Sultanate of Oman - day 4 & 5 - Al-Mouj and Bandar Al Rowdha Marina & Signs

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Monday 6th January 

Karina had thought of hiring a car and we could drive to the Omani desert for the day. Unfortunately Jose still wasn't feeling his best since the day before, so while Karina and I spent the morning relaxing by the pool, Jose stayed in bed resting.

At lunch time, Karina and I went to lunch to our favourite place- Nanna's restaurant, then back to the hotel.

                    "Massages Head and Foots"  - a sign seen near the hotel

AL-MOUJ

In the late afternoon, with Jose feeling better, we caught another taxi who took us to Al Mouj, a fancy newish suburb near the international airport.  

The waterfront suburb, emcompasses residential, hotels, commercial and leisure, with an 18 hole golf course, a 400 berth marina and the beach. Foreign property owners can obtain residency visas when they purchase here.

The sun was setting on the way to Al Mouj

Karina and I in front of the Al Mouj sign

Wide promenades, lots of eateries and high-end boutiques, but not many people around.

Apartments and boutiques

A for Al Mouj

The marina with 400 berths

We walked around the area, all the way until the last building surrounding the marina. Lots of people walking, running, young families with kids, kids skating or cycling....it all look so relaxing and safe and a wonderful area for kids.

This sculpture in the kids park

The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque at night

Oman Avenues Mall 

Jose was feeling better and hungry, but felt like Nandos chicken and we couldn't find one in the area, so we called a taxi and went to Oman Avenues Mall (which was a 30min walk or a 6 min drive from our hotel). It's one of Oman's largest malls, inaugurated in 2015.

Christmas decorations were still up in the shopping centre

The menu was totally different from the Australian menu. Karina went for the beef skewers and Jose and I went for the chicken burger with chips.

Signs:

Peri-peri: a spice so nice, it's been named twice!

A platter shared is a bill divided. Sharing is the Nando's way.

Inexperienced? Check out our peri-ometer. We ask you to start low and work your way up!

It was about 9,30pm when we caught a taxi back to the hotel.

It was time to pack our bags and leave things almost ready for the following day.

Tuesday 7th January

Bandar Al-Rowdha Marina

After breakfast at the hotel, we left our hand luggage in storage in the hotel, and took a taxi to the Bandar Al Rowdha Marina.

This was Muscat's original marina at the foot of the Al Hajar mountains. 

The purpose was to have a little cruise around the coast, to use up the few hours we still had before our late afternoon flight.

We bought tickets from Raheeb Marine Tours for a 1 hour coast trip. 

Apart from the coastal tours, they also do fishing tours, dolphin watching tours, snorkelling tours, sunset tours... 

It was just the 3 of us and a skipper.

On the way to the boat we saw turtles, lots of tiny fish and the ever-present seagulls.

We had a short stop at a couple of locations to take photos.

The stopped near Shangri-La - a 5* resort by the seaside at the foot of the mountains, Yitti Beach, and other secluded beaches, another resort of Jebel Sifah.

Yitti beach

We thought those indentations in the mountain were old caves, but it turns out they weren't.

On the way back we went past the Sultan's palace and forts next door to it.

Sultan's Palace

We really enjoyed our short coastal tour, and seeing the mountainous coastline from the sea.

Back at the marina Karina ordered a taxi to take us to the hotel, and while he waited a few minutes, we collected our bags and then he drove us to the airport.

After passport and security control we had a late lunch at one of the airport eateries.

And soon we were airborne on the Salam Air flight way to Qatar, where we arrived 

1 hour later around 7pm.

Salam Air airplane

Leaving Muscat

The bright lights of Qatar on the way to Karina's house

ABOUT OMAN

In 1970 when Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said came to power in 1970, Oman only had 10km of tarred roads. He set about developing the country's infrastructure by making sure that the oil and gas revenue benefited the domestic economy, and now there's a great network of paved roads and two modern airports. A rise in the country's standard of living ensued.

More recently, industrial manufacturing companies, agriculture and tourism have become important components of Oman's economy.

He also sought to showcase Omani's culture (men and women proudly wear their traditional dress) and style, with many grand buildings like the Opera House, the Grand Mosque and the National Museum of Oman being built. 

The Sultan also invested in educating its people by instituting free University education and the State pays for bright students to go and study in German universities. English is now the second official language. 

