I’m still on an “I’m not moving!” high. As others are scrambling to complete paperwork, schedule movers, medically clear people and pets for return to the states, or ask a million and one questions about moving over here, I have nothing to do except cough my way through this next week. And then spring break. Hallelujah!
As people ask questions about moving to Bahrain or moving to Oman, I often give them my blog address and tell them which periods of time to browse in order to get a feel for what things will be like. I realized today I better go back and check those time periods for myself and make sure those posts will actually be helpful to them — that they aren’t just full of my love for Judge Judy and knitting with little to say about transitioning here. So I started with June of 2012 and fell in love all over again. With Oman.
And then I moved into July 2012 and read about our first days here and the disastrous house hunting and oh gosh, the kids were so little and so cute and I fell in love all over again. With my blog. The lesson is always that something is better than nothing and what I think is nothing today will be priceless to me someday.
So with that as inspiration, I give you my Isa Town market post:
Some Facebook friends (that I only sort of know in real life — it’s weird living here because we have a pretty tight knit community on Facebook to help out with things like “how much should I pay someone to clean the interior of my car?” to “Quick, the NEX just got in a shipment of cat litter so grab some while it’s still in stock!” to “I found this stuffed animal in the parking lot, whose baby is missing it?” but we don’t all know each other outside of Facebook. Friends, but not, know what I mean?) Anyway, some “friends” posted that they went to the Isa Town market and found some really fun and unique jewelry, furniture, etc and I posted that next time they go, I’d love to join them (goodbye comfort zone!).
Plans were made and we agreed to all meet outside base and follow each other caravan style. There were 6 cars ahead of me and one behind me — it was quite a trick to make it through all the lights without leaving anyone behind. There may have been a bit of red light running toward the end of the line — but it was that or get lost in the maze of streets in Isa Town.
The market is a flea market/swap meet type of place. Used good, new goods, spices, fruit and vegetables, semi-permanent garage sale type stalls . . . fascinating. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular this time, but I knew that this was the place to go for anything and everything.
One of the girls in our group cuts hair and was looking for a stylist’s chair (the kind that swivels and goes up and down). She actually found one here.
I wasn’t looking for a coat rack, but when I saw these, I caved. I got the dark one in the middle — it’s heavy and taller than I am. $25 was a bargain. It’s perfect for people like me who are too lazy to hang things up properly. I loved the one we had and have been using it since 29 Palms (Thanks Tina!), but it couldn’t handle the excess of sweaters, bags and sports gear that I attempted to hang on it.
As we wandered, I was looking forward to coming back with Josh and the boys and looking through all these treasures. I love the old style teapots.
playing with my filters
Places to have cushions made
all the fabric choices
fresh fruit and berries
It had rained the day before and parts of the road were flooded — trying to get across without getting our feet drenched. I settled for one foot dry, one foot wet (also why I wear flip flops everywhere).
Following the leader
on our way to look at spices and carpets — I’m not kidding when I say you can find everything here. Funny though, some things were great prices (like my coat rack). Other things were greatly overpriced (like a $20 shoe rack that I would have paid $10 at most and a broken glider rocker with no cushion that the guy wanted $75 for).
Look at this funky carpeted chair!
Perfect for napping, right? Upon further inspection, we think it’s a prayer chair for those who aren’t able to do the up down thing for prayer time (the carpeted chair acts as a prayer carpet).
Look at this cinnamon! It’s about the size of my forearm. When I was homeschooling the boys, one of the books we read was called How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World and we learned how cinnamon comes from the bark of a tree. Yep, that’s some serious tree bark. And it smells just like a jar of cinnamon.
After we finished exploring, we went our separate ways to head home. I tagged the market in my GPS so I’ll be able to find it again on my own next time.
I know I’ve picked up the driving habits of some of the locals, but I really did have a reason for driving on the shoulder this time. There was a nasty accident and everyone was at a standstill. The only way to get around it was to drive on the shoulder.
The postscript to this story is sad “carpe diem” reminder. Later that evening, the market went up in flames. The news articles did not have a source for the fire, but 2 years ago the same thing happened due to some faulty wiring. Everything is packed so closely together that once the flames start in one stall, they spread almost instantly — especially when so many of the stalls and walkways are covered with old cloths and rags.
See the coat racks and the salon chairs? This is where we were shopping just a few hours previous. I’m glad I jumped on the opportunity to go when I did and am hoping they are able to reopen before too long. For their sake and mine.
