Monday column: The delightful back streets of Muscat

I thought I should step out from the noise of the city and walked into the back streets where small shopkeepers sit outside on their stools waiting for customers.

There was a complete new life inside there and I started embracing every sight of it. I walked slowly and purposefully trying not to miss anything. There were not only shops, but a food market, an auction site and teashops as well.

It was then I realized that we get disconnected with the real life when we are busy running around in the city. These inner streets have a deeper purpose. No one is in a hurry there. They all know why they are there or looking for.

They are not in a hurry to do anything because they realize time is on their side. You get what you don’t normally get in the city. There was a smell of good food wafting from the small restaurants. Even coffee and tea has a special aroma.

So I decided to stop at an establishment that faced a forked road. It was a teashop. The man, who I mistaken to be a waiter but later learned he was the owner, came over to me with a smile on his face. He had no menu in his hand but told me what he had in his kitchen. I ordered tea and the biscuits baked fresh from his oven. I picked a table that had a good view of the street.

I knew that I needed to take my time there. So I did not rush anything. While I was waiting for my order, I looked at the road and the endless lines of small shops. It was just after ten in the morning and the crowd of shoppers was big enough to keep shop owners busy. Everything was disciplined and no one was in a hurry to get served.

Patience and civility reigned supreme there, unlike in the city shops. So I sat there and took in everything from what I was watching. I was also in no hurry to down my mint tea and those crispy, delightful biscuits. I had company a few minutes later. Two old couples, well in their eighties, shuffled along and helped each other on the three steps up the front of the teashop.

The man nodded at me and I waved back. The woman smiled and I smiled back. It was like a script rehearsal between us of a movie made in the back streets of Muscat.  They were Europeans but I could not make from which country. They were served cakes and that signatory tea of the establishment. Like me, they also find the streets very entertaining. From his mobile phone, the man took some photos of the long street. Obviously, the old couple were on holiday in Oman.

When I had enough of the sight of the shoppers, I got up, paid and started venturing into the adjoining streets, leaving the old couple behind. To my surprise, there was an auction site somewhere there. A crowd gathered around the auctioneer. People started bidding from furniture, kitchen appliances and clothes.

I continued my walk for the next one hour discovering things that I don’t normally see in the busy streets. When I finally left, I realized that Muscat still retains its old charms but well hidden out of sight and we need to take the time to find them.