Wonders of Arabia

...we dedicate the other 4 days to Muscat like this. Among the people aware of my trip, half didn't even know Oman existed and the other half didn't know where it was...Not that I had great knowledge about it either, but the unknown makes a country even more intriguing... On arrival at Seeb airport the procedures for the visa are quick: the visa costs R.6 (about E.12), free if you arrive from Dubai...good... The long taxi ride (about 50 km) costs us R.6, and after about 45 minutes we arrive in Mutrah and at the Corniche hotel: the standards have nothing to envy of Western ones, both for hygiene and for comfort. We pay R.20 per night per room, breakfast included. Hard to find anything cheaper and more convenient in Muscat...

The urban area of Muscat is made up of three small urban centers: Muscat proper where the ministries and the palace of Sultan Qaboos are located, Mutrah, home of the port and the favorite tourist destination, and finally Ruwi, a commercial area called "little india", and you just need to walk around for 5 minutes to understand why... On waking, Muscat, or Mutrah, welcomes us in all its beauty: arid mountains dropping sheer to the sea recall the highest Alps in their shape and spectacularity. The small white houses often frame brightly colored mosques where men in white tunics move seemingly without purpose along the clean streets of the city..and already the charm of this place, a bit lost in this world, already captures us... Muscat is pleasant and the atmosphere is extremely relaxed.

The small gulf of Mutrah, besides its charm, offers the Fish Market, interesting in the early hours of the morning when the fishermen return from the sea to sell their fish. The beautiful (especially the roof!) and very busy Gold Souq and the splendid Mutrah Fort, one of the many forts and watchtowers built during the Portuguese colonial period, in the 16th century. January is the right month to be able to walk without feeling ill from the heat. With a lot of courage, Michael and I set off from Mutrah and along the coast we reached the urban core of Muscat. The landmarks along the route are the eagle fountain, the Al-Riyam park, the Portuguese watchtower, the monument to the ancient incense trade (once the driving force of the local economy...) and the Muscat Gate Museum, the ancient gateway to the city.

After playing soccer with 2 little kids (here soccer is an epidemic disease...), eating in the only restaurant we could find and after discovering the incredible hospitality of the locals, we let ourselves be captivated, in the most surreal silence, by what Muscat offers to those few visitors who reach it: the Sultan's palace, the Mirani and Al-Jalali forts. This city (or rather, these cities) are small and the visit does not require an excessive number of days, but the pleasure of living and breathing the true air of Arabia means that 3/4 days turn into a very pleasant surprise. One of our days, after a long negotiation with a local taxi driver, we dedicated to visiting two small villages on the coast south of Muscat: Yitti and Al-Seifa.

A spectacular road between arid mountains and breathtaking panoramas accompanies us along the route: Yitti is a wonderful beach with no more than 7 or 8 little houses scattered here and there (worth seeing now before the work begins for the construction of a mega hotel complex financed by the government of Dubai...a tragedy...). Al-Seifa is a bit bigger, but here too the beach, the very tall mountains and the stunning cove of Bandar Khayran make this "little trip" a unique and unforgettable experience...like the beauties of this country, its natural treasures and the unique and wonderful people who inhabit it.