"The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order."
Eating breakfast, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper before heading to work. (August 2009)
The difference between Dubai and Muscat is ambition. Yet so much has changed since my last visit in June 2008, that there are parts of Muscat which are barely recognisable. There are a lot of new roads, and changes to existing ones. Most, if not all the flyover roundabouts have been replaced with traffic signal intersections. Two new freeways are under construction. A second CityCentre (the Dubai-based shopping mall) has opened in Qurum. A new Royal Opera House, the Sultan's pet project, is under construction next to the Intercon. A huge new building is coming up by LuLu Shopping Centre in Baushar. My school of twelve years has a new High School block and a new Multi Purpose Hall that is connected to the Sports Hall. Inside the Multi Purpose Hall is a collection of photos displaying the school's early history. My parents put it together. And then there's the two big buildings coming up outside the school. Congestion alert!
But unlike Dubai, there are no skyscrapers because strict Omani planning laws only permit buildings of modest height. Not so long ago, these laws were relaxed ever so slightly, and in the midst of the construction boom, several landlords/developers exploited the situation. Except the global economy went tits up and construction came to a halt. Several buildings remain embarrassingly bald at the top.
I'm not sure how I feel about the changes. Part of the charm about coming back was to reconnect with a place that seemed to take pride in ignoring Dubai's lightning growth. Almost nothing ever changed and it was easy to feel at ease and at home. Not anymore...