In a Time of Monsters by Emma Sky

Author:Emma Sky
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atlantic Books

CHAPTER 7

… to the hill of frankincense

Oman

December 2012

Although the sultanate of Oman borders Saudi Arabia, it seemed a world away. I did not have to wear an abaya and could travel around on my own. I felt free.

One morning, I took a taxi to Muttrah. Its souq is one of the oldest in the Arab world. I was soon lost in the labyrinth of market stalls, eying up a silver khanjar (traditional dagger) and the multicoloured spices, inhaling the smouldering frankincense, and poking my head into treasure troves that opened up magical and mysterious worlds.

Emerging from the souq, I strolled along the corniche. I was sprayed by the waves crashing against the harbour wall. I looked out at the old wooden fishing dhows bobbing on the water and the huge tankers in the distance. About a fifth of the world’s petroleum passes through the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Although Oman’s oil reserves are smaller than other Gulf countries (with the exception of Bahrain), it still has 5.5 billion barrels and 80 per cent of its revenues come from oil and gas.

I entered the vegetable market. ‘Where are you from?’ an old man asked me when he saw me admiring his produce. From Britain, I responded. ‘It is good there,’ he said, nodding. ‘There is no chaos. Do you have rain?’

‘Yes,’ I told him, ‘we have plenty of rain – too much rain in fact.’

I told him it was my first visit to Oman and that the country was beautiful.

‘We have security here,’ he responded. ‘It is safe. The sultan is a good man.’

I followed my nose towards the fish market by the harbour. Set out on slabs were sardines, swordfish and prawns. Trade was brisk. And no one paid any attention to me as I walked up and down.

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