Impressions of Oman
With David Wickers
7 hours flying time away with only 4 hours time difference, Oman is an increasingly popular choice for a winter sun holiday. This was my first visit and I was intrigued to find out what it has to offer…
Oman is a very old country, but it’s a very new country as far as tourism is concerned. What is really impressive is the development has been very respectful of traditional styles, traditional values and that’s really down the Sultan who is very popular figure, his palace is right behind me now, and he has maintained strict controls over the direction that tourism should take in this country
The capital Muscat is the entry point for international visitors. Spread along the coastline and fringed by a mountain range, it’s a very clean, very safe city to explore. The key areas for tourists are Old Muscat (home to the Sultan’s Palace) as well as several interesting forts and museums… and the Corniche, where you’ll find the Souk and an attractive esplanade which is a popular meeting place, especially in the evenings
The city’s other ‘must see’ sight is the Grand Mosque. Strict dress codes apply but visitors are very welcome to explore the beautiful scented gardens, labyrinth of courtyards and shady walkways before taking in the magnificence of the main prayer hall.
The scale of this place is immense. There‘s room for 20,000 worshippers at any one time. And just one indication of the scale: the carpet took 600 women, 4 years to weave and it contains, would you believe, 1,700 million knots
Aside from city sights, Muscat’s other trump card is its hotels
There aren’t many capital cities in the world where you can stay in a 5 star luxury hotel right on the beach. In Muscat however, there’s a choice, from small stylish boutique hotels like the Chedi to some of the big brand names in luxury like Shangri La… or the Grand Hyatt… to palaces like this… the Al Bustan
The standards across all hotels are generally high – I was particularly impressed by the level of service and friendliness of the staff. And although not available outside, alcohol is served in all the hotels as well as some local restaurants.
If you can drag yourself away from your lounger by the beach or pool, beyond the city there’s plenty more to see. A popular day trip is a drive into the mountains which begins with a tour of the ancient capital, Nizwa. Get there early on a Friday and, like me, you get the chance to witness the extraordinary spectacle of the local cattle market…
We’ve driven about an hour but we’ve actually travelled maybe you know 2000 years
Its an auction, the guys are parading the goats and cattle’s around this circle – there are various people bidding… It seems total chaos but I’m sure everybody here knows exactly what’s going on… that one, how much is that one? 131 and this one? Oh he’s gone a bit wild that one.
Still in Nizwa, take time also to wander around the souk and explore the impressive fort which dominates the town and offers fantastic views of the surrounding area.
Heading up into the mountains, the drive through these spectacular ranges is punctuated with visits to remote mountain villages, perched impossibly on the steep slopes. Again, life here has been unchanged for centuries with ingenious methods for capturing precious water supplies and irrigating lush pockets of fruit and flower cultivation.
Driving through the mountains is a complete wilderness experience. They’re totally desolate , you don’t see a soul and then you come to a sight like this, this is the Grand Canyon, second in the world to the one in Arizona. Its absolutely immense and drops straight down below me, rather scary in fact…
For extended stays in the mountains, maybe to do some trekking or climbing, there are a couple of hotel options in Nizwa. The Golden Tulip for example just outside the town is in a great setting in the foothills of the peaks.
Rock dominates the Oman interior and provides some wonderful natural attractions. Heading south of Muscat there’s the extraordinary Bimah sinkhole, a popular spot for a refreshing swim… and all over Oman you’ll find Wadis.
They’re rivers that cut through these great chasms of rock, cliffs on either side. Come on a hot day and you can splash around in these beautiful pools and some of them you can actually drive along in 4WD vehicles, known as wadi bashing.
From wadi bashing to dune bashing… for yet more contrasts, a 2 -3 hour drive south of Muscat takes you to the Wahiba Desert…
You can see nothing but sand, every which way you look, there’s rolling, rolling mountains of sand dune – its an unbelievable landscape. My God I think we are going over a sheer cliff here, a sheer cliff – wow, excellent
It is possible to experience the desert as a day trip from Muscat but better still, turn it into a 2 day adventure and stay overnight. There are several options but I’d recommend Desert Nights Camp, a stunning 5 star resort.
If you stay a night in the desert, as well as all the activities you can do, the dune bashing, the camel riding, quad biking and so on you can just take time to soak up the atmosphere of the desert which is a remarkable, magical, very romantic place to be at night
Well we’ve seen a bit of everything this week. We’ve had desert adventures, we’ve seen forts, we’ve seen beaches, absolutely breath taking mountain scenery and we’ve seen some rather wonderful hotels too. You could come to Oman and spend a week or two on a sun lounger by the pool or you can get out and explore, meet the locals and have some really memorable experiences. My advice? Combine the best of both.
