Blogs from Muscat, Oman, Middle East

After all the glitz of the United Arab Emirates it is such a contrast to arrive in the sleepy Sultanate of Oman. This fairytale kingdom is ruled by Sultan Qaboos bin Said who has done a good job of preserving the unique essence of the country while slowly moving it into the 21stCentury. Oman was a closed country until the mid-1990s. Now education is encouraged and Oman has one of the few Arabian female ministers in its government. The Sultan maintains good relations with both the United States and Great Britain. Omanis are in a dither though because their 72 year old monarch has no heirs to the throne. So it is uncertain who will carry on the Said dynasty. We arrived on Friday which is a holy day for Moslems so we had to make ... read more

RUBBISH A friend of mine who has spent a deal of time in this region described the Omani people to me as "the hippies of the gulf". I didn't notice any peace sign neck chains, dreadlocks or groups of locals sitting around eating bird seed and smoking numbers whilst discussing the kaleidoscope of colours on the domes of mosques. I do however see some merit in the simile with the general kick back nature of the populace. There's no wild antics, animated gesticulating or hints of aggressive behaviour, as if they have been inhaling a few of those less than licit substances. There's even a semblance of sanity in the traffic. Good news is no news. That's why you have probably never seen Oman occupying the headlines of international media. Flying under the radar is a ... read more

At last I have found a coffee shop which does wif fi - I am back in Dubai but here goes with the report on my last couple of days in Oman ... it's a bit long but you will see why.... After the visit to the fort I was off again – driving myself from Muscat through the mountains to the coast at Sur and then on to the turtle reserve at Ras al Jinz. This was a journey of about 250 km and well done Oman for such brilliant roads. The geology of the country here is fantastic with a a huge range of different rock types and ages from ancient to relatively recent in geological terms. So what a lot of dynamite must have gone into blasting the way through these mountains to ... read more

DECEMBER 2011- DAY 1 DAY ONE- DUBAI MARINA - AL-QURM- 450KM 5HRS THINGS NEEDED:(PASSPORTS , TOURIST VISA-150AED, CAR INSURANCE) We left home at aprox 7amand tooke the e44 to cross the border at Hatta- (first check point). Watch out for the AXLE breaking speed bumps at the checkpoints and in the small towns before you reach Hatta. All in 4 checkpoints that you have to go through In Oman continued onto the coast road(01)passing throung Sohar before reaching Muscat/AlQurm in the early afternoon.... read more

After a splendid evening's meal accompanied by a cheeky Morrocan Shiraz (went very well with the Kofti Tagine - beef meatballs to you and me) I was up with the lark (or whatever the Omani equivalent is) and breakfast was taken at 8:30. Today is Friday and therefore the Holy day and you could feel a very different, more reverential atmosphere about the hotel. The sun was back with a vengeance and as we made our way to the pool the sky was beautifully cloudless and with the blue sea made a perfect picture (which I'll include later) The morning was spent soaking up the rays with the only disturbance being the delivery of the coolbox containing the iced water and Evian face mister thingy. This was followed mid morning by the lady with the iced ... read more