Oman — Where to Go
Top Things to See
• Explore Oman’s whitewashed capital Muscat by following the corniche from the fish market, past the balconied buildings of neighboring Muttrah Souk to the Sultan’s Palace. The latter shelters beneath the 16th-century Portuguese forts of Al Jalali and Mirani.
• Spend a day the Omani way with a picnic and the company of friends on the beautiful beaches of Yitti, Seifa or Quiryat or in the lush oleander-flowering wadis of Dayqah, Shab and Tiwi.
• Get up with the goatherds in Nizwa, the country’s capital during the sixth and seventh centuries. Famous for its early morning livestock market and silver handicrafts, it makes the best base for excursions into the mountains.
• Scale the battlements of one of Oman’s many forts and castles in the old capital cities of Nakhal or Rustaq, and examine why honey wasn’t always sweet for unwanted guests at the imposing Al-Hazm, Nizwa or Jibreen Forts.
• Take a ride on Oman’s only train to the depths of Al-Hoota Cave (website: www.al-hootacave.com), first opened to the public in late 2006, near Nizwa and encounter some of the country’s limestone wonders.
• Evoke the spirit of the past at the charged World Heritage Sites of Bat (area of ancient burial mounds) and Bahla (one of the most impressive fortified settlements of its kind in the world but not yet open to visitors). Buy a pot from local Bahla potters but don’t rub it - Bahla is famous for genii!
• Wander around the old town of Sur, famous for its traditional shipbuilding - and its local nightlife: at nearby Ras Al-Jinz, female turtles lumber up the beach every night of the year to deliver the next generation before slipping back to the sea before dawn. Most turtles arrive in July.
• Go in search of unicorns in the dawn mists of the interior at the oryx sanctuary in Jallluni and let a member of the local Al-Harasi tribe show you the secrets of the Huqf Escarpment.
• Join the locals in a gnat-infested, mid-summer mud bath at beautiful Wadi Dhabat in the heart of Oman’s southern, subtropical region of Dhofar - if only to enjoy the spectacle of cows and camels grazing in the same pastureland.
• Blow your troubles to the wind at the blowholes of Dhofar’s Mughsail before following the Queen of Sheba into the mists of time in search of Boswellia sacra, the frankincense tree.
Top Things to Do
•Haggle for things you’ve always wanted and can’t afford to buy in the gold shops of Muttrah Souk in Muscat. Chances are you’ll leave this labyrinthine market - one of the best in the region - with things you can afford but have never wanted!
• Slip out to sea from Khasab in a traditional dhow, followed by a flotilla of dolphins, and find out where the term ’going round the bend’ came from as you contemplate the bewitching calm of the khors - Oman’s own fjords.
• Ascend Jebel Shams (Mountain of the Sun) and peer into the shadows of Wadi Ghul - the Grand Canyon of Arabia - pausing to buy a goat-haired carpet from the mountain’s itinerant weavers.
• Swim or snorkel from a pristine beach among the ray, tuna and shoals of sardines that frequent the shores of the Arabian Sea, and beachcomb for top shells and colorful, banded pebbles.
• Ride a camel across the Sharqiya Sands on a desert safari, returning to a barbeque of camel and goat kebabs and a night under the starry sky.
• Go birdwatching in the eagle capital of the world at Al-Ansab lagoons and Qurm Natural Park, or look for flamingos, spoonbills and flocks of wading birds at Barr Al-Hickman (website: www.birdsoman.com).
• Take a 4-wheel drive off-road into the fringe of the Empty Quarter, across the interior plains, up vertiginous mountain tracks or through the green pastures of Dhofar’s summer meadows.
• Get up close to Oman’s world-famous geological attractions by rockclimbing in the wadis (dry river beds) of the Hajja Mountains or by hiking up to Jebel Akhdar, Oman’s top of the beanstalk mountain and home to prize pomegranates.
• Enjoy a variety of watersports, including diving (website: www.omandivecenter.com), windsurfing, sailing or deep-sea fishing from one of the many outlets in Muscat and Salalah, or take a trip on the wild side and organize your own fun in the sun off the desert island of Masirah.
