Muscat is the capital city of the sultanate of Oman. The city lies on the Arabian Sea along the Gulf of Oman. Oman is also in the proximity of the strategic Straits of Hormuz, a very important trade waterway since ancient times. The city of Muscat is flanked by high arid mountains on both eastern & western sides. South of Muscat is Jebel Akhdar ( Green Mountain) , it is lush and fertile .Oman is located between Yemen to the south, Saudi Arabia to the west , United Arab Emirate to the north & the Arabian Sea to the east. On February 16, 1948 , my mother , my sister Hala and I left Jerusalem, leaving my father & grandfather behind. My oldest sister Hitaf who was staying with my grandparents , left Haifa, Palestine with them heading to Lebanon. My father remained in Jerusalem in order for him to qualify for the promised British pension, he left on May 14, 1948 just hours before they closed the borders and the state of Palestine was occupied to allow room for the Jews of the world to settle & rule by force. My paternal grandfather grandpa Khalil Rasasi refused to evacuate his home. We joined my maternal grandparents, aunts & uncles in Hammana, Lebanon. On September 17, 1948, we left Lebanon via Syria heading to Muscat, Oman. Uncle Ismael; who lived in Muscat, sent a letter to my father offering him a job as a translator. Uncle Ismael who is seven years older than my father, had graduated in 1921 with a degree in eduation, he was sent to Oman to direct the education ministry in Musact, then he became Secretary of the Inerior & moved on to become Prime Minister ( head of Wilayat ) during the rule of Sultan Said Bin Taymoor. Uncle Khalil Khatib ( aunt Munira’s husband ) drove us from Beirut to Abu Shamat, Syria in his cool green Citreon sun-roofed car. We bed farewell to my grandmother, aunt, uncle & my cousins. My parents, two sisters and I, took the air-conditioned Nairn coach line from Damascus, Syria to Baghdad, Iraq. The trip took approximately 14-17 hours. I enjoyed the ride, we were provided with a lunch box full of goodies, a pillow & a blanket. My sister Hala was miserable , she suffered from motion sickness, she wept all night long. I ate my sandwich & cookie, looked out of the window in the desert moonlit night & plunged into my sweet dreams. In Baghdad, we stayed at the nice Hotel Zia on the Tigris River. From Baghdad we took the train to Basra, in the southern tip of Iraq located on the mighty Shatt al Arab River, Shatt Al Arab is formed by the confluence of the Tigris & Euphrates rivers crossing Iraq from the north to the south. Basra, is the second largest city in Iraq, it is the center of oil fields, refineries & it is a major export city through the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world. The water of Shatt Al Arab is murky due to the flow of silt from the Karun River in Iran. Shatt Al Arab flows between Iraq & Iran and its boundaries have been a point of bitter dispute between the two countries . In fact, it was one of the main causes of the eight-year war ( 1980-1988 ) between Iraq and Iran. The USA, UK, S. Arabia and Israel played a dirty role in fanning the flames and at one point they were funding and supporting both sides at the same time, providing false intelligence to both sides. These players’ intention was to weaken both sides and diminish their influence. As they claimed, if we keep them fighting each other they won’t create a threat to our interests. From Basra, we sailed south down the Persian Gulf, passing Kuwait, Bahrain, S. Arabia , Qatar & United Arab Emirate. The Persian Gulf is a locked area of the Arabian Sea waterway where it narrows at the Strait of Hormuz; the narrowest distance between Iran & the Arabian Penninsula. The Sultanate of Oman is located to the west of the Gulf of Oman and Muscat is its capital and main port, for centuries it has been a vital and prosperous trading center connecting South East Asia to the Arab World. Oman occupies a strategic position at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, one did not go unnoticed by western powers . We arrived Muscat on October 1, 1948. Uncle Ismael & his wife aunt Adla Dajani welcomed us to their residence. They had a one-year old baby girl, her name is Inas. The residence sits on top of the court house or what is called the “saraya”. I remember we occupied a suite in the back of the residence. Muscat at that time was still far from development. They did not have modern toilets, it consisted of a pit & two porcilen steps on the sides and a chain-flush, you had to squat to go., a far cry from modern Muscat today. The climate in Oman is very hot in the summer, temperatures can go up to 104 F and the winter is warm. We certainly enjoyed eating a lot of amazing fresh fish “catch of the day” very frequently. Although my uncle’s residence is not directly on the water edge, it overlooks a fantastic view of the sea. The house has large windows , I remember the window sill is wide enough to sit up there and watch passenger/ freight ships and the traditional dhows passing by, enjoying the saltry smell & the sea breeze. The Dhow is a single -mast sailing ship made without nails, it has been a cargo vessel for centuries carrying rice , spices and goods from China & India to the Arabian Peninsula and Persia. Sur, is a major dhow-building town in Oman located on the coast of the Gulf of Oman southeast of Muscat. For