Visiting Maryam in el Yahmady

Last Friday, we visited Maryam in her village, el Yahmady, near Ibra. We met her in Nizwa, one on of the first weekends here - she came up to Julia and I and just started chatting. When she invited us to her village, we realized that this might be the only opportunity we had to visit an Omani home (and access to Omani women!) so we rented a car and planned our visit. Maryam's sister hosted us (second from left, with baby) for a snack: fresh juice, cake, and fruits before we headed out to visit their plot of garden in the oasis, watered by the falaj. Maryam is the far right, in the blue veil. I was so happy to be around Omani women, and have the opportunity to speak with them in Arabic. They were very curious about us and our lives, about the cities we lived in, what we were doing in Oman. It was really lovely. We sat in their majlis, a room off the main entrance and to the side so that women can enter and exit without being seen by the rest of the household, and ate fruit and drank juice.

Hurra, the littlest girl, came with us to the falaj: she's absolutely precious. I loved her red satin outfit.

The al Yahmady women's outfits were so brightly colored and patterned - they were so beautiful! Especially after weeks of nothing but black abayas and hijabs.

Hurra is standing on the date oven - after the farmers harvest the dates, they cook them on this big stove. The fire goes underneath (follow the smoke marks) and above, there's a large cauldron where the dates go. They are cooked halfway, and then transported away for further cooking.

It was far too hot to stay out in the gardens for long, so we returned to Maryam's father's house. Again we entered the women's room from a private entrance. It had its own bathroom and sinks, and a separate entrance into the courtyard and the main house. We had lunch: something none of us had expected, since we were already full from the snack earlier. After a heavy lunch of rice, beef, and chicken, the girls applied henna to us.

As the sun sent down, we headed to an abandoned village nearby to see the old style of Omani houses. They were beautiful, and nestled among still-inhabited homes. The new homes recycle bits of the old ones, an ever-growing and evolving dwelling.

After dark, we headed back to Muscat and returned the rental car. I was very grateful to have spent a day with Omani women. It seems such a simple thing - but it was nice to be included and to be treated as honored guests - a heartwarming welcome after several weeks of awkwardly inhabiting the liminal space of Western woman in Muscat. It seems hard to believe that the program is coming to a close already, and I am thankful to go out on a high note.