The City of Falling Anchors.

Next day we were checking out of The Golden Tulip and moving to our final hotel - The Novotel Muscat Airport. We had booked it for two nights though we were only actually staying for one. Our flight out of Muscat was late at night and if we had booked just one night, we would be homeless for quite a long time, so we paid for two nights and had somewhere to live right up to the time we had to leave for the airport.

We had a leisurely breakfast in The Golden Tulip then went for our final swim in the rooftop pool.

The official taxi driver on duty was different from the nice one we had encountered the previous day and he wasn't flexible on the price, so I booked a Tasleem taxi. Our driver was pleasant. On the journey to the hotel we passed by The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque again.

Bye bye Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque.

The Novotel Muscat Airport was past the airport. It wasn't on such a busy road as The Golden Tulip, but there didn't seem to be much around it either. I was getting to expect that.

The Novotel later at night.

Check in was ok except we thought they would have a lounge we could use as platinum members. They didn't. We were given a free upgrade to a suite and were able to check-in early.

Our first hotel had had no hot water and a safe that didn't work. Our second hotel had had a murderous, evil drawer and a safe that didn't work. What could possibly go wrong here?

When we got into our room, I checked the safe. It was working. Phew! Could this be the first fully functioning hotel room? Nervously, I began pulling open the drawers. They opened smoothly and stopped when they should. I checked the mini bar. Yes, it was cold. We could relax. We sat on the bed, took out our phones and discovered the WiFi didn't work. I phoned reception. They said they would send someone to fix it. They didn't. I went to reception. They told me: "Yes, I.T. will sort it." They didn't.

It took a few more phone calls and an additional visit to the front desk, but eventually around eight hours after we checked in, someone fixed our WiFi.

The room itself was lovely and very comfortable.

Our room.

Our room.

Anyway, we weren't going to let this spoil our day. After complaining the first couple of times, we headed to the pool. It was a nice one. It was rectangular and a reasonable size. The water wasn't as warm as in The Radisson Blu Hotel, but it was warmer than in The Golden Tulip. The only thing wrong with the pool was that it was incredibly windy around it. I only just managed to catch Peter's wheelchair before it blew into it. One really good thing about this pool was that, although there were stairs up to it, there was also a ramp, so I could get Peter up there really easily. The pool attendant was lovely and friendly, always smiling and helpful. He was also in charge of the gym.

Me in the pool.

Peter in the pool.

Peter in the pool.

Peter in the pool.

After our swim we relaxed in the room. Since we still had no WiFi at that point, I read a book. I had wanted to do a bit of blogging, so that I didn't have masses to do when I got home, but, oh well, can't have everything.

In the evening we went to inquire about the hotel restaurant. We were told there were two. The upstairs one, The Theatrum, did alcohol and the downstairs one did not. No prizes for guessing which one we were going to.

Before we went there though, I photographed the hotel's Christmas decorations. On the day we left The Radisson Blu they were just putting up their tree and hadn't finished decorating it when we left. On the day we left The Golden Tulip, they were also just putting up their tree. Here the decorations were up and I could finally get to photograph them.

Gingerbread house.

Peter with the Gingerbread house.

Christmas tree.

Peter with the Christmas tree.

Another Christmas tree.

Peter with yet another Christmas tree.

Outside the hotel was decorated, too.

The Novotel.

Decorations outside the hotel.

I don't know if all the stories you hear in western countries about not putting up Christmas decorations in case you offend ethnic minorities are true or just urban myths. What I do know is that we have been to so many Moslem countries where people love Christmas. They loved it here. I remember one Christmas years ago where we went to a Christmas fair in Malaysia thinking it would be full of western tourists, only to find it was full of Moslems in Santa hats having a great time.

We also passed some interesting art work and decorations on the way to the restaurant.

Art work.

Art work.

Art work.

Racing car.

The staff of the restaurant were very friendly. We began by getting our free drinks. We were expecting the waitress to say they had to be soft drinks, but she actually said: "Would you like wine, beer or a cocktail?"

I opted for a glass of white wine and Peter had a cocktail. He only ever drinks these when they are free.

There was an indoor and an outdoor part of the restaurant. When we arrived there was live music, but it finished soon after.

The menu was largely Asian with lots and lots of sushi. I was fine with that, but Peter prefers western food. I had the butter chicken and Peter went for chicken gioza.

Restaurant Theatrum.

Inside Restaurant Theatrum.

Looking towards the outdoor terrace.

Peter with his cocktail.

Us with our free drinks.

My butter chicken, Peter's gioza and poppadoms.

One thing I liked about this restaurant was that you could look into the kitchen and watch the chefs at work.