the first time we tasted mangoes & papayas, in fact one day I developed an allergic rash from eating them. Most domestics are from Bengledesh or Belochistan or India. Drinking water was supplied daily by men called “saqqah” or “Abul may” by the locals, carrying a hide skin full of water on their backs & emptying it in a very large urn in the kitchen’s quarters. I loved uncle Ismael, sometimes he let me go downstairs with him & visit the Saraya where he worked. Dad worked as a translator, my father knew six languages and was fluent in English & Arabic. He was a surveyor and worked with the British in Palestine before our exile from our homeland to make room for the Jews who were kicked out by the Europeans, not just by the Germans, even the British quietly expressed their desire for the removal of the Jews from Europe. My mom opened a small school and became the teacher and the principal , my two sisters & I went along with her. We had to wear a black uniform with a white collar. I was too young to learn anything, for a four year old I could not stay still, I wanted to play and create mischief . I remember one day I opened the back door that led to the domestics’ area. And went downstairs . I saw chickens and roosters running around in the courtyard. There was a tandoor clay oven for baking bread. They also have a stone grinder for grains & spices. We brought with us a lot of Lego toys & dolls. While we were there, my uncle & his wife left for India for a visit and they brought us dolls when they came back. My mom always made our clothes and kept us abreast with fashion, she chose one design but used different colors for each one of us as a distinction. Red was always my favorite color, my oldest sister Hitaf chose blue & pink, and my sister Hala chose yellow & green. Ramadan is a special month for all Muslims and the Omani people are no exception. Aunt Adla and my mom were often invited to Iftar , women- only gatherings. My dad and uncle attended majlis for men -only. The Omani women adorn themselves with henna tattoos on their bodies. They cover themselves with a black chador. In these gatherings people displayed their Arab generosity , the food is offered in abundant quantaties and you are urged to eat as much as you can , the more you eat the more you show your appreciation for their generous offering. Oman’s national dessert is the Halwa, which is made of water, sugar and corn starch, flavored with cardamom, rose water and gum Arabic, sometimes nuts are added , such as pistachio or almonds. Since the gulf region has plenty of palm trees, dates are common & popular. Dates are eaten fresh, dried or added to baked pastries and cakes. In fact, the custom in the Muslim world is to break the fast in Ramadan by eating dates and drinking cold yogurt, an ancient tradition especially in the Gulf region. As Rais Wilayat ( equivilant to a Prime minister ) , my uncle had a car and a cheauffer, the cheauffer cranked the car engine with a metal bar to get it started. Speed was not an issue, the car barely moved more than twenty five miles per hour, also very few people owned cars. During the month of Ramadan the call for suhur ( last meal before the sunrise in preparation for fasting ), a man walks the streets of the city beating his drum . It is an old tradition that was practiced before the age of alarm clocks but still continues in Muslim countries until this day. In the beginning it startled me but then I got used to it. Eid festivities are carried out downstairs at the saraya. Men gathered in large circles, they sang , danced , and played the duff ( an old musical instrument made of wooden frame in which goatskin is stretched in the center ) . They received food and money from my uncle’s household in celebration of Eid. Women are not allowed to mingle in public, usually we watched from our upstairs lattice-covered bay windows. I loved these intricate windows, in fact you still see them in the old city of Toledo, Spain and in Andulsia in southern Spain, remnant of the Arabs’ rule . The bay window is a jutting structure covered with carved wood latticework on three sides, often built on the second floor of the house or building. It provides privacy, protection from the sun and a good view of the outside without being seen. Usually the front has a small latched window that can be opened , at the bottom there are two openings used to insert the water jarra ( a clay pitcher ) allowing the water to cool by evaporation, the windows are known as “Mashrabiya“ or a place for drinking water. These windows are an element of traditional Arabic architecture used since the middle ages up to the twentieth century. They are found in the Arab world and Turkey ( during the Ottoman rule ) . If you visit the famous Grand Alhambra Palace in Andalusia , you’ll feast your eyes with this magnificent woodwork by the Moors. Those fabulous screens provided ventilation, light and architectural design. Some bay windows have interior window seats covered with elegant cushions for seating. I remember once we visited Muttrah, a city located on the Gulf of Oman , northwest of Muscat. The trip was for women only , we left Muscat very early in the morning , the domestics loaded all the supplies into an open bed lorry and climbed in. We climbed into the automobile . When we arrived, summer cabins were erected right on the beach. Those cabins stood on four large