Short Introduction, history of making me a little forgiving. 6 weeks of absence, it does not apologize. Just bad excuses ... Some children fit, holidays to enjoy each other, two moves to get ... a bit of nostalgia by revisiting our photos, reminiscing with those who came to us, giving instructions and advice to our successors, seeing the fall so quickly descend on Paris ... A computer that refuses to stay connected more than 40 minutes, in good times. But to me re-post here with a long (and tedious)
Then we go back with joy in this adventure Omani, as the memories are still alive ...
If you live in Muscat, or if you have a choice in your travel date, do not miss the "Muscat'festival. In winter usually mid January to mid-February , you'll get a glimpse of the traditions, customs and ancestral know-how, all concentrated in a limited area. The challenge is to park, leave or arrive at the festival at a decent hour. For my part, I deserted the pool (too cold) to go to the carnival, dragging the children, promising them fried (the worst of my life not cooked in oil from before Muhammad ... a delight! ).
Doors open at 16 am at Qurum Park, the only large green area of Muscat. Get out your wallet, the entrance fee (40 Euro cents for adults, half for children over 6 years ... again, it's ruined!) I have taken the line of women, but now there are not many people! The crowd arrives at night. Omanis love this festival, go there as a family, and come from very far. (Some families do come to Muscat once in the year, this time for the festival)
I add still another two places are home to the festivities in connection with the festival: on the one hand amusement park located on the road from Seeb (Airport) in Barka. Impossible to miss a huge traffic jam and the immense indicate that there is parking. We have not had the courage to face the crowd ... The Omani families rush into this ephemeral local Disneyland!
Another site hosts horse racing, sports demonstrations (we saw a youth competition driving 4x4 driving several hundred meters on both left wheels: grotesque!) And sometimes racing camel, we missed connections ... looking for reliable information is one of the great challenges of the festival! You can find this site on the waterfront at the height of the airport. Back to
Muscat. Between 16 and 18 hours, the Omanis that act as players arrive slowly, gradually open pit, pancakes Omani spread by hand begin to cook on the plates, the Chinese jugglers put on their second skin motley, divers Canadian recite a final prayer, the dancers Omani retouch their makeup outrageous, photographers set their advanced machines, and the Omani families begin to tell a little tour tonight at the festival would be a good idea. Small French that we are attending this awakening of the party, seeing the approaching bedtime ... Tomorrow, the school resumed at 7:45. The
sun sets around 18 hours. And then the show begins.
An Omani village is detached from the party.
All artisans are at work, traditional songs linked together, the men make Halwa, a kind of soft paste, very sweet, which accompanies the coffee very light. (The Halwa is made of cream of goat milk, sesame paste, sugar (perhaps honey date = juice seeping under 50kg bags of dates!), Cardamom, and sometimes rose water and saffron )
Each region has its own recipe, which men pass, since women are not allowed to manufacture it.
The Omani village is the only place in the country where you can shoot old bearded and masked and Bedouin children in festive attire without their permission.
is a feast for the eyes. And the festival is an unexpected means to mix with local, for tourists and expatriates who are not lucky enough to see them live. It is even a way to take a crash course of civilization, as people aged us to repeat ancestral gestures.
In three decades the country has gone from extreme poverty to a wealth of average power. Great is temptation for younger generations to forget the technical craft who were their ancestors. But traditions are rooted in the collective soul of Omanis.
Doors open at 16 am at Qurum Park, the only large green area of Muscat. Get out your wallet, the entrance fee (40 Euro cents for adults, half for children over 6 years ... again, it's ruined!) I have taken the line of women, but now there are not many people! The crowd arrives at night. Omanis love this festival, go there as a family, and come from very far. (Some families do come to Muscat once in the year, this time for the festival)
I add still another two places are home to the festivities in connection with the festival: on the one hand amusement park located on the road from Seeb (Airport) in Barka. Impossible to miss a huge traffic jam and the immense indicate that there is parking. We have not had the courage to face the crowd ... The Omani families rush into this ephemeral local Disneyland!
Another site hosts horse racing, sports demonstrations (we saw a youth competition driving 4x4 driving several hundred meters on both left wheels: grotesque!) And sometimes racing camel, we missed connections ... looking for reliable information is one of the great challenges of the festival! You can find this site on the waterfront at the height of the airport. Back to
Muscat. Between 16 and 18 hours, the Omanis that act as players arrive slowly, gradually open pit, pancakes Omani spread by hand begin to cook on the plates, the Chinese jugglers put on their second skin motley, divers Canadian recite a final prayer, the dancers Omani retouch their makeup outrageous, photographers set their advanced machines, and the Omani families begin to tell a little tour tonight at the festival would be a good idea. Small French that we are attending this awakening of the party, seeing the approaching bedtime ... Tomorrow, the school resumed at 7:45. The
sun sets around 18 hours. And then the show begins.
An Omani village is detached from the party.
All artisans are at work, traditional songs linked together, the men make Halwa, a kind of soft paste, very sweet, which accompanies the coffee very light. (The Halwa is made of cream of goat milk, sesame paste, sugar (perhaps honey date = juice seeping under 50kg bags of dates!), Cardamom, and sometimes rose water and saffron ) Each region has its own recipe, which men pass, since women are not allowed to manufacture it.
The Omani village is the only place in the country where you can shoot old bearded and masked and Bedouin children in festive attire without their permission.
is a feast for the eyes. And the festival is an unexpected means to mix with local, for tourists and expatriates who are not lucky enough to see them live. It is even a way to take a crash course of civilization, as people aged us to repeat ancestral gestures.
In three decades the country has gone from extreme poverty to a wealth of average power. Great is temptation for younger generations to forget the technical craft who were their ancestors. But traditions are rooted in the collective soul of Omanis.