Restaurant kitchen.

After dinner when we went back to the room, our WiFi was working. Yippee!!!

Next day we had a very pleasant breakfast sitting outdoors. I liked the Arabic coffee pot. Unfortunately, the coffee in it was finished, but I tried it later in the airport lounge. It tastes of cardamom. I also tried some of the dates.

Peter at breakfast.

Me at breakfast.

Arab coffee and dates.

After breakfast, I had a look at some of the things for sale in the shop next to the restaurant.They had some very colourful ice-cream and chocolate. I'm not sure what flavour that blue ice-cream would be.

chocolate.

Ice-cream.

I couldn't resist photographing the Omani washroom signs.

Ladies.

Gents.

We were paying for a room we weren't going to sleep in, so it made sense to enjoy it and the rest of the hotel, so we relaxed for a while then went swimming.

Peter in the pool.

Peter in the pool.

Peter in the pool.

Peter in the pool.

Me in the pool.

Later we went back to The Theatrum Restaurant and ordered a margarita pizza to share. It was very good.

Us in the restaurant.

Our pizza.

It was just about time to check out. Although it had upset them in the first hotel, I asked where the Tasleem taxi could stop. Here the receptionist explained clearly. He also said: "Don't get one of the expensive taxis. We've had lots of complaints about overcharging."

I booked the taxi and we checked out. The taxi driver at the gate tried to get me to use him. I told him I had booked a Tasleem taxi. He said: "They can't stop here." I said: "I think they can." He said: "It won't come." I said: "We'll wait and see." He said: "I'll match the price." I said: "He's taking us for 1.7OMR, will you match that?" He just laughed. Of course he wouldn't.

We were still arguing when our taxi arrived. Taxi drivers eh, can't live with them, can't get anywhere without them.

The Tasleem taxi driver was nice and helpful. Check in at the airport was fine and we got to use the lounge, which was actually pretty good, though neither of us was hungry.

Airport lounge.

The first flight went smoothly. Then we had nine hours of waiting in the silver lounge, then seven and a half hours to fly home.

Another holiday over. Peter really enjoyed Oman. I liked it, except for the fact that it was largely unwalkable and didn't have public transport. Both of us agree we would go back.

Mutrah Fort on the Mutrah Corniche.

We both felt quite refreshed after our lazy day. We had a lovely breakfast then got ready to go out.

An official taxi driver sits just outside the hotel entrance. We decided if he was there, we would bargain his price down a bit. If he wasn't there, I would try and get Peter down the very steep slope, then try to find where the Tasleem taxis were allowed to pick up from. He wasn't there. I planned to try and walk backwards down the slope with the wheelchair, but Peter said: "No go forwards and I'll put my feet down to slow us going down." There was no way for pedestrians to go in or out of the hotel except on the road. Peter's idea worked well, so we got down the hill no bother. I then put him in the shade and went back to the hotel to use their WiFi to book a taxi.

When I had done that, the official taxi man had returned and asked me if I wanted a taxi. I told him I had just booked one. He was still very pleasant and told me where to go to get the Tasleem taxi. That was very valuable information.

We lucked out this time and got a lovely driver who spoke excellent English. I told him I had put Mutrah Souq in as my destination, but I actually wanted the Fish Souq. I explained that I wanted to be on the Corniche and didn't want to have to cross the road. The taxi driver was fine with that, though he had to drive a very long way to turn around and get us on the corniche side of the road.

Again we passed some interesting things on the way, such as mosques, monuments and gates.

Mosque.

Muscat Gate.

Mountain scenery.

Monument on the boulevard leading to the Al Alam Palace.

The golden water jugs fountain.

The taxi driver took us where we wanted to go, but also pointed out a pedestrian crossing between Mutrah Souq and the corniche. While this may not be the only pedestrian crossing in Muscat, it was the only one I saw all holiday.

I wanted to visit the fish souq and the fruit and vegetable souq and Peter didn't, so I put Peter in the shade by the waterfront and went off to explore the Souqs.

The Fish Souq would be at its busiest first thing in the morning, but there was still a lot to see late morning when I visited. Personally I liked visiting here. There were large quantities of fish, sellers in traditional dress and pictures of boats adorning the walls. The number of sharks on display did make me feel rather glad I was swimming in swimming pools rather than the sea, though.

The Fish Souq.

Fish seller on his phone.

Fish sellers.

Fish seller.

Fish seller.

Haggling.

Fish sellers.

Weighing the fish.

Colourful fish.

Colourful fish.

Shark.

Fish.

Fish.

Fish.

Fish.

Fish.

Fish.

