That time I was flagged to wear an Abaya at the Royal Omani Opera House!

By Nicole Brewer

Greetings Globe-Trotters and Happy Holidays! It has been a lovely, festive season for me here in the Middle East ironically enough. Friends and family back home have been surprised to see so much holiday cheer, but I am very fortunate to live in Oman where they appreciate and respect the various cultures of expats they know live here and foreigners that are trotting in from across the globe.  In addition to having a lovely Christmas celebration with friends and their families living here in Oman, a few of us trotted to Muscat to check out the Broadway on Ice show at the Royal Omani Opera House!

The Opera House in Muscat, Oman is opulent in all of its glory. This is my second time visiting the Opera House and just like the first, I was taken aback by its beauty.  It should be noted that they have a strict dress code as it was designed in His Majesty Sultan Qaboos order and he played a part in every detail of it.  To my dismay, after a wardrobe malfunction of getting a horrid run in my stockings before the event, I opted to go bare leg in my cute little African print dress that I had made in South Africa before my return to the Middle East. I was sure that I had cleared the needed length of it being past my knee but behold while leaning back to take a pic I flashed a bit of knee and was one of several woman sequestered to wear an abaya before entering the stunning venue.

I of course obliged and learned a valuable lesson moving forward, I’ll continue to opt in the future for my more modest, long dresses or stick to pants!?! Nonetheless, I must say once I adorned the fashionable black abaya I actually liked the style. I’ve indeed seen some gorgeous abaya styles here at the college I work for and across my travels throughout the country.

The ice skating performance at the Opera House did not disappoint as well! It was lovely to hear some of my favorite tracks being performed live in beautiful falsetto and operatic tones such as “Summertime” while the skaters put on a marvelous display of skill and acumen on the ice! There are many opportunities to partake in cultural events in the Sultanate of Oman, with big shows being lined up for 2015 for family fun and the like. I highly recommend a visit to the Opera House on your trot to Oman and remember ladies, keep it long and classy ;-). Happy globe-trotting and again enjoy this joyous season!!