Muscat loves its Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque

As a traveller I’ve often walked through Europe’s magnificent old churches and commented that they just don’t build monuments like this any more.

Well, they do. But most of them are Middle Eastern mosques, rather than Catholic cathedrals.

Muscat’s mosque is pretty much always the first place tourists start their journey in Oman, a country that shares borders with Yemen, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Not far across the Sea of Oman lies Iran.

Oman’s history is fascinating. As long ago as 5000BC it was the centre of the world’s frankincense trade. The Portuguese ruled Oman in the 16th century and it was the first country to embrace Islam.

Until 1970, it was regarded as deeply conservative. There were few schools, even fewer hospitals and it really didn’t have a place in the modern world.

In that year though, in a coup supported by the British, Qaboos bin Said ousted his father and the country has embraced a slow and steady modernisation program but has never really veered far from its past.

The magnificent Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, completed in 1998, stands as a reminder of the country’s ancient cultures. But its sprawling, opulent design over 40,000sq m shouts that Oman and, in particular, Muscat, is capable of creating a modern architectural miracle.

Place or worship

More than 6500 worshippers fill the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque main prayer hall on busy days.

If you include the ladies’ hall and outside prayer areas, more than 20,000 people can be worshipping at the same time.

I visited in late April and by 9am the temperature at the mosque had already hit 35C.

Most people recommend that you visit Oman between September and April and it is very easy to understand why. The heat in the remaining months simply makes travel, well, not impossible, but certainly uncomfortable.

My guide Ali, a man who seems to be always laughing, tells me that I must enter the Grand Mosque’s intricately carved wooden doors barefoot and with the right leg first. When you leave it is left leg first.

Inside, it is almost as big as a football field 60m by 70m.

There are 35 Swarovski crystal chandeliers. Ali points up at the main one and whispers: “There’s 1125 bulbs in that.”

You need time to explore the mosque, to take in the artistic beauty of the ceramics, the stained glass and stunning spectre of the golden dome.

We had arrived in Muscat the previous evening and Ali had taken us straight to The Chedi, our hotel, so driving from the mosque to the Muttrah Harbour fish markets was our first chance to take in the colours and movement of the city.

City spreads out

Muscat has no high-rise buildings. It spreads its tentacles further every year as it grows. Like most of the region, the landscape is sandy in colour, arid and rocky. The colours change dramatically as you pass man-made green parkland. It is amazing what a supply of water can do, even in this harsh climate.

Now I’m not sure why Ali took us to the fish market, especially on a warm day, but it was a regular occurrence during our six days in Oman. In every new town, he took us to the fish market before showing us anything else.

If your guide suggests this next time you are in Oman, I would recommend you put some perfume on a hanky and breath through it, because the stench is overwhelming.

The fish market was a precursor to our next, much better, market the Muttrah Souk, Oman’s oldest souk. Here you must bargain hard to make sure you get the best deal.

The covered market winds through about a dozen streets and is at its busiest at night.

We bought bedspreads, leather thongs and cushion covers, but in reality you can get almost anything.

There is a jewellery section (mainly gold), a craft area, traditional clothing (dishdashas and kummas), frankincense and dates. This is also the place to buy the khanjar, the curved dagger that all Omani men wear on important celebrations.

Our day trip also took us to Al Jalali Fort, to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos’s Al Alam Palace, and, our final stop, the Bait al Zubair Museum which offers a glimpse into the city’s past.

Life really is a beach

Muscat is a beach town and the water of the Gulf of Oman is always a welcome relief from the warm sun.

We stayed at two beach hotels during our three nights in Muscat, and both The Chedi and the Al Bustan Palace, which is a Ritz-Carlton Hotel, are true destinations in themselves.

You could easily come to Oman, stay at either property, and have a great holiday.

The Chedi is on Muscat’s Boushar beachfront, about 15 minutes from

the airport. The hotel’s long driveway is a tad off-putting. It is drab and dull. It is only when you walk inside that you realise your have entered a modern-day desert oasis.

There are three pools (the Long Pool is appropriately named as it measures 103m) as well as a private beach for guests.

The rooms are big. The villas are enormous and elegantly designed with lashings of Omani influences.

Love a free mini bar

Once you pay for a suite your get free mini bar plus free laundry. This was fantastic for us as we had already been on the road for 10 days so we were able to get everything washed, ironed and back in the bag. Had we paid for it, the laundry bill would have been more than $200.

At night the resort outdoor areas are lit by small fires and guests tend to gather in groups to enjoy the warm night air and a cold drink. In 2011, the local paper voted the hotel’s Beach Restaurant as the best fine dining experience in the country. Conde Nast Traveller (UK) readers rated it as the 19th best hotel in the Middle East, Africa and Indian Ocean regions.

The Al Bustan Palace is closer to Muscat’s financial district but you would not realise it as you were wandering through the hotel’s 81ha of private beach and manicured gardens. The hotel is building a new spa which will open this year.

We dined at the hotel’s beachfront restaurant and our table was no more than 3m from the water. The food was incredibly fresh and inspired by the history of the region.