What was your best buy in Oman ?

What was that something special you found and where did you find it in Oman?

Maybe I should have asked...What souvenir did you bring back from Oman? Don`t seem to be getting any replies on this so far. :confused:

We went to the market in Muscat and I got some gorgeous fabric (for a skirt) and a hajib so I didn't have to rent one any place else! Prices were very reasonable! Also got some Frankincense and Myrrh for us and for gifts. Nicely appreciated by all! All this was just after you enter the market..the spices on the right and the fabrics on the first walkway to the left and in the store first on the right. people were SO friendly and helpful!

LOVED Muscat!

Sherry

We went to the market in Muscat and I got some gorgeous fabric (for a skirt) and a hajib so I didn't have to rent one any place else! Prices were very reasonable! Also got some Frankincense and Myrrh for us and for gifts. Nicely appreciated by all! All this was just after you enter the market..the spices on the right and the fabrics on the first walkway to the left and in the store first on the right. people were SO friendly and helpful!

LOVED Muscat!

Sherry

Mexfolkart, thank you I was beginning to think no one was going to reply to my post.

We are going on a bus tour and they will be stopping at the Muttrah Souq. They say they expect you to bargain, Can you give me an idea of what it cost for the fabric. I read somewhere where they said you shouldn`t pay anymore than 5 OR for a silk scarf.

I have never smelt Frankincense or Myrrh, I tend to get headache with most strong fragrances. But I feel like I should be getting some just because it`s so special and Christmas is just around the corner. Can you buy just a small package of it?

Thank you again for your help.

Mexfolkart, thank you I was beginning to think no one was going to reply to my post.

We are going on a bus tour and they will be stopping at the Muttrah Souq. They say they expect you to bargain, Can you give me an idea of what it cost for the fabric. I read somewhere where they said you shouldn`t pay anymore than 5 OR for a silk scarf.

I have never smelt Frankincense or Myrrh, I tend to get headache with most strong fragrances. But I feel like I should be getting some just because it`s so special and Christmas is just around the corner. Can you buy just a small package of it?

Thank you again for your help.

Frankincense (called Luban here) 4 to 5 Oman I rials per kg for 2nd grade quality, 8 to 10 for 1st grade ; not that us westerners can tell the difference. The lighter in color the better the stuff tends to be.

We will be visiting Oman next Spring? Did you need a tour?

We will be visiting Oman next Spring? Did you need a tour?

Talking to me?

:-)

I don't need a tour. I live here.

:-)

Frankincense (called Luban here) 4 to 5 Oman I rials per kg for 2nd grade quality, 8 to 10 for 1st grade ; not that us westerners can tell the difference. The lighter in color the better the stuff tends to be.

Thank you buchhalm. Does it come in smaller packages?

Hi, yes at the markets they do usually have all sorts of pre packed sizes / weigths or piles of loose frankincense at times. But there is normally not a lot of difference in price between say 200 grams and half a kg. And when they see a "white face" you are of course charged the tourist price. Espacially in Muttrah souqu they are very aware that a cruise ship is in town.... :-)

Hi, yes at the markets they do usually have all sorts of pre packed sizes / weigths or piles of loose frankincense at times. But there is normally not a lot of difference in price between say 200 grams and half a kg. And when they see a "white face" you are of course charged the tourist price. Espacially in Muttrah souqu they are very aware that a cruise ship is in town.... :-)

It is good to be prepared and with your help I will be, at least when it comes to Frankincense. I think the only other things I may look for are little silver charms of camels and silk scarves or pashminas.

Thank you again buchhalm for all your help :)

