Day Trip to Muscat, Oman (Part II)

If we've met at one of my recent craft shows, you'll know that I did some beach combing while in Muscat.  (Yes, I walked around all day with a quart of shells and pebbles in my backpack.)  I've made a few things out of the shells.  Not sure what I'm doing with the pebbles yet, but I digress.

As you may or may not know, at this point in my day trip, I hopped on a Red Bus... it was nearly lunch time but as I'd just killed nearly 2 hours at a coffee shop, I wasn't hungry.   Here's how the rest of the day went:

Beautiful resort area.  Wish I had time to lay on the beach and do nothing for a few hours.

Driving through Muscat.  There are laws regarding building height, color, and architectural style.  The intent is to preserve the "old" culture look and to spread horizontally rather than vertically.

We got stuck in tons of traffic which put the tour bus behind schedule.  I used the time to take a nap.

I woke to a cool breeze as we drove back down the mountainside...

Driving through more mountains.  Very beautiful when you've been living on a completely flat island for a year.

Dhow.  Near the Parliament and other government buildings.

Oman's coastline has some really great natural harbors.

Residential area.  Note the turret on the mountain.  There are many forts in this part of Muscat, built hundreds of years ago to protect the fishing villages and ports.

Al Alam Palace, home of the Sultan. Breathtaking grounds in the "Old Town" area of Muscat.

An old fort up on the hill, overlooking the palace.  (One of many.)

Beautiful pass through.  You can see yet another turret in the distance.  I guess there must've been a lot of invaders.

Found a hidden harbor behind the palace.  There's another tower at the end of the ridge.

Once you walk through town and over another mountain pass, you come upon the Corniche, which is a nice walk along the harbor, with lots of shops and places to eat.

Gorgeous view of the bay as you walk along the Corniche.

Near the end of the Corniche is Mutrah Souq.  It's not really big, which is good for people like me who get turned around easily.  There were some really interesting shops including those selling lapidary and other jewelry making tools.  I bought some Frankincense, pashmina scarves, perfume, and a cool dragon padlock.

By this point in the day, it was getting dark.  I decided to head back to Qurum Beach since it's the closest stop on the Red Bus to the airport.

Back where I started, in Qurum.  Watched the sun set, had some dinner and dessert, then did some shopping and headed back to the airport.

I really enjoyed my trip to Muscat.  I wish I had time to stay over at least one night and maybe take a little more time to see some of the museums and other buildings... but hey, I had the chance to go and I did.  :)  If I'm ever over in that part of the world again, I'd really love to see Salalah.

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