Muscat Festival

There's normally not that much of a cultural life in Muscat beyond the occasional concert at our spanking new Opera House, but this month there's the Muscat Festival which I finally got around to visiting last week with a couple of visiting friends. Two of Muscat's big parks are full of things to see and do, with performances and sporting events (gutted I missed the traditional long boat racing ... next year). 

Omanis enjoying the show ...

The main feel of the Festival was of people of all ages having lots of good clean fun, and Omanis celebrating that strange combination of the traditional and modern that they're so proud of - traditional craftsmen in a brand-new 'mock' village, Bedouin tents in front of a life-size photo of a camel on a dune, drummers banging away under strings of electric lights, and the world's weirdest 'Son et Lumière' combining coloured fountains, Arabic wailing and Hadyn ... I can see that it's trying to take the best of Omani traditions while moving the country into the 21st century at breakneck speed, but like so much here, it just feel a bit too clean and new sometimes (Glastonbury it ain't!). It's all about the people though, and you really do see people of every kind  having fun at this festival, men and women, traditional oldies and hip young things, families and lads out on the (non-alcohol fuelled) razz ... Anyway, here's a little taster of the weird and world of Muscat Festival ...

Watching traditional games

A silver worker in his sparse 'workshop'

A very cheerful bunch doing a sword dance

Shopping for canes ... fleeced for £1.50!

Grandads on one side ...

... and ladies on the other

Masked ladies selling their wares

Omani ladies out shopping (feel for the lone bloke in the middle)

Massive vat of bubbling date sugar to make Omani halwa

Well, after they've slaved away to make the halwa in front of us,
it would be rude not to try it!

...which meant we also had to try these yummy snacks ...

... and these little sugary doughnuts ... life is hard ...