Sultanate of Oman - Day 1

Joining Tom's "signs" meme.

Friday 3rd January -  Karina had suggested we could visit of the neighbouring countries if we wished, as we were only returning home on the 10th of January.    We decided to fly to Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman,  just 1 hour flight from Doha. 

Having learned about the Portuguese occupation of Oman in the 16th and 17th century, I was keen to visit the country.

(From Wikipedia: The Portuguese arrived in Oman and occupied Muscat for a 143-year period, from 1507 to 1650. In need of an outpost to protect their sea lanes, the Portuguese built up and fortified the city. Remnants of Portuguese architectural style still exist. Later, several more Omani cities were colonized in the early 16th century by the Portuguese, to control the entrances of the Persian Gulf and trade in the region as part of a web of fortresses in the region, from Basra to Hormuz Island)

After a quick self check-in on the machines, at Hamad International Airport, Karina, Jose and I proceeded to the luggage and passport control for our 11am departure. 

On the way down the escalators to the airport's main foyer I spotted the famous "Lamp Bear" by Swiss artist Urs Fischer. 

The 20 tonne bronze bear is 7 mt (23ft) tall and sits under a lamp. Apparently it was bought at a New York auction in 2011 for $6.8 million (QR 25 million), the price having set a new world record for the artist's sculptures.

    

                             

I always tend to request a window seat as I love taking photos at take-off and landing. This time when we flew over Pearl Island I took a photo of the Isola Dana area, which comprises of 9 private independent islands, accessible through a private causeway, with each island boasting a private beach and yacht harbour.

The pearl island

 And just before landing some photos of the city of Muscat.

At the Muscat airport (MCT is the airport code)

Ladies toilet (pretty but could look better with eyes)

We caught a taxi to our Hotel and were surprised at the modern multiple lane highway into the city.

Our 3*** hotel - Muscat Plaza Hotel - was just on the outskirts of the city, just 15 minutes from the airport.

Although some reviews had described the rooms as luxurious, they were actually old-fashioned, but everything was clean. The hotel offered a buffet breakfast for 3 Omani rial (12 Aud) which was reasonable.

Street view from the front of the hotel

The main entrance to the hotel

Both our rooms faced the back of the building with the windows facing a wall of another building

After settling in, we took a ride-share to the central beach area to have lunch at Nana's Restaurant, in front of Shati Al Qurum beach. We sat in the covered outdoor area and had a wonderful lunch and great service. The waiter asked what language we were speaking and when we said "Portuguese" he quickly replied "Cristiano Ronaldo". Of course the famous Portuguese footballer who now plays for Saudi Arabia is well known in the Gulf countries too. 

We went back twice to the same restaurant and the same waiter always welcome us with "Welcome Cristiano" 😃.

Nana's Restaurant across from the grassed area and beach

Qoozi - slow cooked lamb, and rice with roasted nuts and raisins, and chicken shawarma (without the wrap) with fries and salad. Fresh juices were always great.    I drank lemon-mint juice, which was quite refreshing.

After lunch we walked along the beach promenade.

A butterfly selfie mural - Karina and I

This guy was doing some sort of live podcast at the back of his Polaris, but Jose didn't notice and stopped to chat to him about the car. He was kind enough to answer a few questions and then just continued speaking to his camera.

The sun was setting and we continued walking... and night had already fallen when  we reached the Crowne Plaza Hotel, where we stopped for a drink. (Just like in Qatar, alcohol can only be served in hotels or hotel restaurants).

Crowne Plaza (white building)

In the hotel hall they had Christmas decorations. obviously in honour of their foreign guests.

Crowne Plaza bar

We sat outside on the hotel patio overlooking the pools and tennis court, with a view to the city across the bay. 

We didn't stay long, the weather had cooled quite a bit and we didn't have warm clothes with us. Karina called a ride-share car (Otaxi), and we were surprised when  a fancy Mercedes showed up. We realized on another occasion that only premium cars can pick up guests at top hotels. They cost 4 times the normal price though...

Uber does not operate in Oman, they just have Otaxi's and Marhaba taxis. We used Otaxi and they were quite cheap and only operated by Omani's (foreigners cannot drive taxis in Oman, unlike in Qatar where Ubers are probably 100% driven by foreign workers).  

We found the Omanis to be very gentle, friendly and welcoming people, eager to learn, curious about other cultures... Most of the ones we had contact with spoke reasonable English. The ones that didn't would do google translate on their phones.

The only gripe with the taxi drivers is that they were always on their phones - talking, texting, some would even show us their family photos (yes, that happened too). Luckily speed wasn't a problem, but hardly makes for a safe ride!

FOR DAY 2 READ HERE: https://sami-colourfulworld.blogspot.com/2025/04/sultanate-of-oman-day-2.html