13/03/2015
New post added at Chayil Safari - Modern Vision, Timeless Traditionhttp://www.chayilsafarionline.com/modern-vision-timeless-tradition/
Muscat is a port the like of which cannot be found in the whole world where there is business and good things that cannot be found elsewhere.
As the great Arab navigator Ahmed bin Majid al-Najdi recognised in 1490 AD, Muscat, even to this day, has a character quite different from neighbouring capitals. There are few high-rise blocks, and even the most functional building is required to reflect tradition with a dome or an arabesque window. The result of these strict building policies is an attractive, spotlessly clean and whimsically uniform city – not much different in essence from the ‘very elegant town with very fine houses’ that the Portuguese admiral Alfonso de Alburqueque observed as he sailed towards Muscat in the 16th century.
Muscat means ‘safe anchorage’, and the sea continues to constitute a major part of the city: it brings people on cruise ships and goods in containers to the historic ports of Old Muscat and Mutrah. It contributes to the city’s economy through the onshore refinery near Qurm, and provides a livelihood for fishermen along the beaches of Shatti al-Qurm and Athaiba. More recently, it has also become a source of recreation at Al-Bustan and Bandar Jissah, and along the sandy beach that stretches almost without interruption from Muscat to the border with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), over 200km to the northwest.
Royal Opera House
The opening of the Royal Opera House in 2011, with performances of acclaim from around the world, has helped place Muscat on an international stage and highlighted it as a forward-thinking, progressive city.
Underground playgrounds
The Sultanate of Oman -- with its year-round sunshine and a stable economy -- is one of the lesser-known treasures of the Arabian Peninsula. Oman is hollowed out with incredible natural underground playgrounds, including the second largest underground chamber in the world, called Majlis Al Jinn, or 'spirits’ meeting place'.
One of the reasons why Oman is still so unspoilt and its caves mostly left for individual exploration is that there is a shortage of organised information about most of these sites. Most caves in Oman are not signposted or marked and will not be regulated in any way, which makes you feel like the first one to discover them.
Best time to visit
November to mid-March, to avoid the monsoon.
Top things to see
Mutrah Souq: Many people come to Mutrah Corniche just to visit the souq, which retains the chaotic interest of a traditional Arab market albeit housed under modern timber roofing. Entrance to the souq is via the corniche, opposite the pedestrian traffic lights.
Grand Mosque: This glorious piece of modern Islamic architecture was a gift to the nation from Sultan Qaboos to mark the 30th year of his reign. Quietly imposing from the outside, the main prayer hall is breathtakingly rich.
Sultan's Palace: If you stand by the harbour wall on Mirani St, the building to the right with the delightful mushroom pillars in blue and gold is the Sultan’s Palace. Built over the site of the former British embassy, there used to be the stump of a flagpole in the grounds: the story goes that any slave (Oman was infamous for its slave trade from East Africa) who touched the flagpole was granted freedom.
Omani Culture
Food:
harees – steamed wheat, boiled meat, lime chilli, onions and garnished with maowaal (dried shark)
shuwa (marinated meat cooked in an earth oven)
Drink camel's milk
Dress:
the mussar; a square cut piece of woven wool or cotton fabric of a single colour, decorated with various embroidered patterns.
the kummah; a cap that is the head dress worn during leisure hours.
The khanjar (dagger) forms part of the national dress and men wear the khanjar on all formal public occasions and festivals. It is traditionally worn at the waist.
Oman Sea
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