So… you've thought about traveling to the Middle East. Is that really a good idea?

The idea of traveling to the Middle East invariably creates among Westerners at least a little initial trepidation.

After all, those media images of Middle East militants are so pervasive that it becomes difficult to completely to erase from one's mind.

So… is it a good idea to travel to the Middle East?… to the Arabian Peninsula?… to Oman?

I'm glad you asked.

Let me answer the question this way…my wife and I liked it so much after our first visit that we leased an apartment and stayed for eight months! (We were smart enough to arrive in October and depart in May. No person with a choice wants to be in Oman during the summer-it is intolerably hot.)

If the Arab world is known for hospitality… then Omanis are known to surpass the rest of the Arab world in that category.

A personal example: shortly after we arrived, we began exploring the country for interesting destinations for tour groups. (An aside here: I don't believe any small country in the world provides as many different kinds of natural attractions-oceans, mountains, caves, deserts, wildlife-as does Oman.)

My wife and I and another American couple drove down the coast to investigate the Bimmah Sinkhole (it's on our itinerary for the February tour). The jagged Eastern Hajar mountains rose up on our right and the Gulf of Oman lay on our left as we checked our guidebook for that side road.

We couldn't find it.

I flagged down a water truck for directions. In what we were to discover was not atypical Omani hospitality… rather than give us instructions…the driver insisted on leading us to the site. Soon after we arrived, an Omani family showed up and although we had very little Arabic and they had very little English, we soon understood they were inviting us to their home. We accepted.

A few minutes later we were sharing coffee, dates, oranges and melons in the second-story room of a small house, the breeze coming off the ocean which was less than 50 yards away. (The coffee was bad. The fruit was good.) After our snack, the head of the family asked if we would like to take a ride in his fishing boat. We loaded up along with several of his family and went out on the sea to view the dolphins.

(If I told you how many dolphins we saw, you wouldn't believe me and then you wouldn't believe anything else I said-so don't ask.)

When we came back from the boat excursion, the lady of the house had lunch ready for us! We tried to refuse, but to no avail… we had fresh fish, vegetables and rice sitting on the floor looking out the window at the ocean. After lunch, the family insisted we take a nap! This time we really refused. As we drove away, all four of us were shaking our heads at what had happened during the last 4 hours. (I have used this illustration several times to chide my fellow Southerners who claim to be hospitable… how many of them, I ask, invite total strangers-foreigners!-home for lunch and a nap?!)

I could offer other examples of Omani hospitality, but this one will suffice.

Donald King
Ambassador at Large
International Institute for Peace through Tourism