, and asked me for 22 rials. This had been the price for only the pink one I was buying, so very pleasantly surprised, I asked him how could this be? He smiled and told me that the marked up prices are for the local people, who would see the marked up price and expect to pay only 30% or so of that price. Well, I was very pleased with that purchase, I was glad I had gone back to get the bracelet, what a bargain! I think if I bought a bracelet of similar weight from the mail order company I sometimes use, it would have cost me £50.00. And of course it would not have been so uniquely Omani and have reminded me of the trip. I also bought two embroidered cushion covers of camels for 3 rials each.

I returned to where we were meeting for the coach, but there was only the driver there. It turned out everyone was still inside the Amouage shop, talking to a local journalist. John explained later how he had spoken to the journalist in his professional capacity – and he has his own unique meaning for the “Amouage” name – the “Am” part is to do with woman – as in “Femme” and “Madame”, for example. The “mou” part is the shape your lips make when you are about to kiss somebody and the “age” is historical. So put the three together and you have femininity, romance and nostalgia. What a lovely explanation!

After a group photo, we all got back on the coach and returned to the Crowne Plaza. For dinner the last evening, we were dining in the Shiraz, a restaurant inside the hotel specialising in Persian / Iranian cuisine. There were two starters, first a green salad with tomatoes and feta cheese, served with triangles of flat bread, followed by a plate with several different vegetables in a variety of sauces, one of which was aubergine. The main course was a stunning combination of a minced lamb and a chicken kebab, each of these was the length of the plate, about twelve inches! The lamb had been shaped and cooked on a flat skewer, into ridge shapes, and was lightly spiced. This was served with three different shades and flavours of rice, a greenish yellow one with herbs in it, a saffron one which was very strongly flavoured, and this had pomegranate seeds in, and a plain white rice. This was accompanied by a full baked tomato each and some other vegetables. The dessert was interesting – it was again vermicelli based, and because it was served to each of us I actually did try it but I have to say I wasn’t keen, with a scoop of yellow ice cream and a pink sauce on top.

While we were eating, John and Judith initiated a discussion of what were our favourite experiences, for each of us, using each of the five senses, and John wrote all of this down. However, as we went around the table it became more difficult, because we clearly wanted to all pick the same things and they said we could not have it if it had already been picked. This was great fun, because as each person came up with their own favourites, it reminded you of another great aspect of the trip, and in some cases it might have been one we had temporarily forgotten, and we were going, “oh yes…!” For me, my favourite sound would have been the crashing of the waves outside the Beach Villas at Salalah. But someone had already had that, and so I said the absolute peace and tranquillity in the depths of those mountains, when all you could hear was the gentleness of the breeze and a few crickets and other insects. That sound was most memorable and evocative. My favourite smell was the frankincense, particularly that from Peter’s extraction which was unique. My favourite sight was the frankincense tree. My favourite touch experience would have been the white sands under my feet, but again someone had said that already, and so I remembered the warm feeling of the waves as we were bathing in the waters of the Indian Ocean. My favourite taste would have to be the baklava, although I am sure there were many others during the week, including the houmous, and the maple syrup pancakes I ate for breakfast. Other people mentioned the bats, the dolphins, the roses, the Grand Mosque, the camels, especially the one in the pick-up truck, we will remember the look on his face forever! What a memorable evening and dinner to round off this wonderful trip of a lifetime!

The next morning of course we were checking out of the Crowne Plaza for the last time, and straight off to the Airport at 11.15 a.m. We all stared out of the windows of the coach on the way back, drinking in those final glimpses of Oman. The seven-hour flight was of course daytime, so I don’t think anyone slept on the plane on the way back, and again we had plenty to eat, (chicken biriani, yet again!) and after we touched down and said our goodbyes in the baggage collection hall, I reflected on how wonderful again, acquaintances had become friends during the trip. There had been much swapping of email addresses, promising to circulate photos and our reports and anecdotes. No doubt we can fill a BSP evening meeting with our experiences of the roses and their unique extraction method, and of course I will never look at or smell frankincense in the same way as before, it will hold far more meaning and mystique. And we are already planning our next perfumery visits – the Turkish roses and the Tunisian neroli have been mentioned, with Sima and Mary talking about where we can go in India. Watch this space!

Journal / Report by Julie Towle

Return to Oman Index