OK; whilst I have a bit of time in the office....This is a good (-ish) place to buy gifts and souvenirs at Muttrah Souqu (don't pay attention to the spelling. You will see the place names spelled 3 different ways on 3 signs).As you walk into the souqu from the harbour front / street side, there is a quite large shop on the right of the entrance with windows facing the street. They have a decent selection of everything "Omani". Many shops inside the market will have the same or similar things, but I find the guys at that shop easy to deal with. Less BS than at other shops. Of course - and that applies to shopping everywhere - do not walk around with your cruise line tour sticker on your shirt and leave the cruise line bag / umbrella / cap / t-shirt at home. The vendors see that from miles away. If they quote a price you find high, tell them that you are not a tourist. Say your husband works for Oman Air or some bank (HSBC is good) or at the Grand Hyatt or is a doctor at Starcare Hospital. Plenty of Canadians / Westerners at these places. And you are shopping for presents from Oman to send home....Nice things to get small ornaments / trinkets, even Christmas decorations with Arabic motives, small "silver" things, small lamps, frankincense burners and such things. A speciality and REALLY Omai are ornamental daggers (called Khanjar) that is a main part of the Omani men's National dress. Prices for these range from around OMR 5 to THOUSANDS. The daggers at the touristy places are usually welded shut and you cannot pull out the blade. In cases where they DO come apart, the knife itself is so blunt, you cannot even slice thru a strawberry. Many places also have the khanjar mounted in nice box-frames. The stuff is not heavy and it will be wrapped very well and securely. They will always tell you how "antique" things are. Don't believe them. The vast majority of other items at the market comes from India. Pakistan etc and is not really Arabic, despite the look of things. Unless you really know how to spot a REAL Pashmina - which of course is made (at least to a high percentage) from Kashmiri wool - you are likely to be ripped off. Anything that comes wrapped in those cellophane bags is a sure fake. :-)Pay no more than 5 OMR for a really nice and BIG size "pashmina". A word of caution: There is no clean Western style bathroom inside the market. Bathrooms at the small restaurants (if you find one) are OK, but also not too clean. Think of USA truck-stop toilets. Whereas Oman is very safe and it is extremely unlikely that you run into ANY sort of trouble or will be mugged, it is still better not to "flaunt" your wallet or camera etc. Dress reasonably moderate. Nothing "sexy" or tight. You are unlikely to get "in trouble", but people will stare at you or give you dirty looks.

OK; whilst I have a bit of time in the office....This is a good (-ish) place to buy gifts and souvenirs at Muttrah Souqu (don't pay attention to the spelling. You will see the place names spelled 3 different ways on 3 signs).As you walk into the souqu from the harbour front / street side, there is a quite large shop on the right of the entrance with windows facing the street. They have a decent selection of everything "Omani". Many shops inside the market will have the same or similar things, but I find the guys at that shop easy to deal with. Less BS than at other shops. Of course - and that applies to shopping everywhere - do not walk around with your cruise line tour sticker on your shirt and leave the cruise line bag / umbrella / cap / t-shirt at home. The vendors see that from miles away. If they quote a price you find high, tell them that you are not a tourist. Say your husband works for Oman Air or some bank (HSBC is good) or at the Grand Hyatt or is a doctor at Starcare Hospital. Plenty of Canadians / Westerners at these places. And you are shopping for presents from Oman to send home....Nice things to get small ornaments / trinkets, even Christmas decorations with Arabic motives, small "silver" things, small lamps, frankincense burners and such things. A speciality and REALLY Omai are ornamental daggers (called Khanjar) that is a main part of the Omani men's National dress. Prices for these range from around OMR 5 to THOUSANDS. The daggers at the touristy places are usually welded shut and you cannot pull out the blade. In cases where they DO come apart, the knife itself is so blunt, you cannot even slice thru a strawberry. Many places also have the khanjar mounted in nice box-frames. The stuff is not heavy and it will be wrapped very well and securely. They will always tell you how "antique" things are. Don't believe them. The vast majority of other items at the market comes from India. Pakistan etc and is not really Arabic, despite the look of things. Unless you really know how to spot a REAL Pashmina - which of course is made (at least to a high percentage) from Kashmiri wool - you are likely to be ripped off. Anything that comes wrapped in those cellophane bags is a sure fake. :-)Pay no more than 5 OMR for a really nice and BIG size "pashmina". A word of caution: There is no clean Western style bathroom inside the market. Bathrooms at the small restaurants (if you find one) are OK, but also not too clean. Think of USA truck-stop toilets. Whereas Oman is very safe and it is extremely unlikely that you run into ANY sort of trouble or will be mugged, it is still better not to "flaunt" your wallet or camera etc. Dress reasonably moderate. Nothing "sexy" or tight. You are unlikely to get "in trouble", but people will stare at you or give you dirty looks.

Once again thank you so much for all your help. I have printed it out to take with me.:)

A word of caution: There is no clean Western style bathroom inside the market. Bathrooms at the small restaurants (if you find one) are OK, but also not too clean. Think of USA truck-stop toilets. Whereas Oman is very safe and it is extremely unlikely that you run into ANY sort of trouble or will be mugged, it is still better not to "flaunt" your wallet or camera etc. Dress reasonably moderate. Nothing "sexy" or tight. You are unlikely to get "in trouble", but people will stare at you or give you dirty looks.

