Ways Hospitality in Oman will Wow You!
Hospitality is renowned throughout the Middle East, but in Oman is in a league of its own. My recent week-long road trip through Oman was nowhere near my first visit to the region. I lived in Israel for a year nearly two decades ago, and have been back there many times since. I’ve traveled in Jordan and Egypt. I explored parts of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after Oman. But none of those places can compare with Oman in terms of hospitality.
As a native New Yorker, I always find it a bit unsettling when I’m traveling and people seem super-nice. Are they trying to scam me? Take advantage of me somehow? Overcharge me for my purchase? My senses are heightened and I try to take everything with a grain of salt, figuring out what is real versus contrived. Also, I traveled in Oman with my sister, so wondered as two females traveling alone in a Muslim nation, would there be anything we needed to worry about?
After the first few days in Oman, however, it became apparent that Omanis were nice, gracious, and always jumping at the chance to help you. At every turn, it seemed like all of the locals we encountered were interested in going out of their way to make our stay as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. Any time we stopped the car briefly on the side of the road to figure out directions, an Omani would suddenly appear to provide directions and offer help. Pretty quickly we realized that we should simply relax and appreciate the generosity and hospitality being shown to us.
One of the things that stands out in my mind is that there is a ton of hospitality around food. Anything you’re served will involve huge attention to detail. Sometimes there was even a woven contained for your bottled water to accompany your meal!
Oman is especially known for its coffee and fresh dates, which will make an appearance at the end of meals and greeting you in hotel lobbies, offered of course free of charge. Omani coffee, known as kahwa, is not your typical Western concoction. Instead it consists of an incredibly aromatic brew, infused with cardamom, sometimes cloves, and other spices. And despite my extensive travels in the Middle East, it was only on this trip to Oman that I found true date heaven. Fresh dates were always offered alongside Omani coffee, and the freshest and most delicious dates of my life were sampled throughout Oman. Even at our most budget accommodation – a double room for the equivalent of $40 US – coffee and dates were available around the clock for a touch of comfort during our stay.
Not anticipating Omani hospitality also caused us to over-order at many of our meals. There is of course the dishes you pick out from the menu to satiate your appetite. But more often than not, there was also additional food that simply arrived at the table. Most commonly, huge portions of bread and salad arrived along with the other dishes. Sometimes there were other appetizers that simply appeared after placing our order. So we figured out to scale back a bit by the end of the week, anticipating the ever-present Omani hospitality, although I don’t think we ever cleared all of our plates.
Then there was the time that someone really went out of their way to offer help. My sister and I were driving through an area in the middle of the country, where most accommodations involve tents in the middle of the desert. And we were in the most budget economy car we could find – a quite compact Toyota Yaris. All of a sudden, we get flashed by the truck behind us to pull over. My safety radar immediately goes off, and I’m cautious as I open the window, thinking that maybe the brake light is out or something is wrong with the car? No, the helpful local is asking us where we’re staying and making sure that we realize that we can’t drive our teeny vehicle into the desert, or we will get stranded. He even offers to give us a ride. Fortunately we had already realized this, and arranged for the owner to pick us up in his 4×4 and take us to our tent accommodation for the night. But this is certainly the first time anywhere that someone was driving along next to me and was so concerned for my safety and well-being that they stopped the car to offer assistance.
The next morning, after a very hospitality tent stay in the desert, we continue on our way. Our first stop after picking up our non-desert ready budget vehicle is a collection of stores to pick up items for a picnic lunch during our hike in nearby Wadi Khalid. First, we get some sandwiches to take with us. Then, we stop into the nearby fruit stand (all markets in Oman are pretty specialized) to pick up some additional snacks. After picking out some clementines, I approach the vendor to pay. He looks at us, then shifts his gaze to the fruit, and again back at us. While he doesn’t speak any English, he gestures at us in a way that seems to indicate that he is offering us the fruit for free. I try to communicate back, are you sure?, with the shrug of my shoulders and facial expression. Now he is motioning with insistence – yes, the fruit is ours to take, free of charge. If this had been in the first day of traveling in Oman, I would have been incredibly confused and nervous about misinterpreting the gesture. Several days into experiencing Omani hospitality, I realize that he is being generous with us, guests to his country. I say a grateful shukran, Arabic for thank you, as I depart with the fruit in hand.
Just when I think that I have seen it all when it comes to Omani hospitality, the country has one more crazy experience in store for me and my sister. We arrive at Wadi Khalid and know that one of the first things we are looking to do is check out the well-known cave with water flowing inside. It is actually well-signed, so we start off on the trail following the direction of the arrows over the rocks. As we go, we catch up to someone who seems to be Omani although he addresses us in English. We find out his name is Sayeed, local to the area although he lives in Muscat now, and he offers to be our personal tour guide to the cave.
Anywhere else, the offer would have screamed danger, but in Oman it’s just a local being nice. And it ended up being amazing, because the cave was really cramped with no light and difficult to navigate. As we were entering, there were other tourists leaving after only venturing into the cave a little bit. Because we were with someone who knew the ins and outs of navigating the cave, we managed to see the water source far into the caverns, peer at some sleeping bats hiding in the darkness, and find our way out without getting lost once. Sayeed was a knowledgeable and informative guide as well, describing the history of the area and how locals grow up playing inside the cave. The whole time I just kept thinking that we were so fortunate to have a local to show us around, and that our experience would not have been anywhere near as incredible without his hospitality. He even suggested some cultural events in the area to check out that evening.
Of all the things I expected from the road trip with my sister through Oman, such extensive hospitality was not one of them. Certainly, we exhibited good tourist practices while there – knowing a few words of Arabic and wearing modest dress, even for swimming – but the kindness of our Omani hosts everywhere we went made it an even-more amazing (and welcoming) travel experience.
Where have you experienced the most gracious hospitality in your travels?
