Muscat has the atmosphere both of a capital and a tourist destination. Its luxury hotels like the Al Bustan Palace InterContinental and Grand Hyatt are dotted beside sandy beaches, over several miles along the Gulf of Oman.
Spread Between the Sea and Mountains
The city is spread out between the sea and a line of jagged mountain ridges. Though its streets are perfectly safe for strolling on foot and the local people are very welcoming, it is best explored by taxi because of the distances involved.
Temperatures average 30C in winter months and go up to 50 in summer.
Bail Al Baranda Museum
Among Muscat’s museums, the best place to catch up on Oman’s long history is the Bail Al Baranda museum in the old Mutrah area, which is housed in a fine 19th-century mansion, on the sea front near the port (open Saturday to Thursday, closed 1pm to 4pm). Each room is presented in a different way and devoted to a different period of the country’s 5000-year history.
As well as displaying artifacts and models, the museum uses video and photographs, all imaginatively set out. Particularly vivid are the slowly-moving images in a darkened room, which show how the region developed geologically over thousands of years. They are accompanied by early archaeological exhibits.
Converted to Ibadi Islam
A video tells how Oman was converted to Ibadi Islam in 640 AD, how Portuguese traders arrived in the early 16th century and how the country has been transformed, since the present Sultan, Qaboos Bin Said took over from his backward-looking father in 1970.
An exhibition of photographs of the city before and after 1970 clearly illustrates just how much Oman, and Muscat in particular, have changed since then.
Bait Al Zubair Museum
Another nicely restored old house has become the Bait Al Zubair museum, situated in the Al Qurm district, which is to the south of the port. Its exhibits, all with excellent explanations in English, illustrate different aspects of Omani life.
Separate sections display traditional men’s and women’s clothing and jewellery, swords and firearms, household objects and the kitchen utensils, which are typically found in Omani homes. These include items like frankincense burners and rosewater sprinklers .
Mutrah Souk
Nearby Muscat’s famous Mutrah souk is a maze of alleyways, along which a succession of small open-fronted shops crowd beside each other. They sell everyday household items and spices, as well as silver, jewellery and pashminas.
Outside, the waterfront curves round a headland to a fish market. The best time to go there is early - around 6.30am - when the fishermen unload their small boats with catches of prawns, kingfish, octopus and much more. For centuries Muscat’s port has been a hive of activity, being on the main trading route between Africa and Asia.
The Sultan’s main palace, Al Alam, is situated nearby between the Jalali and Mirani forts which were built on headlands by the Portuguese. The palace cannot be visited but its magnificent exterior decorated in gold and turquoise can be seen from the ornate railings.
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, which he had built as a gift to his people in 2001 with no expense spared, can be visited, daily between 8.30 and 11am except Fridays.
Surrounded by formal gardens, it is a gleaming while marble edifice with several minarets (the highest is nearly 100 metres) and a huge dome. Inside, the enormous prayer hall is covered with a fabulous hand-made carpet and contains over 30 chandeliers; the largest, 8 metres wide and 14 high, is a glittering mass of 6000 Swarovski crystals.
So altogether, there are plenty of varied and interesting things for visitors to see and do in Oman's capital.
Gillian Thomas - Having left the BBC's Paris news office to return to England and get married over 20 years ago, I have freelanced as a journalist ever ...
