I should make it plain that we have spent time in Muscat before and seen most of the big tourist sights already. So on this trip we were purposely taking it a bit easy. We had intended to have a full day exploring the interior – Nizwa and one of the fabulous Wadis for swimming, perhaps a dive in the Daymaniyat Islands…. but Bob’s knee is not really up to hiking rough ground or swimming so that has also affected our activities. I hope we can come back for longer perhaps next year on our way back from India if Oman Air are still reasonably priced.
Anyway, we slept for a full 9 hours last night no doubt fuelled by quantities of seafood and lulled in the super comfy bed. Had breakfast downstairs this morning which was complimentary for us, a great boon. There was everything you could want. A section delivering British/American hot breakfast items; sections for Middle Eastern, Japanese and Indian breakfast foods. Pastries; cereals, fruit and yoghurts, breads…. We had a mix of British and Middle Eastern. Eggs Benedict, shakshuka, hash browns, beans medame. It was a good start to the day. Oh and coffee. That started in our room as we have a Nespresso machine and pods.
Got a taxi to the Muttrah Souk at about 930. It’s the biggest souk in the city, right on the corniche overlooking the main harbour. I remember it well from our first visit in about 2004 when the girls were with us. I wasn’t blogging then but we enjoyed the souk together and we bought quite a few bits of middle eastern finery, pashminas and the like. The taxi fare from the hotel was 5 OMR ie £10 and quite a scenic trip through the old city and along the corniche.
When we got there Bob had a problem with the card machine in the taxi and a very nice Omani man helped us solve it by using Bob’s Apple watch rather than cards or the phone. He also told us where the nearest ATM was. Turned out – no surprises – he was a tour guide and taxi driver himself. More of him later.
We noticed there was a massive cruise ship in port but no one had come ashore yet so we hastened into the souk to beat the inevitable crowd later. It was a good move.
The souk has been there since time immemorial, Muscat having been on a trade route since biblical days. It does have touristy shops but mostly it is selling goods that are clearly of interest to locals because they were in there shopping. You see many more locals shopping here than you do Emiratis shopping in Dubai. Within a few minutes I was immersed in bartering with a shopkeeper for various oudh perfumed sandalwoods. I bought 3 big pots in the end – not the paste stuff which is cheap, the real wood and he gave me a load of the special charcoal disks you use to burn them. I got them for about 1/3 of his starting price which is probably about right.
We explored all the main routes through and then went off through the very narrow side alleys. They are all lined with shops, tending to be arranged in areas of interest: antiques or artifacts, underwear and nighties, perfume and incense, kitchenware, baby stuff, ladies robes both dresses and the overcoats which were often highly decorated with jet designs and sparkly bits. There were carpet shops selling lovely rugs mostly from Kashmir that has trading links with Oman since ancient times. Pashmina and silk shawls and hangings. Frankincense, Myrrh and spices. Cedar chests decorated with brass. Of course there was a gold and silver area selling the heavy dowry necklaces that are part of wedding presents here. At all times we felt totally safe. There was a little bit of “come into my shop, lady” but it was very low key and non threatening. I wouldn’t feel unsafe in there alone. So that was a great first activity of the day.
Emerged from there about 1045 and had to go to the atm again LOLOL and then we sat in a cafe on the Corniche and watched the world go by while we drank two ice cold fruit concoctions. I had mint and lemon and Bob had mango. My one was gorgeous and not too sweet. The Sultan’s yacht was moored up just opposite us. I thought it was a small cruise ship. It was huge! WOW. Really lovely down there.
Came back to the hotel late morning using the helpful man’s taxi as a little thank you for helping us. He gave us a little scenic tour on the way back and was very interesting with excellent English and a good driver. He takes a lot of tours including out to the islands and he showed us his video of him swimming with about 7 whale sharks last autumn. Amazing. We took his card because we would definitely book him for tours when we come back. He was scrupulously honest with the fares, didn’t seek a tip for helping us and he was born here and clearly knows his stuff very well. His name is Ahmed Said Al-Wahaibi and his telno is +968 95264124, email dream1234@icloud.com He can do tours throughout Oman.
Our room had been made up by the time we got back and they’d done the best towel sculpture I’ve ever seen complete with genuine rose petals and leaves. Just amazing.
Spent a few hours at the pool bobbing and reading and then got changed and went to be picked up for our sunset dhow cruise. We sailed from the Sultan Qaboos marina which is near the Al Bustan Palace hotel. It was a proper large wooden dhow but motorised, not sailing. I suppose there was about 30 people on board of all nationalities. We cruised round to see the Al Bustan Palace first – very glamorous hotel that used to have a massive gold plated dome. The dome is still there but the gold is no more. Then we slowly cruised up the coast to Muscat, looking at the amazing cliffs, rock stacks, old castles, palaces and watch towers along the way until we reached the main bay with the Corniche behind and the Muttrah Souk. The Sultan’s second mega yacht had arrived to join the one we saw this morning. We stayed in the outer bay watching the sun set over the mountains. It was a pretty good sunset. The cruise was great, really relaxing and a beautiful way to see Muscat and the surroundings. They gave us snacks, soft drinks and Omani coffee which had a slight rose flavour and was delicious. It took about 2 hours and we got back to the dock about 630 and to the hotel just before 7.
Had a quick drink in the club lounge and then got a cab out for our traditional Omani dinner. We’d been recommended to a restaurant called Ramssa and I’d made a reservation there. Which was lucky because it was rammed. I’d booked a table in their garden. It was lovely out there. we took advice from the waiter and the taxi driver and ordered a mixed grill for one and a lamb shiwa to share. My god it was a lot of food. One of those dishes to share would have been enough but it was cheap enough and nice to try. The mixed grill was chicken, lamb, camel sausage…. CAMEL SAUSAGE!!!!…. a thin bread stuffed with mince. It was served with chips, rice, humus, sour cream, pickles and chopped herbs. The shiwa was a lamb shank slow cooked over rice, onion and spices in a sealed pot till the meat was literally off the bone and super tender. The rice cooked in the lamb juice basically. It was yummy but quite rich and a massive portion. It came with pitta bread and a small rocket and onion salad. We washed it down with lemon mint juice. The camel sausage was a revelation. Delicious! There were quite a few camel dishes but Bob was adamant he didnt want one. However he liked the sausage a lot and then wished we’d had one!!! The owner came round at the end when we were gasping with fullness having left so much food too and insisted we ended with a free sweet from him. We got a tiny cup of something called red sugar which was a very odd hot drink made with spices, A LOT OF SUGAR and something else. It was far too sweet for me but Bob drank both cups. We also were given two tiny warm doughnut balls covered in a toffee syrup. The whole meal (and Bob had 2 mint lemon drinks which were also big) came to £26 which was a bargain I thought. We’d definitely recommend it – lovely place inside and outside – genuinely friendly staff and lovely food. Just don’t order too much and definitely try the camel!
Such a full day but a very memorable one.