Muscat

After leaving Salalah we headed north and took a detour to to the capital of Oman, Muscat. This is a beautiful city and there is no way a few pics and scant words can do this city justice. If any of you have been to Monaco then picture something similar, in the sense of a city that blends into the surrounding mountains and littered with greenery everywhere. Compared to any city in the UAE, i think it beats them all hands down. There is definitely something in the air that adds a sense of genuineness and mystery to this ancient city. Suffice it to say, I am not done with Muscat yet so will definitely have to retrn again to do some thorough exploring. In the mean time heres a few piccies to whet your appetite until I return!

Muscat Beach

The view from one of the hotels we stayed in on the muscat corniche.

A viewing platform onlooking the city in the shape of a giant incense burner. One of the stops on the tourist trail except on the day it was too hot and i was too tired to climb to the top to take in the views.
Now this is one of the major landmarks of the city, the grand mosque, built by the sultan of Oman.


Being in this mosque really feels like stepping back in time as it has borrowed architectural techniques and designs found elsewhere in the ancient Muslim world.

Inside is a very ornately designed interior...

with a hand woven Persian carpet that is only exceeded in size and weight by the carpet of the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi

no doubt a record breaking chandelier hanging from the central dome

and finally the mihrab (or imams prayer niche).

Whilst in Muscat, we came across this quaint little aquarium with a limited selection of marine life however i had share this one with you. If memory serves correct, this was some kind of eel however you would not believe the size of this thing, its head was almost the size of a human head! Put it this way, i wouldn't want to bump into this fella in a dark and lonely coral reef!