Visiting Oman (I): Muscat

I start here the chronicle of the last trip to Oman talking about the place where almost all international flights arrive, which is its capital, Muscat. The former Portuguese colony (and for some year, Spanish too) and one of the main ports in the commercial routes in sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, preserves a big part of its essence and historic legacy, and it didn’t allow the heedless urbanization to take place, not as in other cities in Persian Gulf. This makes it a city with charm and many conditions of habitability in spite of the heat and humidity during summer time.

My first two nights in Oman I stayed in an apartment very close to the main monument in Muscat: the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, the most important of the country and the third in the world rank in terms of size. Its construction ended in 2001 and it was a present from the governor of the country, still ruling it after 47 years, to Omani people. The entire complex impresses already before entering, viewing the huge dome and the minarets from faraway. Once inside it is an amazing place, a real architectonic jewel in which you can spend hours admiring every detail.

After removing my shoes, I entered the prayer room where a huge 14 meters in height chandelier (the biggest in the World) hangs in the middle. Another jewel which can be also among the Guiness Records is the Persian carpet covering the floor of the hall, which offers a capacity of 20000 persons. Following towards the end of the room, we can find a beautifully adorned mihrab, the holiest place in the complex, whose decoration is based on geometrical figures and Koranic verses. As an interesting fact about Islam in Oman, here the main branch is not the Sunni or Shia, but Ibadi, which makes that this country keeps a neutral position regarding to the conflicts in other nations in the Arabic World.

Still delighted alter visiting the Grand Mosque, I went to Qrum park, the most visited by the locals and the main green lung of the city. It is a nice place to go for a walk and picnic, although I realized that some parts, like the lake, are a bit abandoned and they need a revision. Before meeting my friend Arturas, I walk down to the beach area where I could enjoy one of the most spectacular sunsets I saw lately. Not bad for the first day.

The second day in Muscat, the one before Christmas, I spend it entirely in Matrah district, where you can find the port, the souk, the Corniche walk near the seaside and other interesting places, such as some forts and museums. It is an area where you can spend easily the whole day, with concrete nice corners where you can sit and simply observe, listen and, in essence, feel everything happening around. About the souk, it is highly recommended and there you can get interesting goods beyond the kummar (the typical Omani hat), always bargaining, of course.

If you continue walking along the coast, further than Corniche area, passing Riyam park, you can reach one part with many governmental buildings, such as the Al Alam palace, used by the Sultan for official ceremonies. Around it there are some ministries, a couple of forts where the entrance is not allowed, and the National Museum.  

Al Alam palace entrance

As I said, I got a very good impression from Muscat and, according my friend, it is a good place to live beyond the touristic attractions. But, what I was actually looking for was the mountains and rural areas, something I would find leaving the capital, in Nizwa and surroundings. I will talk about this area in the next post.