Matrimony Omani Style

During my nine-day long vacation from classes that was given to us in celebration of Eid al-Fitr Ahmed’s 15-year old niece got married and I was fortunate enough to attend the wedding. Weddings in Oman are typically three days long and my home stay family and I went to the second day. I am not particularly sure on the goings on of every detail of the full three days of the wedding but I will do my very best to describe my experience.

Couple of guys relaxing after dinner

     The first day of the event, I believe, is a ceremony, the second day is the party, which the bride’s family and the groom’s family have separately and the third day is when the bride’s entire family takes her to the village of the groom to “give her away”. As previously mentioned we attended the second day of the wedding and this was an interesting affair. Being that it is Ahmed’s niece that was the blushing bride to be we were present at the bride’s party and it was absolutely a party for the women. Upon arrival to the small village in the interior of Oman I noticed that the men and the women were mostly separated. The house was crowded with people, mostly women, filtering in and out and there was a large party tent set up outside in the yard. The women were not in their traditional public dress of a black Ibaya and Hijaab. They were dressed in extravagant and colorful Omani dresses, and were not interested in socializing with any men let alone getting their picture taken by a foreign one so all I saw of them was when they were walking to and from the party tent. This was no surprise to me, though, because I was finally getting the full picture of the degree of modesty demonstrated by the women here in Oman. 

The dj was a man so he had to do his thing outside the tent

     After most of the women had filtered into the tent the men who were there sat down on an assortment of carpets outside of the house and ate dinner, which consisted of meat and rice. When dinner was finished some of the men cleaned up the plates and others sat, conversed and drank coffee for the remainder of the time I was there. While all of us men were sitting outside we could easily hear the loud thumping music of the bride’s party tent.  When describing the experience later to some of my peers I likened the experience to a 8^th grade dance, being that all of the girls were inside dancing and having fun and all of the guys were hanging out outside, most likely wishing they were on the inside. This is of course a ridiculous comparison, being that in Oman, this was a long tradition of wedding protocol, but it was still a funny thought.

      The experience for me was extremely valuable in that it gave me a chance to converse one on one with a bunch of Ahmed’s brothers and cousins who spoke no English at all. After two hours of this my head hurt but speaking the Arabic language as well as getting to witness, first hand, a large part of Omani culture was an extremely positive one. 

Eid - Translation: Party Time

Ramadan is an Islamic holiday which occurs a month out of every year. During this time Muslim people will fast from sun up to sun down and the idea is to get some idea as to what it feels like to be too poor to be able to afford food or drinkable water on a regular basis. I myself tried it out and I have got to say, while not eating was not easy but it was manageable, not being able to drink water for the span of a hot Oman day was no walk in the park. Eid al-Fitr is the three-day celebration marking the end of this month of fasting and a return to normality.

     The start of Eid can be estimated within a 2 or 3-day range at any point in the year; however, one does not know the official start of Eid until the nights before it begins. It was the evening of Thursday, September 9^th when a chosen committee climbed some mountain to observe the moon to determine the beginning of Eid. I am not sure how it is determined but as it turned out Eid began that night. During this first night of Eid Ahmed, the head of the household went to a very poor area of town with a bag of food for everyone in the house to distribute to the poor as well as a percentage of his annual income. Back at the house the children of the neighborhood would go from house to house, like Halloween, and receive small amounts of money from each one.

     The first day of Eid, following the first night, consisted of waking up relatively early and going from house to house, of friends and family, eating, what I like to call, Ultra Breakfast. The food literally never stops getting offered to you. This coincides with the Muslim and Omani tradition of charity and good will. It is almost like a three day long Christmas. When Ultra Breakfast was over I was taken back to Ahmed’s uncle’s house where incidentally a classmate of mine lives. I listened to them play various Bob Marley and other Arabic songs that I was unfamiliar with on the drums and guitar until it was time for a nap and the father, Sa’ad, took me home. Omani men had to wake up even earlier then I did that day to pray and even on a normal day there is time for a nap around 3 or 4 o’clock. The rest of the day consisted of sleeping off the day’s eating and a light dinner and we all went to bed early to get ready for the next day’s events.

