Oman Is All about Camping, Letting to Camp, Clinging, and Cooling

Perch a tent on the sand dunes of Oman and others will come besides you to erect their own tent to accompany you. I just showed hospitality towards them and said in local language – ‘Ahlan wa salan! – meaning Welcome!’ This is something unique that you won’t find anywhere else.

The capital town of Muscat is the entry point of all products, transport, and traveling. The name’s literal meaning is anchorage and that it has been an important port since many years. To explore the country’s clear landscapes, a web of roads and marked trails such as the daring mountain track until the old tombs of Gaylah are quite challenging but worth an effort. That is why I say that after its sandy beaches, mountaineering expedition or simply taking on one of its roads is something not be missed here. However, the main beauty of the country is still to be fully discovered in its sand dunes.

Oman Tourist Attractions

Muscat

It is said that a port like Muscat cannot be seen anywhere else in the whole world along with its business and good things. Just recently, it has become even more popular as a recreation hub at Al-Bustan and Bandar Jissah. The city is a progressing with modern thoughts and high spirit citizens. Here, I visited the following places.

• Al-Bustan Palace Hotel:
  Established in verdant gardens, this hotel has been honored with many awards as the best hotel of the Middle East. The most noteworthy feature is its huge domed entrance, but even if you glimpse at the interior and location; it would be just wonderful. Reopened in 2008, the lavish hotel was constructed for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in 1985.
• Al-Jalali Fort:
  Erected towards east during the Portuguese occupation in the 1580s, the citadel was built to protect the entrance to the port.
• Al-Mirani Fort:
  Located at the west, this fort was built simultaneously with the Al-Jalali Fort. A legend of this fort is that the Portuguese commander fell due to the marriage refusal on the religious basis with the daughter of a Hindu supplier. Being vulnerable to damage, he lived here for a year seeming to prepare for the marriage, but actually was for persuading the commander to rejuvenate the fort.

• Al-Riyam Park:
  This green park provides magnificent views of the port from the huge incense burner and a fun fair. One can reach here by following a corniche at the rear of the Mutrah Fort.
• Bait al-Baranda:
  This is a new museum that preserves history and prehistory of the city in form of creative and interactive showcases. The main exhibit is of the bones of the dinosaur recovered from the Al-Khoud area along with the borrowed bones from international collections on it. The ethnographical collections exhibit the culture of the nation as a whole rather than only Muscat.
• Bayt Az-Zubair:
  Sitting in a wonderful restored house, the museum makes you familiar with the national heritage through photographs, traditional handicrafts, and furniture.
• Children’s Museum:
  This domed mansion offers a myriad of practical and interactive science exhibitions.
• Ghala & Al-Ghubrah:
  Exhibiting contemporary Islamic style, this is also called the Grand mosque that was a gift to Oman from Sultan Qaboos at his 30th anniversary of rule. The mosque holds the largest Persian carpet in the world, which took four years for the 600 women to make it.
• Kalbuh Bay Park:
  Accessible from Mutrah, this park projects into a sea wherein you can come for a walk in the evening for some cool breeze.
• Muscat Gate Museum:
  Located between the corniche and the old walled city, this museum is the home of the original gates utilized until the 1970s for blocking the intruders. Also, simply climb up to the airborne pole on the adjacent hill for a clear view of Mutrah and Muscat.

• Mutrah Souq:
  This alone attracts many people to Mutrah Corniche due to its chaotic traditional Arab market located below contemporary timber roofing. You can find some attractive antique shops full of Indian and Omani artifacts along with the common cloth, hardware, and gold shops. Bargaining can be done, but it won’t be that effective and will end up only with small cut off.
• National Museum:
  Here, you can see jewelry, costumes, dowry chests, mural, and boats depicting seafaring heritage.
• Natural History Museum:
  Located in the Ministry of National Heritage, this small and lovely museum offers lovely flora and fauna along with some geographical and geological exhibits.
• Oman Museum:
  Offering a few artifacts and attractive rooms of Omani architecture, the museum should not be missed for its view of white suburbs and sea. However, its functioning hours are not predictable. To reach here, catch a taxi from Qurm at a cost of OR1 and covering a steep 1.3 km climb.
• PDO Oil & Gas Exhibition:
  From Qurm, drive until the Crowne Plaza Hotel from where take a first right turn along Sayh al-Malih St. It tells you about how Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) led to the fast growth of infrastructure in the country.
• Planetarium:
  Worth a visit, it offers only two English shows per week at 19:00 on Wednesday and 10:00 on Thursday. However, you need to book before a day.
• Qurum Park:
  This is awesome with its pleasant landscapes, ponds, shades, a replica of village that is open during the Muscat festival, and a fun fair with a Ferris wheel.

• Sohar:
  Oh! This not a place I am referring to. In fact, it is a boat placed in a small round outside the Al-Bustan Palace Hotel. The name is derived from the hometown of the popular Omani seafarer, Ahmed bin Majid. The boat resembles the one sailed by Abdullah bin Gasm until Guangzhou in China in the 8th century and that it was made in the dhow yards of Sur using the bark of 75,000 palm trees and four tones of rope without using a nail.
• Sultan’s Armed Forces Museum:
  This is an excellent museum located in Bayt al-Falaj that was constructed in 1845 with a purpose of a royal summer home. However, used as the headquarters of the sultan’s military, its museum offers military hardware, the lower rooms preserving Oman’s history, and the upper rooms holding Oman’s international relations and military ability.
• Sultan’s Palace:
  Located to the right of the harbor wall on Mirani St, it is a beautiful one to visit with the lovely mushroom pillars in blue and gold. Previously, its grounds used to hold the base of a legendary mast. According to the legend, if any slave touched the mast, he would be freed from its slavery.

• Watchtower:
  This is a restored Portuguese tower located on an outcrop of the sea and offers an attractive view of the sea. The staircase starts at the rear of the Al-Inshirah Restaurant. Come here in the late evening for some cool breeze and colorful fountains decoration at night.

Best Time to Visit Oman

November and mid-March, which is also the peak season

Accommodations

• Radisson SAS Hotel Muscat – 4 star Hotel – $247
• Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa – 5 star Hotel – $360
• Mutrah Hotel – 2 star Hotel – $65
• Holiday Inn Muscat-Al Madinah – 4 star Hotel – $145