Muscat is the capital city of Oman and also the first stop of our trip. Scenically wedged between mountains and ocean, with old forts and excellent museums, an opera house and flower-filled parks, the gentle city of Muscat is a delight to visit. Its name means ‘safe anchorage’, and the sea plays an important role in city life to this day, sustaining the fishing industry and providing opportunities for visitors to swim from sandy beaches or dive with turtles in nearby lagoons.

Mutrah Souq is the largest souq in Oman. From ‘I love Oman’ Tshirts to coffee pots, incense burners rosewater sprinklers to herbs and spices, this local market offers the gamut of souvenirs and memorabilia for the tourist to take home.

Locals also pass by this souq quite regularly. They may stock up on rosewater or incense burners. The shopkeepers here are mostly Indian, who are very friendly and try to welcome you to their shops. Whenever they see us, they would try to upsell their pashima shawls. But at the price it is being sold at, we thought that the shawls are probably not made of real pashiwa as it is a high quality fabric.

Mutrah’s seafront is the old commercial centre. During the day it is too hot to walk around, but when it comes to evening time, many families come out for a stroll at sunset. It is also a similar view during night time as the weather is cooler. Some can be seen jogging along the waterfront. We saw cruise ships in the harbour and some petrochemical industries further out to sea. It is punctured with mechants’ houses and and punctured by colourful minarets in the city’s old commercial centre.

In the meantime, the harbour is home to His Majesty’s dhow, visiting cruise ships and assorted naval vessels. It is going to undergo a revamp soon.

The sunset here was especially beautiful. It reminded me of my trip to Athens, Greece where I caught the sunset at the harbour.

Riyam Park has the incense burner monument, but on the day that we visited, we could not climb up the hill to visit the monument as it was closed. Beyond Mutrah Fort, the Corniche leads to the leafy Al Riyam Park, with fine views of the harbour from the giant ornamental incense burner. There is a small funfair popular with locals at weekends. The park is on the path of a popular hike (C38) that used to link Mutrah with Muscat proper.

At the heart of Old Muscat is Al Alam Palace (“Flag Palace”), the most important of the six royal residences of the ruling monarch, Sultan Qaboos. Built in 1972, the palace is Oman’s most flamboyant example of contemporary Islamic design, with two long wings centred on a colourful, cube-like central building, its flat, overhanging roof supported by extravagantly flared blue and gold columns. The palace isn’t open to the public, although you can get a good view of the facade from the iron gates at the front.

Nearby, the Fort Al Mirani stands tall. It commands a view of a high rocky hill at the end of the west wall and can be reached by climbing a flight of stairs carved into the rock. Some say that the fort’s name was originally “mirante”, a Portuguese word meaning “Admiral”, while others say that the fort was named after a Persian leader by the name of “Miran Shah”. At the base of the hill a large dock was built, and visitors can only view the castle from the outside.

Another piece of stunning architecture in Muscat is this Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. Almost every city in Oman has a mosque named after Sultan Qaboos, who is the current leader of Oman. They are named after him to show the love, respect and appreciation for all the great achievements and prosperity he has brought to Oman since he held the office in 1970. The most famous Sultan Qaboos mosque is the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in the capital city .

Built in 2001, the mosque was completed after almost seven years of work. It occupies an area of 416,ooo-square meters, which can take up to 20,000 worshippers. It has one main dome, one 90-meter long minaret, and another four minarets that are 45.5-meters long. The carpet in the main prayer hall used to be the largest handmade one in the world, until the mosque in Abu Dhabi stole the title from Oman.

Surrounded by peaceful gardens and water pools, its white marble minarets and soaring arches hint at the grandeur within. 

The central chandelier of the mosque is made from Swarovski Crystal and is 14-meters tall. Moreover, the mosque’s floor is covered in a unique Persian rug that is considered to be the second largest in the world. It was made in four years, bringing together 1.7 billion knots of 28 different colors, using classical Persian design traditions like: Tabriz, Kashan and Isfahan. The intricate handmade carpet took around 4 years to complete.

By night, Muscat also dazzles. The Royal Opera House Muscat is Oman’s premier venue for musical arts and culture. Being the first of its kind in the region, the Opera House is a beautiful landmark to tour and with its busy yearly schedule one is sure to catch a great show while visiting the capital. On the schedule this year there was a show by the American Ballet Theatre titled Giselle as well as a performance by Dee Dee Bridgewater, amongst other classical musical and cultural displays from all over the world.

Oman has been ruled by the Omani Al Said Family since 1744. It was one of the most isolated and traditional countries in the Arab World, until Sultan Qaboos became the ruler and opened the doors of his country to the world. People have been living in Oman for at least 106,000 years, making it one of the oldest human-inhabited countries on Earth. With such a rich history, it’s time to book your next trip to Oman!

Flights to Oman

There are no direct flights from Singapore to Oman. We took a connecting flight on Thai Airways via Bangkok. Other airlines that fly there include Qatar (via Doha), Emirates (via Dubai) and Malaysia Airlines / Oman Air codeshare (via Kuala Lumpur) .

Oman Air used to fly to Singapore via KL, but they stopped the sector due to weak demand.