We arrived at the opulent Oman airport. There were perhaps 40 cab drivers lining our route as we stepped outside, each with a sign, and each dressed in long shirts – down to their ankles – and caps. Our host and one other gentlemen drove two vehicles fully packed with suitcases, stroller, backpacks, etc. along the coast and past several mosques to Joel and Sarah’s new home. It looks like something out of a Humphrey Bogart movie – maybe Casablanca. You drive into the courtyard and the gate closes. The entry is imposing as you look up a winding marble stairway to the third floor. The house echoes. It is huge! Marble floors throughout. High ceilings with crown moulding. The walls are all white, and the furniture is dark, walnut or cherry, and the chairs are upholstered. There is a formal dining room that seats ten. The US Ambassador to Oman is a neighbor.
There are 4 bedrooms upstairs – two of which have balconies with white columns. The fifth bedroom on the third floor also has a balcony. From it you can see the Sea Of Oman and, looking the other way, see the mountains. A highway threads its way along the base of the mountains, and the sun reflects its brilliance from walls and turrets of marble… none of which I know or can identify, but all of which are rich and imposing. It also looks like there might be a concrete riverbed for the torrent of water that might come with rain.
Ruth and I played hide and seek up on the third floor when we discovered that the heavy drapes made a perfect hiding place. The giggles I heard from the drapes gave her away. My hiding place behind the door she found pretty quickly. Caveat: The opulence of the house is currently interrupted by the Marc’s bags on the door handles for trash and a few suitcases here and there, but it’s a reminder that flesh and blood people live here and we’re in a settling in mode.
As I crawled into bed that night, the coldness of the house and the strangeness of the culture, settled in, but Joel and Sarah brought warmth and light again as they knocked on my door to give me a hug and say goodnight.
Fink Family Frolics 