Justin Bieber, Chris Tucker and some cracking shuwa

Well there’s a couple of really cool things going on and coming up in Muscat.

Firstly the Oman Food Festival is ongoing at Amerat Park as part of Muscat Festival. RO5 per person and the buffet is open from 7pm to 10pm. It features some yummy Omani dishes and some rather impressive shuwa! Takeaway is also available for RO1.5 per person. B and I visited last week and despite being a rather picky eater he loved it and being able to sit outdoors among all the unusual sounds and smells of the festival while eating was a really fun experience. Festival runs until Feb 28.

Secondly – and this is what I am VERY excited about – Chris Tucker (yep that one from Rush Hour… no not Jackie Chan, the OTHER guy!) is coming to Muscat. I need to go get me some tickets as I am sure if they aren’t sold out already they will be soon. Prices are RO25/RO35/RO45 and RO55 depending on how close you want to be to the front I guess. The gig is being held at the City Amphitheatre (next to Mumtaz Mahal in Qurum) on March 4 and starts at 8pm. Tickets available in all the usual spots – Bose Qurum City Centre, HIFM in MGM, MacKenzies Deli and Connexions Muscat City Centre.

Finally – Justin Bieber is coming to town. Now he might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but what a huge act for Muscat to get. I am sure there are going to be screaming teenagers ahoy at the concert which is due to take place on May 6. Yes it is a school night – one night won’t kill you. No news on location of the gig and such yet and tickets are NOT yet available to buy. They are however available for reservation if you visit www.justinbieberoman.com Tickets are priced at RO35 per ticket for regular, RO50 for premium and RO100 for fanpit. Once again no news about what the extra money per ticket gets you – like the Chris Tucker gig I assume you will just be closer to the stage – but stay tuned to HiFM over the next couple of weeks as I am sure they will let you know. Also kids under the age of 12 need to be accompanied by an adult, but I think that goes without saying!

Enjoy J

Opera Galleria, More Café & book sale

Just a little something for the upcoming long weekend.

The Opera Galleria opened yesterday (Monday) and while it looks stunning on the inside – think Royal Opera House but less carvings – I am so bemused by the shop choices. Admittedly most of them (around half I believe) aren’t open yet – anyone else noticing a pattern here when it comes to malls opening hmmm – but those that are aren’t exactly thrilling. I know it is next to the Royal Opera House and has to be smart and blah blah blah, but would it kill for some exciting and dare I say more affordable shops to open up there? Now I am not suggesting one of the budget retailers like Splash, Matalan or H&M open up ANOTHER store, but it would be nice to see something more interesting there other than another WhSmiths, some fancy watch shops and something that appeared to be selling not much other than vases! I think the most interesting shop due to open is the one ran by the Public Authority for Craft Industries, but only if they don’t just stock camels and rugs for the tourists!

Good points – More Café (Facebook link) is inside the Opera Galleria and after a little covert visit yesterday I am pleased to say WOOOO WELCOME TO MUSCAT! I can totally see myself sitting there with a book and a coffee for a couple of hours, grabbing a bite to eat before the opera or talking colleagues into a business lunch visit. Free wifi – SCORE. Cracking cakes – carrot cake swooooon. And they have a book swap area where if you bring a book in you have read, you can swap it for one they have on their shelves for free. Café G used to do something like this, but after starting on a book there recently I wasn’t allowed to take it home and finish it. Even offered to buy the thing, but they wouldn’t let me! So fingers crossed the More Café book area works out better.

Richoux – think afternoon tea – also recently opened, while fine-dining Indian restaurant – cause you can never have enough Indian restaurants apparently – The Indus is “opening soon”.

In other news – The Dar Al’Atta Let’s Read Campaign is holding a used book sale on November 29. Details on the poster below.

Have a nice weekend J

Couple of gigs coming up

I know. I know. I said that I was going to try writing more and actually ended up writing less. Sorry about that. There just hasn’t been anything that has particually excited or interested me over the past couple of months. Thankfully concert season is returning along with the nicer weather so there are a couple of gigs coming up from those cheery chaps and chapesses at HiFm and Alive Entertainment and I will have something to write about again!

