Muscat, Oman

Muscat is the largest city in Oman but the bustle of the modern capital city is forgotten with rug merchants, cannon protected forts and an ornate sultan's palace over the historic city harbour. The once important maritime city underwent a resurgence to prominence in the 1970's when the Sultan Qaboos bin Said began to develop museums, mosques, palaces, and restore relics of Muscat's history. Although Muscat is a popular destination for sightseeing tourists, many of the attractions are primarily regular fixtures of Omani life. The mosques are important religious sites, the ancient forts are still operated by the military and the palace is the seat of Oman's government. While this gives visitors an authentic experience, tourists can find playing second fiddle inconvenient. The beauty of the city, especially near the harbour, is what makes Muscat so alluring. The smooth curved stone architecture is a transition from the rocky landscape to the inviting water of the harbour. Many new buildings have continued with classic Arabic architecture further pulling the city's history into the modern world.

Attractions

The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is a new yet architecturally classic building completed in 2001 after six years of construction making it the third largest mosque in the world. Equally impressive is the hand made Persian carpet on the prayer floor, also one of the largest in the world, weighing over 21 tons. This is a religious site rather than a tourist destination so visitors need to be respectful of some rules although English speaking guides are available to help navigate the visit. Women must be fully covered to walk in. Muslims can visit any time of the day but tourists of other faiths, while very welcomed, should only come during visiting hours.

Old Mutrah Souk is the most popular traditional bazaar in Muscat. The market is a small maze of narrow alleyways built by adjoining stalls. Tourists can bargain 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 without overy pressure from touts. 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.

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.

The Al Jalali and Al Mirani Forts were built during 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 walls.

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.

An attraction that offers visitors a wonderful taste of local produce is a trip to the Muttrah fish market. Here there is a vast selection of ocean-fresh fish, squid and crab to choose from. Visit the neighbouring vegetable market for any other fresh produce required to put together a delicious feast!