Muscat, Oman

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The capital of Oman is Muscat, although the city is widely spread out and there are several townships in Greater Muscat. I stayed in one of the residential areas near Qurm, but the commercial district is in Ruwi. There is a fresh fish market and an amazing souq in Mutrah, where I could buy some souvinirs. The palace and the government is situated in a small area called Muscat, whose atmosphere is quite different from the others. As in Dubai, one can find a few palace-like hotels in the southern shore of Muscat.

People in Muscat are generally friendly. I feel especially so because I just came from Dubai where money and time seemed to be more of a priority. Taxi drivers were keen to talk to me with their minimal English, although I believed they had overcharged me a lot. But who is to blame? The only transport around town is by taxi, and being a foreign visitor looked like I would be wealthy (though I am definitely not). Anyway, the place gave me a fairly good first impression of a country I would be going to visit for a short while.

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Photos

Muscat
What it looks like in a Muscat suburb.