Superb traditional Omani welcome, with a cup of strong mint tea. 

On the flight over, Wade Davis gave a great talk about the value of culture to the planet and to civilization.  As he put it,

“Ethnosphere – importance of the diversity on the planet. There have been 2500 human generations starting 65000 years ago.  Each culture is a unique answer to the question “What does it mean to be human?”.  Culture is not trivial; it is a body of moral and ethical values.  It makes sense out of sensation and is the glue that allows civilization to occur.”