Oman
Ibra
Wednesday's souq belongs entirely to Ibra's women, one of the region's last such markets.
Tall mud-brick mansions recall the fortunes carried home to Ibra from Zanzibar, carved doors still hanging in their frames. On Wednesday mornings the souq belongs to the town's women, and the trading starts at six.
Ibra grew rich on the Zanzibar trade, and the mansions of Al Mansfah, tall, carved and slowly softening back into mud brick, are that wealth still standing. On Wednesday mornings the souq adds the thing Ibra is known for: a market run entirely by women, from six until one, selling textiles, halwa, perfumes and dates, one of the region's last such markets. Silver has long been the town's signature craft. Most travellers pass through en route to the sands, and the ones who stop on a Wednesday get the better story.
Solo
Time the sands run for a Wednesday morning and give the women's souq two hours; it is the most distinctive market stop on the route.
Couple
Al Mansfah's mansions then the souq make an unhurried morning before the desert crossing.
- Ibra's Wednesday souq is run entirely by women, one of the region's last such markets.
- Silver is the town's signature trade, and its jewellery is considered among Oman's finest.
- Al Mansfah's mansions were built on Zanzibar fortunes, and their carved doorways still say so.
- The town sits on the road to the Sharqiyah Sands, which is exactly how most travellers meet it.
Home-made halwa and dates from the Wednesday souq's tables.
Omani bread baked fresh in the souq lanes, eaten walking.
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