Sitting on the plane, watching the luggage being loaded below me, it's so reassuring to see your own bag go up the conveyor to the hold. I leave Muscat having thoroughly enjoyed my short visit to this city. Comparing Muscat to Dubai is like comparing Edmonton to Toronto or maybe New York. Smaller, calmer, spread out vs. up, yet still a big city with plenty to see and do. Muscat requires that all buildings be in the traditional style and colours (even McDonalds) and that they be no taller than 8 floors. The tallest structure is the airport control tower.
There is a varied landscape here and they do have a rainy season (especially in the south of Oman) and therefore have a greater variety of naturally occurring plants than in Dubai. There are plenty of rocky hills in and around Muscat and even large mountains in the interior, some peaks are 3000m or more!
I had a lovely hotel suite, away from the city centre but only 300m from the beach with a nice coffee shop across from the water. The intersection that my hotel stood on was like a small town plaza with another coffee shop & other shops on one adjacent corner and a man who makes fresh flatbread to order (including filled flatbreads) on the other. Yummm!
Muscat has many unique buildings: the opera house, clock tower, old city gates, national museum and, in the centre, the interactive children's science centre "are below.
Old Muscat has the Sultan's palace on a concealed harbour, mountains forming 3 sidesby extending out from the land mass and then parallel to it leaving an opening just on one end of the bay, Al Mirani Fort is near the open end of the harbour.
Mutrah Contains the port area, the old suq and also has a fort built into the rocks. The rocky hills separate the many sections of this city and contribute to the reason it is so spread out.
There is a varied landscape here and they do have a rainy season (especially in the south of Oman) and therefore have a greater variety of naturally occurring plants than in Dubai. There are plenty of rocky hills in and around Muscat and even large mountains in the interior, some peaks are 3000m or more!
I had a lovely hotel suite, away from the city centre but only 300m from the beach with a nice coffee shop across from the water. The intersection that my hotel stood on was like a small town plaza with another coffee shop & other shops on one adjacent corner and a man who makes fresh flatbread to order (including filled flatbreads) on the other. Yummm!
Muscat has many unique buildings: the opera house, clock tower, old city gates, national museum and, in the centre, the interactive children's science centre "are below.
Mutrah Contains the port area, the old suq and also has a fort built into the rocks. The rocky hills separate the many sections of this city and contribute to the reason it is so spread out.
I wouldn't mind going there, its beautiful. Can't wait to see more pictures.
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