I have spent quite a bit of time working in the Middle East. Because of the lack of western style bathrooms in a lot of places, I usually wear a long, wrap skirt with a 3/4 length or long sleeved top. You can buy very lightweight gauzy type cotton tops all over Ebay if you can't find them in Canada. They are made in Bangkok, Pakistan and India.

The wrap skirt works for a lot of things (modesty and they are much cooler than pants) but the main reason-there are a LOT of squat toilets in the Middle East. And if you have to go, you are going to have to use them. Lines for the Western style toilets can be VERY, VERY long if you can even find a Western style toilet. There also is NO toilet paper in a lot of toilets. So take wet wipes or something.

NOTHING nastier than having to use a squat toilet and your pants legs hit the floor. YUCK!!! With a long wrap skirt, just whip it off, hang it over the door, do your business and put your skirt back on. MUCH easier than trying to balance yourself if you use a squat toilet and keep your pants up off the floor.

OK; whilst I have a bit of time in the office....This is a good (-ish) place to buy gifts and souvenirs at Muttrah Souqu (don't pay attention to the spelling. You will see the place names spelled 3 different ways on 3 signs).As you walk into the souqu from the harbour front / street side, there is a quite large shop on the right of the entrance with windows facing the street. They have a decent selection of everything "Omani". Many shops inside the market will have the same or similar things, but I find the guys at that shop easy to deal with. Less BS than at other shops. Of course - and that applies to shopping everywhere - do not walk around with your cruise line tour sticker on your shirt and leave the cruise line bag / umbrella / cap / t-shirt at home. The vendors see that from miles away. If they quote a price you find high, tell them that you are not a tourist. Say your husband works for Oman Air or some bank (HSBC is good) or at the Grand Hyatt or is a doctor at Starcare Hospital. Plenty of Canadians / Westerners at these places. And you are shopping for presents from Oman to send home....Nice things to get small ornaments / trinkets, even Christmas decorations with Arabic motives, small "silver" things, small lamps, frankincense burners and such things. A speciality and REALLY Omai are ornamental daggers (called Khanjar) that is a main part of the Omani men's National dress. Prices for these range from around OMR 5 to THOUSANDS. The daggers at the touristy places are usually welded shut and you cannot pull out the blade. In cases where they DO come apart, the knife itself is so blunt, you cannot even slice thru a strawberry. Many places also have the khanjar mounted in nice box-frames. The stuff is not heavy and it will be wrapped very well and securely. They will always tell you how "antique" things are. Don't believe them. The vast majority of other items at the market comes from India. Pakistan etc and is not really Arabic, despite the look of things. Unless you really know how to spot a REAL Pashmina - which of course is made (at least to a high percentage) from Kashmiri wool - you are likely to be ripped off. Anything that comes wrapped in those cellophane bags is a sure fake. :-)Pay no more than 5 OMR for a really nice and BIG size "pashmina". A word of caution: There is no clean Western style bathroom inside the market. Bathrooms at the small restaurants (if you find one) are OK, but also not too clean. Think of USA truck-stop toilets. Whereas Oman is very safe and it is extremely unlikely that you run into ANY sort of trouble or will be mugged, it is still better not to "flaunt" your wallet or camera etc. Dress reasonably moderate. Nothing "sexy" or tight. You are unlikely to get "in trouble", but people will stare at you or give you dirty looks.

Great info. Since you are also from Sydney, can you tell me if there are any problems getting frankinscense and mounted daggers through Aussie customs.

Thanks.

Hi.

I never had problems with Frankincense.

But declare it on the incoming passenger card, as it IS plant material (resin). Quarantine will take a look at it.

Usually they just squeeze the packets a bit, but once they opened the packet and spilled the frankincense over a sheet to see if there are any bits of wood or other foreign matter in it.

I did not bring a Khanjar from Oman, but something similar from Nepal.

As the actual knife was welded into the hilt (not even sure if there WAS a blade, they did not have a problem with it. The only "issue" they had and looked a bit closer was the wooden board the thing was mounted on.

