AIDA Transfer Cruise 2017 · Page 3

On day four we reached Muscat, Oman. Here too we had chosen an AIDA excursion: a short city tour with a visit to the souk (MUS11). In the morning the bus set off right by the ship. Our guide spoke very good German and told us a lot about his country. With 1.2 million inhabitants, Muscat is the largest city and also the capital. In total there are 4.2 million inhabitants, about 40% of them foreigners. The speed limit in towns is 80 km/h, but there are also lots of speed cameras, which we saw on the way to our first stop. After about 20 minutes by bus we reached the largest mosque in the country.

The mosque was built from 1995 to 2001 and was a gift from the Sultan to his people. The construction costs are unknown, as the Sultan never revealed them. The Sultan is very popular and has been in power since 1970. He deposed his father (who was not very popular) in 1970 and has done a lot for his country since then. In 1970 there were only about 6 kilometres of tarmac roads; today there are several hundred kilometres. There was no refuse collection, for example, so the Sultan bought old decommissioned rubbish trucks from Germany and introduced refuse collection that way. Women also have equal rights in many respects. There is almost no poverty in the country. At the age of 23, every male inhabitant is given a plot of at least 600 square metres on which he can build. A man may marry up to 4 wives, but that hardly ever happens any more. The law then requires each wife to have her own house. A dowry in the cities is around 5,000 OMR (1,250 euros). One third goes to the bride's parents, one third to the bride and the rest is for the wedding. In the desert regions among the Bedouins, the price is around 20,000 OMR. Divorce is very easy in this country: the man only has to say the word "divorce" three times in a row and the marriage is dissolved – a woman doesn't have this option. After the great mosque we stopped at another small mosque for a photo stop.