Healthcare is also free and apparently very good.

Unlike other Middle Eastern cities like Dubai and Qatar, Muscat has no high-rise buildings. The city was clean, crime rate is very low, the Omani's were happy, humble, friendly and curious about other cultures. They were also proud of their heritage and country.

We saw many people from Asian countries working there, specially in hotels, restaurants and construction.

Sultan Qaboos had overthrown his father, and took control of the country in 1970, as in his words "he watched with growing dismay and increasing anger the inability of his father to use the new found wealth of the country for the needs of its people".

He obviously served his people well, as he's still talked about with love and respect.

He was the longest serving leader in the Arab world at the time of his death in January 2020, having ruled for almost 50 years. 

He left no heirs and in his will he nominated his first cousin Haitham bin Tariq Al Said as his successor. He had served in Sultan Qaboo's cabinet as Minister of Heritage and Culture.

In his first speech Sultaan Haitham promised to uphold his predecessor's peace-making foreign policy and to further develop Oman's economy. He also changed the "Basic Law of Oman" to grant citizens and residents freedom of expression and opinion. He removed a law that allowed the state to monitor private phone conversations, social media and mail, and granted the freedom to practice religious rites according to recognised customs, provided it does not violate the public order or contradict morals.

It seems the country is going in the right direction.

Sultanate of Oman - day 3 - Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Royal Opera House, Muttrah Fort

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque

Sunday 5th January:   

We started our day visiting the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, the largest mosque in Oman and the only one which non-Muslims are allowed to enter. 

Visiting hours for non-Muslims are from 8am to 11am from Saturday to Thursday, and closed all day on Fridays.

The mosque with the Hajar mountains in the background beyond the marble arches. 

Visitors were directed to one area to get a head covering or rent an abaya in case they didn't have the appropriate clothes which covered knees and shoulders. 

Men and women need to have their knees and shoulders covered, wear loose-fitting clothing and women must cover their head. Karina and I had scarves that we put over our heads. Then we took our shoes off, stored them into cubicles and joined an English tour guide for an expensive 5 omr =20 aud per person.

The mosque was completed in 2001 and is a stunning building, a masterpiece of Islamic architecture, surrounded by beautiful manicured gardens, its interior richly decorated with calligraphy and arabesques. Everything is spotlessly clean and shiny.

Built over 6 years from 1995 to 2001, it occupies 416,000 sq metres, with a central dome 50mt diameter and 34 mt high, one of the largest in the world. Built by artisans from various countries, it used 300 thousand tons of Indian sandstone.

It has the capacity for up to 20,000 worshippers including the main prayer hall, the women's prayer hall, outer paved ground and interior courtyard.

There are 5 minarets around the mosque, the tallest reaching 91,5mt, the other four 45mt, symbolizing the five pillars of Islam.

In the main prayer hall, a massive continuous hand-woven carpet covers an area of 4,263 sq mt (about 60x70mt), the second biggest hand-woven carpet in the world (first one is in Mecca). It took 600 weavers from Iran, 4 years to complete. It weighs 21 tons and is valued at 5,5 million euros.  

The prayer hall also boasts a central chandelier, 14mt high, 8 mt wide Swarovski chandelier adorned with 600,000 crystals, weighing 8 tons, and illuminated by 1122 bulbs. Smaller chandeliers hang on the edge of the prayer hall. Its value also runs into the millions...

The central dome, made from 14,000 tons of marble, rises majestically above the prayer hall, drawing visitors’ gazes upward.

The mihrab, a niche in the wall which indicates the direction of Mecca and thus the direction of prayer, is very tall and decorated all over with soothing colours.

Standing in front of the mihrab

The beautifully manicured gardens surrounding the mosque

                                       

Before leaving the grounds, visitors were encouraged to go past to the Information Centre to have a complimentary cup of coffee and dates and to pick up information pamphlets in various languages or to have a chat with one of the guides.

We decided to go past and while Karina and Jose enjoyed a coffee and I tried a variety of sweet dates, one of the guides asked us where we were from and if we had questions. I asked him about the dress code for Islamic women, the colours they use (in Qatar married women tended to wear black and wore face coverings, in Oman I saw a lot of women wearing colourful abayas and no face coverings). He said that Islam does not require women to specifically wear black, it's a matter of choice probably to better cover their body shape, and also that no face cover is required (niqab or burqa), it's a matter of choice, just a head cover in the mosque. The focus is on modesty, both for men and women.