     The second day of Eid I woke up at 4:45 a.m. in order to accompany Ahmed for the early morning events. It is important to understand that in Oman everything is done with the family, so the first thing we did was pick up some of Ahmed’s brothers and then we drove to a vacant lot in the back allies of Muscat, where the bulls were being kept. Now as a country that is prone to feeling somewhat guilty about our meat eating habits, most of us Americans are not in the habit of watching the process of how our cows become our steaks. This is what I witnessed on the second morning of the Eid holiday.

     It started out with a handful of grown men roping a bull and taking it out of the stall where it was being kept. Then these grown men using the ropes and all their strength wrestled this animal to the ground. Finally a man came over and ended the beast by slitting its throat multiple times. The next hour and a half was filled with taking the bull apart piece by piece and let me tell you, nothing was spared. Even the skin/fur was used in order to make rugs and other such things.

     I got back to my house at around 815 and went to sleep while Ahmed and his brothers went back to the family house in order to begin cutting up the large chunks of meat into edible portions. The rest of us did not get to the family house, where lunch was taking place, until around noon and the mend were still in the TV room, called a Majlis, cutting up the meat. We ate a quick lunch and went home about an hour later, and then spent the rest of the day relaxing.

     The final day of Eid was the least eventful, but it was the day that we all got to eat the bull that I watched get cut up the day before. The family and I went back the Ahmed’s brothers’ home and we ate what is called the Shua. What that is, is the meat is rapped up in banana leaves held together by chicken wire as and rapped in foil and other such concealments and then buried and barbequed underground. I am not entirely sure the method in which it is cooked but it comes out extremely fatty and it served on a large plate of rice. The men ate in the Majlis and the women ate in another room, which is interesting from an American perspective, but looking at it from an Omani perspective it seemed the normal and proper way to go about a nice afternoon lunch. 

And The Homestay Begins...

     After a very educational 5 days filled with countless lectures, drop offs, and visits to various Omani sights as well as just the right amount of time for a formal introduction to my peers, supervisors and professors it was time to leave the al-Naseem hotel and move in with my Omani family.  It was the Wednesday after I arrived here in Oman when the father of the family I am staying with, by the name of Ahmed, picked me up from The World Learning Center and brought me back to his house, in a part of Muscat called Seeb. His house is located near a LuLu’s Hypermarket, which is more or less a Costco, as well as a few other shops that may prove useful over the next couple of months that I am staying here. Upon arriving at the house I was introduced to his 5-year-old daughter, Sumaya, as well as is 4-year-old son Habeeb, who both greeted me very politely and seemed very happy to meet me. It was then that Omani hospitality was made perfectly apparent to me as it was explained by Ahmed that I should think of the house as my own and he then suggested that I take a nap. For all of you that know me, you know just how beautiful a nap suggestion sounds to me.

My Room 

     Ahmed’s house is constructed, in a very interesting way, so that there are a bunch of rooms, some connected, some not, around an outside, open roof, common room area. The main part of the house consists of a living/TV room right next to the entrance, a kitchen, a couple of shower rooms, then there is the main part of the house with my room then a hallway then a play room as well as a bathroom then another hallway with the children’s room and the master bedroom. The housemaid, a very pleasant Sri Lankan woman, putters around the house cleaning up after the children and taking care of their youngest, an 11 month old girl named Lyaan.

Outside Common Area

     After my nap and a shower I met the youngest child as well as the mother of the family, an extremely nice South African woman who is also an English teacher at a school, here in Muscat. It is nice because English is her first language so it is refreshing having another adult around who speaks fluent English; both the two older children speak pretty good English as well. It was then I was also introduced to the multitude of pets that inhabit this house. They consist of a female cat named Mr. Ugly and her six unnamed kittens, two unnamed birds, a rabbit and three turtles.

     As it is Ramadan there is no eating or drinking in the house before sun down and being a guest in this home I tried my very best to abide by these rules as well. So every day for the following week or so we began the day by eating breakfast at 4 am then Ahmed would go to pray and I would go back to sleep then there would be no eating again until Iftar which is the breaking of the day’s fast. After Iftar there would be a dinner, which usually, for my family, took place around 930 and then everyone would go to bed around 1030. The first weekend I was in the house consisted of me playing with the children and just trying to get a general feel for Omani home life, which is different enough but even more so now that it was Ramadan. Before I knew it the first weekend was over and it was time to begin classes.  

