The weekend

Many of you may not know that the weekend in Oman falls on a Thursday and Friday as opposed to what most of the western world is used to with Saturday and Sunday.  With the Friday, I can understand that this is the Islamic day of rest and prayer but what about Thursday?? Both me and my husband are still not used to this concept yet and today for example my husband thinks its Monday as do I even though it really is Saturday.  If I am not mistaken currently the weekend in Dubai falls on Friday and Saturday which kind of makes more sense even though not long ago their weekend also fell on a Thursday and Friday too.  Having a time difference of 4 hours between the Sultanate and the UK is already sometimes a pain in the ass when you want to speak to family or have things sorted out but when you call people on a Saturday (thinking its Monday) for example and ask them what they are doing at home when they should clearly be at work can sometimes be embarrassing!! 

There are a lot of expats here who have been here for years who are still not used to this so I am not sure how long it will take us to adjust to this!!  

The problem with weekends in Sohar is that there is not much to do.  This weekend for example, we went and did some grocery shopping and then stayed mostly at home.  You can only go so many times swimming or retail shopping and going to Muscat is a long distance in itself as are other places in Oman.  We don't have many friends yet but that will come with time I suppose.  You need to find a way to entertain yourself in Sohar be it weekends or otherwise or life can become very routine and boring to say the least.  We have a kitten at home and she alone with her charm is enough to keep a nation busy so she was a good purchase otherwise our big house would be so quiet.  

Sohar is great for people who are after a quiet and peaceful life but if you are into big shopping centres, plenty of beach/hotel resorts, tourist type activities and generally a city which has an alive feeling then Sohar is not for you.  But if like us your work commitments mean you need to be here then with time you will adjust and get used to it as with anything that needs getting used to.  

So when we learn that Saturday is not Monday and Sunday is not Tuesday, I will let you know although don't expect any announcements any time soon!! :-)