Royal Opera House

A 10 minute taxi ride delivered us to the Royal Opera House. 

Built on the order of Sultan Qaboos (former ruler of Oman) a fan of classical music and arts, it was officially opened in October 2011 after a building time of 3 years.

It's opened to the public from Saturday to Thursday 8,30am to 5,30pm with an entry fee of 3,15 OMR per adult (Aud13,20).

                                      

Built with similar materials to the ones used in the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, the interior pays homage to Omani palaces and temples, with Italian marble and Austrian crystal chandeliers, and hand painted decorations on wooden surfaces.

                                       

The red and gold theater hall seats 1,100 guests and was designed as a flexible space to adapt to different events. The stage is adjustable and the concert hall shell can be moved on rails to blend with the auditorium halls to create the format of a traditional theatre. Screens on the backs of the seats display subtitles in multiple languages for international guests.

Karina was saying that she would like to return to Oman with Thomas and they would endeavour to see a play or concert at the Opera House.

                         

The side entrance of the Opera House where the Sultan and royal family enter

Next door there is a sophisticated shopping centre, with prices to match - Opera Galleria.  We just looked at a couple of windows and left. Didn't take photos.

Muttrah Fish Market and Aroos Al Bahar Fish Restaurant

Lunch time looming and we caught a taxi to the Muttrah seafront. We first visited the modern looking Muttrah Fish Market. It had closed at 1pm, but next to it was the fruit and vegetable market and mini-markets and we wandered through it admiring the different varieties we don't get in Australia.

Across the street, we had lunch at Aroos Al Bahar Fish Restaurant. A simple restaurant, where you can choose the quantity of fresh fish, squid, prawns, etc, choose the side dishes, pay and then it gets cooked for you. There was seating inside, but we chose to seat in the courtyard.

The food was good and fresh, service was quick, but we ordered far too much!

The food we ordered - fish, prawns, squid (top right)

Starters (always the amazing dips!), prawns and fish, squid a plate of chips

Muttrah Fort

Luckily we could walk off the extra calories, to the Muttrah Fort, just over 1km away.

            

Blue mosque on the way to the fort

Fort seen from the fish market

#Muttrah fort

The fort sits on the hills of Al Hajar mountains overlooking the Muttrah harbour, the "Sultan Qaboos Port".

It's thought to have been built in 1507AD, but modified and upgraded with towers and stronger walls by the Portuguese, during their occupation of Oman from 1507 to 1656. It is a small fort as its main function was for observation and defensive weapons. It just stretches along the hill with vantage points over the Muttrah corniche, harbour and rocky mountains surrounding the city.

We climbed about 250 steps (counted it then, but forgot!), well maintained and with a handrail, and there are various levels where you can rest and enjoy different views.

                                      

A stop at the Fort Cafe just before going up to the tower

                                   

A worthwhile climb for the views over the city and harbour

The fish market in the distance, the Sultan's yacht in the harbour

View of the corniche and just below a roundabout full of flowers

Another tower in another part of the mountain seen from the fort

                                
Coming down from the fort...

Jose and Karina going down from the fort

Karina at the Muttrah sign with the fort above at sunset

Muscat Plaza Hotel

Back to the hotel and Karina and I still had time for a quick dip in the hotel pool on the top floor of the hotel. Jose wasn't feeling too well - too much of the strong coffee or too much food... so he stayed in bed resting.

The hotel pool and view from the top of the hotel over the suburb and mountains

Dinner at the Grand Hyatt Hotel

Karina felt like having a glass of wine with a nice meal, and because alcohol can only be sold in hotels and certain restaurants, we decided to take a taxi to have dinner at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, just 3,5km away. 

Jose only ate a soup, I had a prawn curry and Karina had Nasi Goreng. Dessert was cheesecake and tiramisu.

Maybe because we already got to the hotel at 9pm, but not many people were in the hotel restaurant. The food was good, service was 5 stars, we basically had 1 waiter just for us. The room looked a bit dark and outdated, I noticed it was next to the pool, so used as the breakfast room/buffet room.

To avoid paying for a premium taxi (because of the 5 star hotel), when we left the hotel we walked a few hundred metres down the road and then Karina ordered a taxi to take us to our hotel.

Also joining Tom with his Signs meme. Please check his blog here.