Our first trip to the Souq

Today we drove to the area of Muscat known as Muttrah, which is

about 8 miles south and east of where we live. We drove through a cut-out of a mountain and into the mina, or port. Right in the port was a huge boat and the kids, having just been on a ferry

a couple of months ago, exclaimed "Wow, look at that ferry!" Danny looked out his window and said, "Kids, that's not a ferry. That's the Sultan's yacht." (We've attached a picture of

the yacht for all to see.)

Walking into the souq, you kind of felt you were entering an underground tunnel. (We definitely weren't in Pentagon City or Tyson's Corner.) The walls of this huge marketplace are made of wood, which makes it very dark. The ceilings were also wood, with ornate sections of tile. I tried to take some pictures, but they didn't come out very well. Next time.

People sell everything here--beautiful textiles, beaded dresses and tops, gold and silver, you name it. The kids were thrilled when we stopped at this one shop to buy sunglasses for Danny. They had tons of inexpensive noisy toys--guns, tanks, fake cell phones. The owners were happy to show them all of their wares, but not so happy with mom and dad when we said, "No, we don't need another (fill in the blank) in our house."

Unfortunately, we arrived around noon, which is when all the shops close up until later on in the evening. After walking around for a while, we understood why they were closing. It was very hot. We weaved in and out of tight alleyways to get back to the car and decided that the souq would be a lot more do-able when it wasn't so hot outside.

We took the scenic route home (intentionally this time) and drove past the entrance to the Sultan's palace. While you can't see much, you can tell it's quite a place!

We're back home now, getting ready for bed, and realizing there are only three days left until school starts. I'm sure we'll have lots to say on Monday!