When I recently walked into one of the local restaurant’s, I was immediately surprised by their choice of wall art. Kisses?! (Hence the title “Public Kisses Photographed“! 😉 ) (2 points to anyone who can guess the restaurant! 🙂 ) One question came to mind as I saw this: “I wonder if they take this down during Ramadan?”
I’m sure even the most ignorant person out there would realize that PDA’s (Public Displays of Affection) are not encouraged in Arabian Gulf countries. Once in a blue moon I spot an Omani couple holding hands in the mall but I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a public kiss. This video here is the closest I’ve seen to a public kiss when students were demonstrating one method of greeting by males in Oman:
Speaking of kisses, here are some “educational videos” from MTV Arabia on “Kissing in the Middle East”:
Emirate Nose Kiss
“The Big-No-No Saudi Arabian Kiss”
Andy in Oman 
I couldn’t stop laughing watching the last video. Andy, you would be surprised but the same thing was happening few years back in Oman
Marc,
I’ve heard stories from people who lived here way way back about how cops would pull cars over if they noticed a man and woman together and would ask to see their marriage certificate. Unverified “I heard” type of stories I must say. I’ve yet to meet anyone who can say that it happened to THEM though! 😉
Males and females in Oman generally do not kiss in public, even if it was his mother, daughter or any close one. I don’t see why some might be sarcastic about it, we are a conservative society that does not encourage showing much affection between males and females in public.
Mehdi,
Who exactly is “being sarcastic about it”? The fact that Oman is a conservative society is what made the wall art in a family restaurant seem bizarre and definitely out of place. That was the point. Thanks for stopping in and commenting. Rest assured that any sarcastic and demeaning comments are filtered out through comment moderation.
Mehdi,
I believe Andy didn’t mean to be sarcastic writing about the post above.For us, the people growing up in the different cultures, is sometimes at least surprising how Omani people behave in certain situations. I don’t mean that in a bad way, it’s just different.
Roman,
Exactly. I’m enjoying your blog, by the way, and have added you to my blogroll. Keep up the nice content! 🙂