First up there is….

Al Murray: The Pub Landlord on his The Only Way is Epic Tour

September 10, 2012 at the Oman Auditorium, Al Bustan Palace

Tickets are priced at RO20 each, but the bad news is that they have all sold out. Oops.

Comedy is followed by…

THE PROCLAIMERS!

 

Now I really shouldn’t be as excited as I am about this, but as an ex-student who spent a good three years of my life drunkenly marching around bars and playing fake trumpets to 500 Miles (click HERE for the YouTube vid - no not of me dancing, just the song!), this feels like it could be a tiny “This was my life” style reminder gig!

The concert is on September 27, 2012, and instead of being like the usual big gigs, it is going to be a smaller set up according to the event Facebook page, and take place in the smaller gardens at the InterContinental Hotel. I assume smaller gardens means the bit to the right of the pools not by the gym where the gigs usually are.

Tickets are priced at RO15 and go on sale on September 11 in all the usual places (HiFm at Muscat Grand Mall, Mackenzies Deli – MQ, Bose Store in Qurum City Centre and OUA Retail outlet MQ.)

AND FINALLY…

If The Proclaimers aren’t your thing, then as JUST announced…..

The Fray are coming to Oman!

 

The gig is on October 10, 2012 so anyone who whined before about gigs on a school night should be ok. No news yet on when tickets will go on sale, but there is a Facebook events page HERE for it already and HiFm always give out details on air. I guess it is likely to be the InterCon Gardens again, but we shall see.

Enjoy J

Ramadan Kareem 2012

Ramadan Kareem to all of you! So everything starts tomorrow (July 21) in Oman and Syria, whereas the rest of the region started fasting today.

Sorry for the severe lack of posts in recent months, I just haven’t been able to get back into blogging. Going to give it my best after Ramadan and try to post a couple of the concoctions I cook up in the kitchen for iftar.

As a reminder for anyone new to Oman, working hours are reduced and eating/drinking/smoking isn't really encouraged in public (this includes your car, I know someone who got a bit of a telling of a couple of years ago for lighting up while driving during Ramadan) although I have never heard of it actually being illegal? Here is a handy little guide I spotted online that might help explain a few things for you.

Here is a link that you can use as a guideline when it comes to prayer times in Oman for the month of Ramadan. Also good for non-Muslims to work out when they can meet up for dinner in the evening! I tried to paste it into this post, but blogger went a little wild at the thought of it!

Hope all have a great Ramadan. I for one am not looking forward to the long days without food and water in this heat, but what doesn’t kill you and all that.

Not really Ramadan related, but I love this song from The Kite Runner (if you haven't seen it or read the book, you need to!) so thought I would share it with you.

Enjoy J

Summer offers in Oman

Well it’s fair to say that Oman is hot as hell right now. For those of us unlucky enough to not be able to escape for the whole summer, most of the hotels offer some good deals where we can lay by the pool and have our every whim catered for at a special “We live here don’t you know?” price. Here is a couple of the summer residents offers that I have spotted as well as some summer sport events taking place. Let me know if you hear of any more.

Shangri-La Barr al Jissah Resort and Spa are offering rates of RO60 in Al Waha, RO75 in Al Bandar and RO125 in Al Husn. Prices include buffet breakfast for two adults and two children under 12, taxes and service charge and is exclusive to Omanis and local residents. The offer runs until July 24. For reservations contact 24776262.

A difficult week

This week has been an interesting one for B and I. I am proud to be British especially after watching the amazing flotilla celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, but upset for B given the state of affairs in Egypt. It is difficult flicking between proud and disgust for how different countries are handling things.

On Saturday 3 June, 2012, Hosni Mubarak was found guilty for cconspiring in the killing of protesters during the 2011 protests and recfieved a life seteance, as was his former interior minister Habib al-Adly. Mubarak’s two sons – Gamal and Alaa were found not guilty of corruption because too much time had past since their crimes for them to be charged. A number of other former ministers were found guilty, but because some of them escaped to countries including Qatar and UK (less proud now) they were sentenced in absentia and their extraditions sort. For full verdict visit this site.