stilts, a platform is added on top , covered with straw mats, the sides are made of a wooden frame semi- covered with straw mats, leaving large areas open for ventilation & air movement. Usually straw mats are kept wet to cool the structure. A small ladder is connected , and there we are on the beach, protected from the heat . Thousands of jellyfish cover the surface of the beach. If you step on one of these you’ll get a very painful sting that lasts for hours. I remember women sitting on cushions , gathered around for talk, food, drinking cardamom tea & eating sweets. One of the leading local ladies , I still remember her is Bibi Ouba ( or grandma Ouba ). I also remember eating a very sweet date cake. At night, you can hear the sound of the waves overlapping & the salty smell of the sea lulls you by. During the day, the heat & humidity is oppressive. We drove to near by water springs in Al Nakhl, a small village in the lush valley with lots of palm trees. I truly have fond memories of the place, of course I was too young to understand or feel the pain my parents were going through after losing their home, dad’s job, the tragic loss of our homeland & the scattering of friends & family. On September 20, 1949 we went aboard a Dutch cargo ship heading for Iraq. My dad was offered a job at the directorate of forestry in Irbil. He was to take us back to Irbid, Jordan to stay with my maternal grandparents and return back to Iraq to start a new life after the Great Loss of Palestine; our homeland. As we set sail from Muscat, we stopped at small ports on our way up the Gulf. I had my cloth -stuffed dolls with me, but I decided to say goodbye to them and throw them in the sea. I was barely five years old but I have already begun to feel the impact of loss, as this becomes a symptom or call it a habit if you will. I believe it was the anxiety of separation & loss. Throughout my life, I walked away from the most treasured items, discarding them before they get taken away from me or losing them. Until this day, I remembered watching my dolls floating on the blue water and get swept away by the waves. Few days later, I began to cry as I was bored and missed my dolls. The ship crew was kind & affectionate towards my two sisters & I. Since I was the youngest and perhaps the most exuberant & vigorous one, I forged friendships & alliances with some of the sailors including the captain of the ship. On several nights, the captain asked us to join his table for dinner. With the tantalizing aromas of fresh fish, fried potatoes and ketchup on the side, the meal was nothing short of scrumptious. My first introduction to Gouda and Edam cheese was on that fantastic trip. Ben , was one of the crew, he was married and has been away from his wife & children for several months, so he missed them a lot and found solace in playing with me. Ben smoked “Black & White” cigarettes which were sold in small round tin cans. He used to give me the empty ones and we would send them rolling down the long deck. We had a large black thermos on us, my dad would send me down to the engine section, below deck, asking politely for ice & water. Dad taught me to say ,” cold water please”. The sailors chuckled and filled the thermos with ice and water and helped me carry it up. You see I was born to be independent, fierce & perhaps demanding, even before the ripe age of five. When I got bored playing with the cigarette cans, Ben & his mates made us a swing and a see-saw to play . This recreation helped us pass the time . The nights were dark, you hear the waves cresting & overlapping. We had choppy nights, my sister Hala, 14 months older than me, was always jittery and suffered from seasickness. On one of my daring adventures, I followed the sailors all the way up the mast to a small tower which they used as a storage room for potatoes, the view was incredible, the vast view of the sea, the passing ships & dhows . When we left Muscat, our friends gave us cans of Halwa & bags of dried fish. I remember when we stopped in Bahrain, we threw these cans in the water and the amazing divers, dove down and fetched them. The Arabian Gulf ( or Persian Gulf depending on who you ask ) is a magnificent waterway, deep & wide and its marine life is one of the best in the world. I remember watching passing whales , dolphins, crabs, lobster, eels and all sorts of crestacians . The most depressing thought for me today, is what happened to the Arabian Gulf after the USA set its rapacious eyes on it. Today, the Gulf is polluted by human waste, lethal chemicals, spent explosives, over fishing & the gradual destruction of its majestic maritime life. The USA has now several bases with thousands of deployed troops in S.Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait & United Arab Emirates with several warships & aircraft carriers. The UK has a long-lasting influence & bases in Oman. These invadors are shameless , reckless & destructive. The most memorable event of this joyful trip is the convergence of the Gulf with Shatt Al Arab. There is a fine hairline dividing the salty sea water and the sweet river water, the meeting of clear blue water with brown murky water. This natural phenomenon is due to difference in viscosity, but it is a scene to behold & remember for many years to come. As all journeys , our sea journey ended on October 25, 1949 , as we disembarked in Basra, Iraq.
July, 2011