Blogs from Muscat, Oman, Middle East

We met our guide Hashim and set off for the Sultan Qaboos Mosque, which for a long time was the largest mosque in the world before a larger one was built in Abu Dhabi. Hashim helped Sara wrap her headscarf in the prescribed manner, and we marvelled at the number of women having to rent long abbayas and headscarves because they’d turned up in strappy T shirts and miniskirts with nothing to cover their bare flesh. Some pointlessly got stroppy with the polite but firm female religious guardians. Many mosques are large but not visually very interesting, but this one is stunning. It’s set in extensive grounds with Islamic gardens featuring water channels, and has not one but five minarets to reflect the five guiding principles of Islam. The outside is polished sandstone and the inside ... read more

Bonjour à tous, Un petit mot sur hier après midi, piscine pour Cathy, pour moi ma page d'écriture dans la chambre frais. Le projet de départ était de se rendre sur le bord de mer pour quelques photos de coucher de soleil qui parait il est magnifique à Mascate. Etant donné mon état,(intestins) la chaleur 35°, la brume sur la mer, nous n'avons pas bougé. Le soir, au bar resto, toujours sur le toit, salade poulet pour Cathy, pizza pour moi (la première depuis Hawaï) le tout arrosé avec des bulles......... de Perrier. En fin d'après midi mes intestins sont rétablis, et ce matin pas de séquelles. Si j'arrive à faire le séjour sans me tordre les chevilles, je serais heureux. Les trottoirs sont défoncés. Dans l'ensemble on est bien dans un pays arabe. Le manque ... read more

Unsere Unterkunft für die letzten Tage ist leider die einzige richtige Enttäuschung für diesen Urlaub. In Muskat ist das Preisniveau um einiges höher als im Rest des Landes, Strandzugang haben sowieso nur 5-Sterne-Hotels mit Preisen von 250 Euro pro Doppelzimmer/Nacht (und aufwärts) und wir hatten uns zumindest einen Pool für die letzten Tage hier vorgestellt. Da in unserem Budget zu bleiben war eine ziemliche Herausforderung aber ich war eigentlich der Meinung, was Nettes gefunden zu haben. Um es kurz zu machen: der Pool auf der Dachterrasse mit weitem Blick über Muskat ist das einzig wirklich Gute an unserem Hotel. Ansonsten ist das Dreizimmer-Appartment zwar sauber und groß aber sehr sehr abgewohnt, der angepriesene Spielplatz ist ein müffeliges Spielzimmer mit einem zerrissenen Trampolin und einer Babyrutsche und Bauklötzen, in der Lobby stinkt es permanent nach billigem Raumduft ... read more

Waking up this morning (Saturday 4/2) I feel awful, streaming nose and a hacking cough. I’ve tested negative for Covid but I feel very self conscious coughing so much in an environment where people are so concerned with sickness. So the long and the short of it is I am going to spend today in our cabin enjoying the sun on the balcony and recovering from my cold. Unfortunately that means Ian will be writing for you today. You have been warned! I am temporarily leaving the Plague Ship Queen Mary 2 for the Impressions of Muscat tour. The first stop is the Grand Mosque. It is the fourth biggest mosque in the World and was finished in 2006. The Grand Mosque in Dubai was finished in 2008 and in the style so typical of the ... read more

Having made a booking last week, I turned up at the diving centre at 8am as instructed, to an air of organised chaos. I chatted to a couple of French people who were also planning to dive but had never dived before. So my five year lapse since my 32nd dive (according to my PADI records - I struggle to recall half of those), put me in the category of semi-pro by comparison. I was instructed by one of the staff to pick out my kit, which I set about doing. Ever increasing numbers of people showed up, including A couple who had been at Wahibi Sands for NYE as well (they also thought it was a bit crap), and we were divided into the diving camp and the snorkelling camp. All in all there were ... read more