John Kerry shops in Muttrah Souq

for Christmas Gifts I guess

Taking time out from the negotiations between Iran, the USA and EU, John Kerry took a stroll in Mutrah Souq Oman. Was he doing Christmas shopping?! Or simply doing what most leaders would do – and see/hear/sense for themselves the atmosphere in a town.

John Kerry doing some early Christmas shopping in Mutrah Souq
John Kerry doing some early Christmas shopping in Mutrah Souq

With hands firmly behind his back – I guess the latter. At the start of the negotiations the EUs Baroness Ashton of Upholland (Catherine Ashton to her friends) greeting Oman’s foreign minister Yousef bin Alawi with what, one assumes, she regarded as an innocent greeting. In the Islamic world its generally not done for men and women to ‘kiss’ in public.

The Kiss of Diplomats
The Kiss of Diplomats

However Yousef bin Alawi is a diplomat and dealt with it in a typically diplomatic style.

Author: Tony Walsh

Book author including the current Bradt guide to Oman