Festival of Negroes this Friday!

Yes, there's actually a festival in Salalah called 'Festival of the Negroes' or مهرجان الزنوج. And it's happening this Friday. I hate the name and feel it's derogatory. Sometimes it happens once a year, other times twice a year. Sometimes years will go by without a festival. In all cases, it only takes place following a royal order from the palace. The festival basically is a gathering of hundreds of former slaves and their descendants in the centre of Salalah to perform traditional dances (influenced by their African heritage). I find the whole thing disturbing because it has 'slavery' written all over it. The dances are beautiful. It's absolutely fascinating to watch. That entire area will be extremely crowded, so if you want to watch, get there early.
. Location: The huge empty parking lot (at the intersection that joins Al Nahdha Street and Al Montazah Road). Keep driving past the Family Bookshop on Al Nahdha in the direction of the ocean, and the huge parking lot is on your left (opposite the Shell petrol station).
. Time: It starts after the afternoon prayers (4 p.m).
. Photography: allowed of course. Oman TV will be filming. If you're taking photos and want to send some to me with your name on the corner of the photos, I'll publish them on the blog. I'd love to see the dances, but it's definitely taboo for a Dhofari girl to go.

Royal Opera House

The new Royal Opera House Muscat program is out (January-March). More details here on Muscat Mutterings, or on the ROHM website. Tickets range from 3 OMR to 55 OMR.

History of Mirbat

I was pleasantly surprised to see an article this morning in Muscat Daily on a forum that will be held on September 26th and 27th in Dhofar titled "Mirbat Throughout History". According to the article (which included several spelling mistakes....)"the programme compliments the national project to identify Omani cities and wilayats and explore their history and their scientific, intellectual and civilisational achievements. During the seminar, working papers on intellectual and scientific life, historic statues, geography, archeological landmarks, heritage and renaissance era will be presented".
Some of the speakers include Dr Abdullah bin Ali al Amri, Dr Ahmed bin Abdulrahman Balkhier, Dr Mohammed bin Said Draiby al Amri, Omar bin Abdullah Mahroos al Saiari and researchers Mohammed bin Mustahail al Shahri and Said bin Khalid al Amri.

Back in the days, Mirbat was commercial marina, and quite famous for Arabian horses. If you drive into Mirbat (an hour's drive east of Salalah), you'll notice two statues of Arabian horses by the side of the road. On the way to Mirbat, just before Mamoura Roundabout (the huge one with fountains and plastic animals), you'll notice the Royal Cavalry to your right. Usually there are about 20-30 beautiful Arabian horses chilling in the sun.

Anyway, Mirbat is a magical place, rich with culture, camping spots, beautiful beaches, white sand dunes, witches, hyenas, music, Jinn, abandoned old houses, and all that good stuff.