Muscat, Oman

November 20, 2011

Driving from the pier in Muscat we drove by the giant incense burner in the world.  We then drove along the Batinah Coast which is very pretty.  We arrived at our first stop Nakhal Fort, perched on a 200-foot high hilltop with spectacular views.  We saw the ladies’ sitting room, the prison, the split level terraces, and courtyards.  We then visited the Nakhal Springs, a tranquil and picturesque area framed by majestic mountains.  On the way to our lunch at the Grand Hyatt, we drove through Nakhal Village.  After lunch we drove by the Al Zawawi Mosque, unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to go inside, but the outside looks amazing. 

We then headed to the exquisite Al Alam Palace which overlooks Muscat Bay. We didn’t see the inside of the Palace but the grounds were awesome.

One interesting thing our tour guide told us about was that you get a fine if your car isn’t clean.

The second to last stop on today’s tour was Bait Al Zubair, a private museum that has collections of Omani items such as weaponry, jewelry, clothing, books, photographs, paintings and old maps.  We spent some time speaking to the owner of the museum who was very nice.

The last stop on our tour was a shopping stop at the colorful Muttrah Souq.  We purchased frankincense, incense, and an Omani dagger.  

Follow us on our journey the next and last stop on this trip is Dubai, UAE for two days.

Port of Muscat
Homes along the Batinah Coast
The prince of Oman’s yacht
Nakhal Fort
Giant incense burner structure in Muscat Oman
Closer picture of the giant incense burner structure in Muscat Oman
Al Alam Palace
Al Alam Palace
Al Alam Palace Tree
Mosque of the Great Prophet blue dome
Mosque of the Great Prophet blue minaret with Quranic scriptures
Bait Al Zubair Museum front door
Al Zawawi Mosque
Gold front door of the Al Zawawi Mosque
Omani Dagger we purchased

Salalah, Oman – Mughsail Beach & Job’s Tomb

November 18, 2011

Today we had a short tour of Salalah. We drove to the Garden City, Mughsail Beach, Job’s Tomb and Al Husn Souq.  Mughsail Beach was very pretty the water looked amazing it’s two miles of unspoiled white sand beaches, high cliffs which are picturesque.  We were lucky enough to be there at high tide and saw the spectacular “Blow Hole.”

Maria & John at Mughsail Beach

Blow Hole
John, Jonathan & Adrian

After being there for about a half hour, we then proceeded to Job’s Tomb where according to legend, the remains of the Muslim and Old Testament Prophet Job can be found. Job’s Tomb is a sacred place of pilgrimage for Muslims, Christians, and Jews. Due to the fact that we were entering mosques on this tour, I had to have my shoulders and my head covered to enter.

Maria in OmanJob’s Tomb

The last stop on the itinerary for the day was Al Husn Souq where we had a chance to walk around and shop which is one of my favorite things to do.  The colorful stalls are filled with frankincense, incense, bottles of fragrant perfume oils, pashminas and many other things.

Follow us on our journey the next stop is Muscat, Oman.

Arabic Shoes in Al Husn Souq