Fish.

Golden fish.

I liked that the walls of the Fish Souq were lined with pictures of fishing boats

Boat on the wall.

Boat on the wall.

Boat on the wall.

Next to the Fish Souq, in the same building, there is a fruit and vegetable Souq. It wasn't very hassley, but a few sellers tried to persuade me to buy their dates. I tried dates a few times on this trip.

Fruit and vegetable Souq.

Fruit stall.

Fruit.

Melons, papayas and gourds.

Vegetables.

Vegetables.

Dates and nuts.

Dates, nuts and papaya.

Vegetables.

Vegetable seller.

Dried goods

I returned to Peter. On the way I noticed an interesting restaurant called Bait Al Luban. This is housed in a restored historic building and is known for offering traditional Omani cuisine.

Bait Al Luban Restaurant.

I pushed Peter along the corniche, stopping frequently to look at things and take photos.The Sultan's yacht was still moored there. I wonder how frequently he uses it. The fresh sea air on the Corniche was good for Peter and although it was hot, there was a pleasant breeze.

The end of the corniche near the Fish Souq.

Looking along the shoreline.

The Sultan's yacht and the giant incense burner in the distance.

The Sultan's yacht and some seagulls.

Peter and the Sultan's yacht.

The harbour.

Rocky shore.

The corniche.

The corniche

The Corniche.

Peter on the corniche.

Peter on the corniche.

There were lots of different fish and dolphin statues along the corniche.

Dolphin statue.

Fish statue.

Us with the fish sculpture.

Peter with the fish sculpture.

Dolphin sculpture.

Us with the dolphins.

There were several shaded shelters with seats where it was possible to get out of the sun.

Shelter on the corniche.

Peter in a shelter on the corniche.

Peter in a shelter on the corniche.

Us in a shelter on the corniche.

Waterfront view.

In one area there were large concrete tetrapods to protect the shoreline from erosion.

Tetrapods.

Peter with tetrapods.

Across the other side of the road there was a Shiite Mosque called Masjid Al Rasool Al A'dham. It was a beautiful building and because it was painted with colourful blue patterns it reminded me of Iranian mosques I had seen before.

Masjid Al Rasool Al A'dham.

Masjid Al Rasool Al A'dham.

Peter on the corniche near the Shiite mosque.

I offered to take Peter across the road at the crossing and into Mutrah Souq, but he didn't want to go and I had already explored it and wasn't bothered about going in again. We had a good view of the front of it from the corniche.

Mutrah Souq.

Mutrah Souq.

There was another little mosque here too and lots of little buildings.

Mutrah.

Small Mosque.

At the far end of the corniche we had a good view of Mutrah Fort up on the hillside. This is the fort that I visited on my first full day. It looks very high up, but it hadn't been that difficult to get into. I don't think I'd like to visit in 50 degree heat in the summer, though.

Mutrah Fort in the distance.

Peter with Mutrah Fort.

Mutrah Fort.

Mutrah Fort close up.

Peter with the fort.

The other end of the corniche.

We bargained with a taxi tout to get a ride home. Naturally we paid more than getting there, but it was ok and it meant we were dropped off right at the hotel door and I didn't have to wheel Peter up the steep slope again. Our driver was pleasant and friendly.

Scenery on the drive home.

We spent the afternoon swimming and by the pool.

Peter in the pool.

Peter in the pool.

Me in the pool.

At night we had chicken shish and chicken burger in the restaurant on the roof.

Peter in the restaurant.

Peter in the restaurant.

Me in the restaurant.

Chicken shish with hummus.

Chicken burger.

Peter with the pool at night.

Muscat at sunset.

Next day was our last day in The Radisson Blu. We were moving to The Golden Tulip Hotel in the afternoon.

We got up early and headed to breakfast. I hadn't managed to get through all the water the German tourists had given me, so I texted James to see if he would take a bottle. He would and we arranged to have breakfast together.

After breakfast, we went upstairs and I made a start on the packing. Then we went to the pool. I bumped into a German woman I had befriended the day before. What had happened was that I went to the loo next to the pool and found a pair of sunglasses next to the wash hand basin. I considered handing them in, but then I thought: "If the person who left them realises they are missing, they will come back for them," so I left them where they were.

I am a bit obsessive so I watched for any women going to the toilet minus sunglasses and coming out happily wearing them. I felt like, after losing Peter's shoe, I was on the side of people being reunited with their lost property. Noone went to the loo, so I tried a new tactic. I looked around at all the women by the pool. All, but one of them were wearing sunglasses, so I went to the one that wasn't and said: "Hello, are you missing a pair of sunglasses, because someone has left a pair in the washroom?" She said: "Mine are on my head." and raised her hand up to her head then shrieked: "Where are my sunglasses?" I said: "In the washrooms by the wash hand basin." She went off to see and came out wearing a pair of sunglasses.

