Muscat is the capital of Oman; a small nation located to the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula. Though, not as old as the some other cities in Middle East, it has a character of its own and houses some fantastic attraction within its sphere. Stretching some 50 km in a linear direction from East to West, the city houses different districts.
Muscat is primarily a business centre
although the many monuments it houses do
give it a touch of age-old charm. A visit to
the museums, monuments, and markets are
essential to understand the character of the
city. For the adventure seekers there is the
added option to indulge in different water
sport activities such as jet skiing, fishing
charters, dolphin shows, and much more. City
has a good nightlife and a visit to the
nightclubs and discos of the city can be
quite exciting.
Muscat Festival, organised annually in the
months of December and January is one of the
greatest attractions of Muscat. Sports,
music, dance, exhibitions, stage
performances, children's activities,
everything is the part of this grand
festival.
Muscat Attractions
Mutrah Souk
Without doubt, the biggest attraction in Muscat is the old souk that runs through a warren of alleyways off Mutrah Corniche, with cupboard-sized shops selling everything from home-grown frankincense, gold and myrrh to plastic trays and Omani khanja (ceremonial daggers). Old Mutrah Souk is the most popular traditional bizar in Muscat. The market is a small maze of narrow alley ways built by adjoining stalls. Tourists can bargain with with stall clerks over the prices of gold and silver jewellery, antiques and other traditional goods. The market has a less forceful air than others so tourists are free to wander at their leisure. Although the Old Muttrah Souk is popular with tourists, locals shop here as well giving authenticity to the market and mixing ornamental souvenirs in between household products and food.
Mutrah Souk
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
The Mosque is built from 300,000 tonnes of Indian sandstone. The main musalla (prayer hall) is square (external dimensions 74.4 x 74.4 metres) with a central dome rising to a height of fifty metres above the floor. The dome and the main minaret (90 metres) and four flanking minarets (45.5 metres) are the mosque’s chief visual features. The main musalla can hold over 6,500 worshippers, while the women’s musalla can accommodate 750 worshippers. The outer paved ground can hold 8,000 worshippers and there is additional space available in the interior courtyard and the passageways, making a total capacity of up to 20,000 worshippers.
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
Bait al Baranda
Even for those without an interest in Muscat's history the Bait Al Baranda Museum presents an fascinating if long (750 million years) story of the region. The interactive exhibitions take visitors through tectonic plate shifts to recent folk art with an adherence to detail and historical fact. Instead of housing artefacts the Bait Al Baranda's dynamic exhibits often require audience participation. The museum is situated in a remodelled historic building which also periodically features local contemporary art exhibits.
Bait al Baranda
Al Jalali and Al Mirani Forts
The Al Jalali and Al Mirani Forts were built in the Portuguese colonial rule of Oman during the 16th century and now are beautiful windows into that era. They are situated on either side of a palace giving a fotified appearence to Muscat harbour. The forts are examples of traditional architecture; Al Jalali continues with traditional doors, rugs and pottery. Both Al Jalali and Al Mirani have ancient war memorabilia such as armour and weapons on display. Their strategic position on a mountain overlooking the harbour gives visiting tourists commanding views of the city and Arabian Sea below. Opening times can be fickle but many undeterred tourists enjoy the scenery from outside their
Al Jalali and Al Mirani Forts
Qasr Al Alam Royal Palace
Qasr Al Alam Royal Palace is the working office for Sultan Qaboos. Built in 1972 it is flanked on each side by the ancient Al Jalali and Al Mirani Forts making an impressive and well fortified greeting to ships entering the harbour. Tourists are not allowed inside the classic style building for obvious security reasons but it remains a popular area to walk next to and photograph.
Nizwa is one of the
oldest cities in
Oman and it was once
a center of trade,
religion, education
and art. Its Jama
(grand mosque) was
formerly a center
for Islamic
learning. Nizwa
acquired its
importance because
it has been an
important meeting
point at the base of
the Western Hajar
Mountains. Set amid
a verdant spread of
date palms, it is
strategically
located at the
crossroads of routes
linking the interior
with Muscat and the
lower reaches of
Dhofar thus serving
as the link for a
large part of the
country. Today,
Nizwa is a diverse
prosperous place
with numerous
agricultural,
historical and
recreational
aspects. Nizwa is a
center for date
growing and is the
market place for the
area.
The green mountains and beautiful coast can only do so much. Nature did its part. Isn’t time that we did something too? Governments job is to provide the infrastructure the city needs. It’s the private sectors and investors turn. Restaurants, malls, parks, worldwide standard hotels ( 10 year old apartment building don’t count for tourist accommodation nor does renting ur house during the season!).
CLEVELAND TRAVEL LIMITED, FL 3, NEW PREMIER HOUSE, 150 SOUTHAMPTON ROW, LONDON WC1B 5AL The domain name; Oman Holidays
.Org is owned by Shailesh Adalja
T/As SME Business Support,
Unit 3, 29 Middleton Road,
Manchester M8 5DT, UK and leased to Cleaveland Travel.
v04.03.2010 SL
RUW16.45PM
