I arrived in Muscat, Oman at night for what would be the shortest stop of my trip. This was to be my first time visiting an Arab country and the first time in well over a year being in any country that isn't predominantly Buddhist. The timing of my middle eastern stopover was during the Muslim fasting month, Ramadan. Devout Muslims refrain from eating or drinking during daylight hours and feast once the sun has set. While non-Muslims are not expected to fast, strict laws forbid anyone from eating or drinking in public during fasting hours. Consequently, all on my daytime meals in the Middle East were consumed in public washroom stalls...
After checking into my hotel I went for a waterfront stroll. As it was Ramadan, the streets were lively with people eating and playing board games.
When I returned to my hotel lobby, after my walk, I was greeted by two traditionally dressed Omani men. One of them explained that his nephew had studied in Canada, he then proceeded to lecture me about Islam for about 15 minutes. I was trying to be polite, but my patience was wearing thin, so I excused myself insisting I needed to sleep. The man then offered to pay for my hotel room, as it is their culture to invites guests into their homes and because of Ramadan duties he was unable to invite me to his. I halfheartedly tried to refuse but in the end conceded to let him pay for my hotel room and accept the $30 spending money that he insisted I take.
I had expected Muscat to make for a very expensive stopover but in the end, it cost me nearly nothing.
The next morning I emerged from the air-conditioned refuge of my hotel to brave the 40+ temperatures. My hotel was located in Muscat's harbour area known as Corniche. The neighbourhood was very scenic with tower topped rocky peaks surrounding the bay. The neighbourhood also contains Muscat's most famous market, Mutrah Souk; a covered maze of stalls touting traditional handicrafts.
I spent my morning exploring the Corniche area, Muscat's central business district, and the area known as Old Muscat that includes the Sultan of Oman's royal palace.
Before long, I'd seen most of Muscat's most prominent sights. While I had originally planned two nights in Muscat, I decided it would be a better use of my time to catch a bus to Dubai that afternoon.
The modern skyscrapers and and cityscape of Dubai was in stark contrast to the dusty low-rises of Muscat. Also, much different than Muscat, Dubai is very multi-cultural where you might here up to 10 different languages on a single metro ride.
The Dubai-metro made exploring the widespread city a breeze and the intensity of the air conditioning was always appreciated.
Dubai's sights ranged from restored traditional markets to ultra-modern mega malls all of which I attempted to visit during my brief stay.
I've always enjoyed the splendor and beauty of tall buildings, so, of course I was thrilled to vist the world's tallest: the Burj Khalifa. It is certainly an impressive structure and feat, although, I must say that finally seeing the building in person was not the jaw dropping experience I had hoped for. It was hard to take in it's height from up close and the desert haze renders it hardly visible from a distance.
Dubai presented me with the same Ramadan hazards as Muscat, but fortunately restaurants and supermarkets in Dubai offer a range of takeaway options and the many shopping malls provide ample public washrooms to dine in.
Dubai was a worthwhile stopover for me, although the 2.5 days I spent there was more than enough. I was excited to board my 3 am flight to Istanbul, Turkey.
I had a red-eye flight from Dubai to Istanbul and arrived, exhausted, early in the morning.
After a long bus-ride from the airport I checked into a hostel and slept until the mid-afternoon.
It was late in the day when I would make my first real impressions of Turkey's largest city.
I ventured out to Taksim Square, the city's central square and the epicenter of recent protests. The bustling square and adjacent Gezi Park were a nice introduction to the city. Intersecting Taksim Square is Instanbul's most prominent walking street, shopping, and nightlife distict: Istiklal Avenue.
Istiklal is lively at all hours with narrow side streets packed with cafes, bars and clubs.
I didn't know a great deal about Istanbul or Turkey before I arrived and I was very surprised with how European and liberal the city was. The sheer number of bars was shocking to see in a predominantly Muslim country, additionally, they were packed during the day and night even during Ramadan.
