G’day all. Well, I’ve taken you through the strangeness I encountered and the ‘misfortune’ too in Muscat, and the incredible snorkelling trip to the Daymaniyat Islands as well, so today is the sight-seeing report from the capital of Oman. Keep in mind that it’s a long, spread out city amongst some amazing rocks and mountains, connected mostly by one or two big highways with four plus lanes each way.

It’s a tricky city to explore because of it’s nature I guess. The Grand Mosque is towards the airport, the Mutrah Corniche is a longish Uber drive from there, but then the National Museum and Sultan’s Palace are again further away. The bus system does speed up and down the freeway/highway, there are a number of buses here and do connect the Corniche to the Sultan’s Palace, however they are at best every 20-30 minutes, often much less often and if they have all their seats full they won’t stop to pick you up. Getting to the stops can be a challenge too depending on where you are. If you have the money to burn for Uber or taxi that is the best way go I guess. You could certainly hire a car, but I’m not 100% sure on the parking and hiring a car comes with its own list of potential issues. Anyways, let’s dive into Muscat’s sights!

Mutrah Corniche

The Mutrah Corniche in Muscat is absolutely gorgeous! With mountains and the fort in the background, boats and a little harbour next to piers and a fish market, it really is a picture postcard perfect for the photographer. There are a few places along the corniche to eat (with WiFi too which is great because roaming charges can be pretty steep in Oman).

The Corniche extends quite a way away and if you follow the road towards the Sultan’s Palace, a few kilometres away, it’s a really stunning walk with statues and monuments and a fountain as well. Back at central Corniche, not far from where the bus drops you off, there is a fish market which is worth checking out. Was it open the day I was there? Of course not! Actually I think it only opens in the morning until maybe 10 or 11am.

Mutrah Fort

The Mutrah Fort dates back to the early 16^th century and was modified by the Portuguese during their occupation later that century. It sits atop a cliff/hill with superb views of the water and the Corniche. It’s a fair steep walk up to the top and there’s a café and people aplenty taking selfies. I deliberately went up at the end of the day for the light. And yes, this is where the tumble happened and my camera took damage as did my arm (see last Sunday’s Post). Definitely a worthwhile place to visit. Little café there too just be very careful walking down those steps!

Mutrah Souk

There is a wonderful souk to explore on the Corniche, the Mutrah Souk is one you enter without really knowing where and how you can get out. Yes, it’s mostly full of those souvenir type things to buy and a bit of food here and there including a few doners spinning around, and it is attached to the Gold Souk – not a souk made of gold sadly, but a souk that sells a lot of gold and jewellery and so if you’re looking for something a bit fancy to buy, well this might be the souk for you!

Sultan’s Palace

The Sultan’s Palace is a little further along past the Corniche and is also known as Al Alam Palace. A palace of sorts has been there for at least 200 years, but the current palace which is full of bright colours and quite photogenic and dates back 1972. Today you can walk up to it for photos, and it’s in area with a beautiful outdoor area with marble between the palace and the Museum.

There are a number of mosques in the area, as well as the Ministry of Finance and other government buildings and on the cliff tops surrounding the palace you can see a couple of forts you can, if you are keen, climb to when they are open. It’s a bit of a modern design although it certainly feels middle eastern too and is kinda funky!

National Museum of Oman

The National Museum of Oman is opposite the Sultan’s Palace and a few hundred metres away. When I was in this part of town it was super quiet, almost eerie and I wasn’t sure if the museum was open. (FYI it does shut in the middle of the day over lunchtime)

It’s a very impressive museum, a modern and new building, huge, there are some interesting things to see detailing a bit of the history of Oman and the Royal Family too (yes, Oman is a monarchy folks!). You’ll even see a full sized boat in there. As regular readers may know, I’m not a huge fan of museums but this is one worth a look in Muscat, if not just for the building which is my favourite part of any museum – the building that the museum is housed in.

Grand Mosque

The Grand Mosque of Sultan Qaboos was for me, the highlight of Muscat. This massive mosque, on the highway/freeway to the airport is just awe-inspiring structure. It was completed in 2001 and named after the Sultan Qaboos (obviously) and has a total capacity of 20,000 which actually when I was looking it up surprised me – I thought it would be more.

There’s a ladies’ prayer hall, other buildings, minarets, a garden, and of course the main prayer hall which is magnificent. It’s all made out of stone and it’s jaw-dropping. Do not miss it if in Muscat!

Avenues Mall & Mall of Oman

Muscat, like Dubai, has a number of you beaut shopping malls that are massive and full of designer shops and the like. The one I went to was the Avenues Mall which has cinemas and a massive food court with so many choices, not to mention a large amusement centre including a roller coaster.

The Mall of Oman is even bigger. It has a snow park like ‘Ski Dubai’ in Dubai, an indoor snow park which looks like a lot of fun too. They call it ‘Snow Oman’, although I thought ‘Sn-Oman’ would have been better. They’re well air conditioned so great places to escape the heat too!

And thusly my little recountation (yes I am inventing words now) of Muscat comes to an end! I think it’s a very interesting place to visit. It’s beautiful in a beautiful setting, it’s not crowded like Dubai but it has all the mod-cons and history to boot. The only issue is transport could be better! An over-ground Metro line would actually be a great addition!

Thanks for joining me today! Take care wherever you are in the world you are, and May the Journey Never End!