Day at the Arms Museum

     

     On the final full day of orientation SIT split us up into four different groups and each one would be sent to a different museum in Muscat. My group was sent to The Armed Forces Museum and it was quite something. Oman is country that many Americans do not know much about, but its military history is something that even less Americans know anything about, this is including myself. I was surprised, however, to find that the country truly did have a rich and interesting military history.

     The museum had an inside and an outside section and the inside was split up into two floors. We were given a tour guide, a lance corporal of the royal guard of Sultan Qaboos, and he started us on the first floor, when Islam came to Oman. The whole first part of the tour it was explained to us, in only Arabic, how Oman, while it was an Imamate (ruled by imams), was governed and what went on in those first thousand years or so. The tour included seeing what Omani weapons looked like back then as well as forts and other such things. We then saw the colonial presence in Oman during the 15 and 1600’s by the Portuguese and then the expulsion of the Portuguese with the help of modern day Iran., who would also come to colonize Oman. We then saw how British established themselves in the region as well as the transition of Oman from an Imamate to a Sultanate and how the current ruling family of Sultans came to power (in 1804, which means 206 years of rule, in case any one was wondering). The museum did a great job of showing how Omani people migrated to east Africa, Zanzibar, and how that affected, and still affects to this day, the current diversity of peoples here in Oman. Perhaps the most interesting part was seeing the modernizing of weapons in model form, from spears and axes to weapons they picked up from European traders and colonizers. The entire first floor was dedicated to Oman up until 1970 and then at the end we learned about the beginning of the current Sultan’s rule.

     The top floor was completely dedicated to the past 40 years and how Sultan Qaboos reformed the country’s military. At first most of the exhibits showed how the Sultan unified the country and defeated the rebels of Southern Oman, Dhofar, who were comprised mainly of opposing tribes. Different rooms of this floor showed the current state of affairs of Oman’s army and navy and other such things.  It is interesting to consider the respect that is given to the current Sultan as half of the entire museum is given to all of Oman’s history before his rule and half is given to his rule, which makes up only 40 years.

     My favorite part of the entire tour, however, was when we got to the outside portion. Outside was where the models of the airplanes of the Sultan’s air force and tanks of the army and even ships of the navy and they were all, if not actual old military vehicles, life size. 

Omani Higher Education, The U.S Embassy and a Home Cooked Meal

Sultan Qaboos University

     Sultan Qaboos has a wide appeal in the country of Oman and it is not hard to understand why. He provided the funding for The Grand Mosque out of his own pocket and he created infrastructure in a place where there was virtually none before him. Sultan Qaboos University is a prime example and this is where we started our fourth day. In May of 2002 the Sultan visited the university and was not completely pleased with what he saw. He then provided the funding for all new facilities including a library, classrooms, and auditoriums that all look like they could have been built in the United States. The staff was extremely friendly in showing the group their facilities and welcomed us to use them whenever we needed.

Study room in the library of Sultan Qaboos University 

     We then headed to the American Embassy and got an introduction, from a member of the security team of the embassy, on safety in Oman for Americans as well as a lecture from an embassy employee who dealt with the American Embassy’s PR in Oman. He gave us a brief understanding of what the American Embassy does for Omani people and what it could do for us, should we need it. We did not, unfortunately, spend much time outside of the lecture room in the embassy so the trip was a bit short.

Sultan Qaboos University Court Yard

      Dinner, the fourth night, was a special occasion because the group was invited to eat with an Omani family on the roof of a center that gives women jobs sewing.  A quick history of this center is a woman opened it years ago in order to employ poor women in Muscat by sewing. The project has since expanded and I believe they will soon be opening an Internet café among other projects and it has had a very positive impact on the poorer female community within Muscat. The dinner was served in three portions. The first portion is the breaking of the fast of Ramadan called Iftar and it is essentially an appetizer course. Dates and sweeter foods are usually served but the woman who cooked made mini pizzas especially for us Americans. Dinner was chicken and rice as well as potato dishes and cheese crescents. For desert they served puddings and other sweet foods as well as coffee that I personally did not like very much. 

     

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque and Shaikh Lecture

The entrance to Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque

The outside of Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque.
When the Mosque is full this entire court is
filled with people praying. 