Following the initial guilty verdict the people in Egypt were incredibly excited, I even shouted out in joy when I found out. However this initial joy was short lived when the people discovered Gamal and Alaa were being let go and that Mubarak was likely to be successful in appealing the verdict. People took to the streets and the scenes in Alexandria and Cairo – Tahrir Square in particular – seemed very familiar to those that paid attention to the 2011 protests. What will happen next? Only time will tell. But one thing is certain – there are hard times ahead.

In happier news – and I admit to being a fan of most of the royals (don’t get me started on Prince ‘I like freebies’ Andrew) – the Queen is celebrating 60 years on the throne and in just three more years she will become the longest reigning monarch in British history. Stop whinging people of the UK and enjoy the fact that despite having our own problems, we have a country so many others wish they could be a part of. Here are a couple of my fave pics from the day.

Enjoy

OB

I am a racist…

…well that is if you believe the anonymous who commented on my previous post about Matalan opening in Muscat. I do love the internet’s ability for people like myself to remain anonymous, but commenter’s who say the most outrageous things (who’d of thought a little post about a new store could upset someone so much!) make me rethink that. So here is an open letter to them:

Dear anonymous,

Thank you so much for your comment. As always I welcome comments from anyone who reads my blog because I only really started it for my own amusement so good to know it got you talking.

Firstly, your comment relating to sugar and spice from the Murdoch Empire got me laughing. Do you honestly believe that only journalists from one of Murdoch’s newspapers or shows have ever done something immoral or twisted a story to make it bigger or indeed much more than it actually is? May I suggest reading a book by Nick Davies (a very famous British journalist) called Flat Earth News? It is very interesting and would perhaps give you better complaints to put on people’s blogs.

 

 

Secondly, but still relating to your first comment, here is a story showing that Matalan was planned to open last year and a second story showing they announced it would be opening this March. Sadly this story won't load, but here it is word for word as a press release from the Times of Oman on Feb 27:

Matalan to open its store at Markaz Al Bahja
MUSCAT: Matalan, one of the UK’S leading clothing and home wares retailers, is all set to open its first store in Muscat, the Sultanate of Oman in March. Fashion aficionados in Muscat will have lots to look forward to in the large outlet which will be located at the Markaz Al Bahja Shopping Mall. The first Matalan store in Muscat will have something to offer for the entire family. The product range will feature a comprehensive selection of quality home wares, ladies’, men’s and children’s clothing and footwear - all under one roof. With the latest key looks for the season, from modern basics to classic styles, customers can choose from a range of in-house brands like Be Beau, Et Vous, Soon, Papaya, Falmer Herritage, Rogers & Rogers, 24:7 and Denim 73.

Apologies, but two delayed openings don’t fill most of us (consumers) with much joy.

Thirdly, given your very lovely words relating to Matalan and the mall I can only assume you are either linked through business or pleasure with the board and/or management of one, if not both of these establishments? I notice you did not comment anything when I previously posted about other delayed store openings.

Finally, and I am glad you saved the best until last, I am not a racist or small minded though I do love how people pass the word racist like it is such a small thing. I am not even entirely sure what you are basing your accusation on, but I can only assume you mean relating to the ‘inshallah’ comment so that is what I will comment on. Apologies if you mean I am racist for some other more reason. My husband is Muslim. I am learning about Islam and have read the Quran. No, I am not a Muslim. Is any of this your business? No, but I thought it may interest you.

I like so many others have become used to the way ‘inshallah’ is often used as more of a excuse than a statement of God/Allah being the only one in charge of our lives (God Willing being the best Arabic to English translation I believe, but am happy to be corrected) as it is meant to be used. My use of it in this context was more cultural than disrespectful to Islam.

If I offended anyone then I apologise, as any regular reader of my blog would know that was not my intention. Luckily for you dear anonymous, this blog is not compulsory reading and at any moment you can choose not to read it. Thank you for your comment again.

OB