I was relieved to learn the eating in public would not be an issue and that I would freely be able to try out much of the delicious food on offer.
Istanbul's most famous sites are clustered on a peninsula called the Golden Horn. Two of the cities most recognizable sights are the massive mosques: Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque.
Hagia Sofia functions only as a museum now and requires an entrance fee while the Blue Mosque is still a place of worship and is free to enter.
Hagia Sofia is particularly interesting as it was originally built as a Catholic basilica. It was only after the Ottoman Empire conquered Constantinople that it was converted to a Mosque. The interior of the building contains an interesting mix or both Christian and Muslim symbols.
Another sight adjacent to Hagia Sofia is an ancient cistern which supplied water to area long ago.
The Golden Horn is also home to Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, and the city's ancient walls.
On the other side of Istanbul I visited an extravagant palace where Ottoman emperors once resided. The interior was very impressive but unfortunately, no photography was allowed.
The city of Istanbul actually spans the divide between Asia and Europe. Bridges, ferries and sea-buses connect the two sides. I decided to take the ferry from the European side where I was residing to explore the Asian side of Istanbul.
One morning I took two hour bus trip to a Black Sea beach town, Sile. Sile was scenic and was a nice and easy daytrip and A good opportunity to dip my feet into the cool Black Sea waters.
Istanbul has recently been the center of protest against the current government and I was unsure if the protest would still be active when I arrived in the city. During the first few days of my stay, I saw little evidence of unrest, apart from the riot police constantly stationed in Taksim Square. One evening, while walking toward Taksim, I noticed that the tune had changed somewhat and hundreds police in Riot gear were in the square with officers surrounding all of Gezi Park. It turned out to be a small protest by an anti-capitalism group that had organized an communal end of fasting meal. The protest resulted in no violence but I was surprised by the massive police response.
The following evening I was again in Taksim as a much larger protest was taking place. This protest was against the police's use of excessive force in previous protests and to bring attention to the story of a 14 year old boy who has been in a coma since prior protests after being hit in the head with a tear-gas canister.
The protest seemed peaceful and people simply chanted anti-government slogans. I had previously thought that these protest consisted mostly of students and youth but I was surprised to see a large mix of ages attending, as the elderly woman next to me with 2 hearing aides chanted as loudly as anyone.
It seems that protesting, peaceful or not, is simply not allowed in Turkey. Police in riot gear marched into the crowd shoving people and attempting to disperse the crowd. When that failed to work the police switched to water cannon, rubber bullets and eventually tear gas.
I was genuinely surprised at how it was the police who instigated the violence. After narrowly avoiding being hit with the water cannon I returned to my hostel. Later in the evening I headed an area next to Taksim Square as that's where all the bars are.
As I walked through on the maze of narrow side streets I began to sneeze and my eyes started to burn. When I turned the next corner I saw that the clashes between police and protesters had escalated into the night. Protesters attempted to thwart police efforts by setting up barricades on the road to obstruct the armoured riot vehicles. I was trying to take pictures of one of these barricades being set alight, when suddenly a police vehicle was barreling down the street to where I was standing, rapidly firing rubber bullets and anyone on sight. Along with the rest of the crowd I was forced to stampede through the lanes pursued by the police. Running scared along cobbled streets brought back memories running with the bulls in Pamplona.
The entire experience of the protests was both frightening and exciting. I'm glad to have had the experience but next time I'd make a greater effort to avoid such events.
The following day there was no evidence of the prior night's mayhem.
I really enjoyed Istanbul and I had a great introduction to Turkey that leaves me yearning to go back and see more the country.
The final country I visited on my travels was Germany. I spent 4 nights in Munich, drinking beer and practicing speaking German. One highlight of my stay in Munich was a visit to the World's oldest brewery Weihenstephan.
I'm back in Vancouver relaxing with all the comforts of home. I'm happy to be back, for now.... and excited to find out what new adventures the future will bring!
Thanks for reading,
-Taipei Goulet