The box-framed Khanjars (or Arabic coffee pots, or "antique" jewelry etc) do actually come in very strong cardboard boxes and plastic "frames". The boxes are usually covered in nice fabric and the glass front with the frame can usually be opened on hinges. The stuff looks pretty cool on the wall or on your shelf (or the "pool room" ;) ), and you can't really tell that the box is not made from wood.

But do not try to take anything that can be mistaken for a weapon in your hand luggage. This only causes hassle every time ypu go thru an airport!

Hi Ladyslipper, I too live on the island, Victoria.

Did you go to Oman? What other ports did you stop at? Did you find anything interesting to buy?

We are on the Celebrity Century March 2015 and any advice/hints on Muscat, Oman would be welcome.

I am so excited to be going to such exotic places, any advice and help you can give so I get the most out of our trip would be appreciated.

Cheers, h.

Hi Ladyslipper, I too live on the island, Victoria.

Did you go to Oman? What other ports did you stop at? Did you find anything interesting to buy?

We are on the Celebrity Century March 2015 and any advice/hints on Muscat, Oman would be welcome.

I am so excited to be going to such exotic places, any advice and help you can give so I get the most out of our trip would be appreciated.

Cheers, h.

We were in Muscat in April this year as part of a cruise from Sydney to Cape Town. We absolutely loved Oman. Whatever you do, don't miss the sail in first thing in the morning. The rising sun shining on the old forts and the jagged hills, the ornamental 'incense burner' on one of the points and the white buildings were just beautiful.

Obviously the Souk is worth seeing. Don't miss the Opera House which is a stunning building, the Mosque equally stunning although unfortunately being a Friday, we couldn't go inside, the Sultan's palace and the old forts are all worth a look. Wandering along the Corniche is also very pleasant.

We regarded Oman as one of the highlights of our cruise and would love to go back but in winter. Be prepared for very hot weather.

I hope you loved Oman as much as we did.

I love all this info on Muscat. We will be there in the end of March. Can we walk from the cruise ship terminal to the souk?

I love all this info on Muscat. We will be there in the end of March. Can we walk from the cruise ship terminal to the souk?

I think we took a cab for about $5 U.S. You could walk, but it is extremely hot.

Shirley, Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

I know this is off topic but I can't find any mention of hotels in Muscat. We will be there for 2 days prior to our cruise . Can you help or advise a beach front hotel reasonably close to the cruise terminal.

Thank you

I know this is off topic but I can't find any mention of hotels in Muscat. We will be there for 2 days prior to our cruise . Can you help or advise a beach front hotel reasonably close to the cruise terminal.

Thank you

Have you check tripadvisor.com? That is my "go to" source for hotels and restaurants.

I know this is off topic but I can't find any mention of hotels in Muscat. We will be there for 2 days prior to our cruise . Can you help or advise a beach front hotel reasonably close to the cruise terminal.

Thank you

Hello from Muscat.

A 15 or so minute taxi ride from the cruise terminal you will find the fabulous Shangri La Barr Al Jissah resort. That's a complex of 3 hotels of 4 and 5 star rating with an excellent beach pools and great facilities. Loads of restaurants.

Very good service and relaxing. It is quite far out of town, so if you want to explore Muscat it is a bit difficult without an organised tour or private driver. The hotel will arrange that for you.

A little bit closer to the cruise terminal is the Ritz Carlton Al Bustan Palace. Nice, but quiet with a lot less to do than at the Shangri La.

Closer to the "action" of town are the Grand Hyatt and the Intercontinental.

Both a bit dated and way too expensive for what you get. The Hyatt has better restaurants and a nicer stretch of beach.

If you are in town for 2 nights, see if there is something on at the new opera house. WELL worth a look. http://www.rohmuscat.org.*****

There are no "budget price" option for beach hotels in Oman. Hotels tend to be on the expensive side, so I would go for the 4-star and above to get more bang for your buck.

booking.com tens to have the best range of hotels for Oman, but the individual hotel's own websites will usually match prices, especially when you do now need a room on a weekend. Thursday nights and Friday nights are usually more expensive.

PS. A fixed price taxi from the airport to Al Bustan or Shangri LA hotels is around 20 Omai Rials. Ride will take 35 minutes to an hour, depending on traffic. The hotel organised transport is nearly twice that price.

Thank you so much for the excellent advice.It gives quite a lot of info I can research and plan for our visit in April.