The third day of orientation started with an early trip to The Grand Mosque of Sultan Qaboos, which was built from 1996 to 2001. It is the largest mosque in Oman and among the biggest in the Middle East. We were given a tour of almost the entire mosque starting with the gardens and ending with the library. The main prayer room could hold thousands of people in and of itself, but when the entire mosque is filled with people there can be up to 7,000 people praying inside. The architecture was beautiful and exotic with imported carpets from Iran, and bright colors and texts from the Koran all across the walls.  While outside there were vast fields of shiny stone for people who did not get a place inside to pray and the library was as modern as any, with a vast amount of books, mostly in Arabic, for those who want to study Islam in a quiet environment. Perhaps one of the most amazing things about this huge piece of architecture is that the Sultan paid for the whole thing out of his own pocket.

The great hall of Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque

      At around 11 o’clock the group had to leave the mosque because a prayer time was coming up and we would not be aloud inside while Muslims were trying to pray. We went back to the World Learning Center, where we would eventually attend class, to get a few minutes to eat and get some time in with our beloved internet. We then attended a lecture from a Muslim Shaikh and this was a very interesting experience. Being that I am not a religious person, from a solely historical standpoint it was a great lesson on the history of Islam in Oman. However, what I found most fascinating was the respect he had for other religions, mainly Christianity and Judaism, while still remaining devout to his own.

  

Orientation of Oman

Sultan Qaboos' Clearr View

     As I exited the plane that I had taken from Abu Dhabi to Muscat, Oman’s capital city, I was not entirely sure what to expect. Like many Americans I had little knowledge of the country’s vast quantity of culture and history and while I had the spent the past couple of months reading Omani newspapers I was in no way prepared for what was to come.

     Upon my arrival at “Al Naseem” hotel, located in the neighborhood of Muscat called Mutrah, I noticed that the nightlife was an important part of the culture, especially during the current month of Ramadan. This is due to the late dinners that come with breaking fast during Ramadan, and the entire holiday just feeds the festive attitude that was so potent on this street in Mutrah. There were children in their teens and younger playing soccer outside the hotel and people walking up and down the street coming from the local Mosque, which stands only a few buildings down from the hotel my group and I were staying at. We then decided to explore The Mutrah Souq.  A Souq is an area of an Arabic city that is essentially a flea market but this, was not like any flea market I have ever seen, and it was truly a shock to the senses. This Souq, widely known as the most extravagant one in Muscat, is underground and is just store after store selling trinkets, Omani dress, Omani smells and other such things. Immediately upon entering the Souq you are bombarded with the smell of burning incense and frankincense that Omani people come from all over the country to sell. You will then notice all the colors of the Omani fabric being sold as well as the shine from the gold and silver sold in the jewelry and trinket shops. One last point of interest is the multiple ethnicities. Arabic, Indian, East African and more can be found trying to make a living here. 

     

The Souq in Mutrah

The first night in Oman certainly increased my interest in the country and the second day was no disappointment as well. The group woke up and met in the hotel restaurant where we were made aware of the events that will be taking place in the coming days, weeks and months. We were given an assignment that allowed us to spend a couple more hours in the Mutrah Souq, and the first thing I noticed was how much less crowded it was than the night before, especially with women. However, the people there still displayed a group of ethnicities all trying to make a living by selling anything from daggers to incense out of their stores, which were packed into this market place like sardines.

      We were then taken by bus to the World Learning Center, which is the facility SIT, the international study program I am currently on, uses to provide students with classes and staff with offices. It is a “home-base” for the entire group.  The rest of the day was filled with lectures preparing us for the upcoming semester until five o’clock rolled around and we were taken back to the hotel. The entire group then entertained itself by finding a new place to eat dinner and walk through the souq to once again witness the vibrant nightlife.

Mutrah Main St.

     

A Quick Background

   Although most of you know me and that I am in Oman for the semester, I thought I would just include a few details about myself and why I am here. My name is Eric Schmitz and I am currently studying International Affairs and Arabic at the University of Colorado, Boulder. I am a senior now and will be graduating after this year. I chose to study abroad in Oman mainly because I did not know much about the country and thought it would be an interesting place to spend a few months. I also want to become more proficient in Arabic and I am interested in studying economics in Middle Eastern countries, particularly those that surround the Arabian Peninsula. I will be in Oman from August 27^th, 2010 to December 10^th, 2010 and this is a documentation of my experiences.