Well when I next met her in the pool, she swam over to me and said she was so grateful that I had told her about her sunglasses. I said: "No problem. It's not nice to lose something. My husband lost his shoe yesterday and we were very annoyed about it, so I am happy to help someone else in a similar situation."

We then went off swimming and Peter brought himself into the pool. Within a few minutes the German woman swam up to me and said: "I've just found a shoe in the water. Is it yours?" It actually was Peter's swimming shoe, so I had to say: "Yes." She joked: "Now we are even. You found my sunglasses. I found your shoe." I had to explain: "This isn't actually the shoe I meant. This is yet another shoe my husband has lost," because Peter doesn't have a lot of feeling in his feet and losing his shoes without noticing, is actually a daily occurrence in our house.

Me in The Radisson pool .

Me in The Radisson pool.

Me in The Radisson pool.

Anyway, it was nearly checkout time. We went back to our room and finished packing. Checkout was at twelve, but checking in at our next hotel wasn't until three, so we asked reception if they would store our bag for a couple of hours, while we went for a meal in The Lazy Lizard poolside bar. They said that they would.

The concierge suddenly appeared. He said: "A taxi driver came here this morning and said a passenger from here in a wheelchair had lost a shoe in his cab. He brought it back." We were delighted to be reunited with the shoe.

We sat next to the pool and James came to join us. We exchanged phone numbers and took a few selfies together. We often chat to people on holiday, but this time it felt like we had made a friend.

Peter and I in The Radisson.

James and Peter.

A rather blurry selfie of the three of us.

We went back for our bag and to get ready to leave. This is where it all started to go horribly wrong.

I asked a member of staff to help me choose the right location for a cheaper Taslem taxi to come to. They said: "Back door." I said: "My husband fell on the stairs trying to get a taxi there yesterday." I probably got a bit carried away and said the taxi system was really annoying and confusing. Anyway when I said that, the atmosphere very noticeably changed, as I had just criticised Omani government policy and noone knew how to react. They all went quiet and embarrassed. Eventually I managed to get a taxi to come to the front gate and I left amidst a very awkward and tense atmosphere. We headed outside to find the taxi.

Up to this point every Omani we had encountered had been lovely. That was about to change. Our taxi driver, who looked very much like a young Colonel Gaddafi (I'm not trying to be cheeky, he really did), glared at us with hostility and hatred from the moment he set eyes on us. He didn't help Peter get into the car, or help me put the luggage and the wheelchair in the boot. He tutted at everything we did, like this: "Tut, tut, tut, tut, tut." It was like sitting next to a clock or a bomb on a timer.

He seemed to have no idea where we wanted to go, although I had keyed it into the app and he kept shouting at us and shoving his mobile phone with Arabic writing on it in my face and screaming: "Is it there!" I told him I couldn't read Arabic. At one point we got stuck in a horrendous traffic jam and he threatened to throw us out. I got really angry, but Peter stayed very calm. He just said: "You can't put us out, because we can't even get out here."

The taxi driver then demanded that we pay him more money than the agreed fare. I told him we would not be doing that. When we finally got to the hotel, the taxi driver wouldn't open the doors to let us out. I think he wanted to intimidate us and make us start to panic, but we both just sat there calmly and waited for him to open them. After all he was wasting money sitting doing nothing instead of picking up another fare, while we could sit there forever if necessary.

He had also parked in the most inconvenient spot possible for a wheelchair. I did not pay him the extra money he wanted and I was delighted to get away from him.

Now that we are back in Hong Kong I can safely say that this guy was the only unpleasant Omani we met. Everyone else was friendly and pleasant.

To get Peter to the hotel I had to push him up a really steep slope. This was difficult with all our luggage. A young German tourist ran out of the hotel and came to help me. It was great to see there were still nice people in the world.

Our room wasn't ready, so we had to sit for a while. I asked the receptionist if there had been an accident outside as the traffic had been terrible. She said it was because the sultan had passed by.

When we did get into the room, it was nice and comfortable, but the safe didn't work. I phoned reception to complain. They said they'd send someone. I knew from The Radisson that saying they would send someone, generally meant: 'We will do nothing, until you have complained at least another five times.

Golden Tulip Hotel.

Our room.

We couldn't go to the pool without locking our valuables away, so I decided to unpack. To my horror I discovered we had left Peter's shoe that matched the one the driver had brought back in the other hotel, so we still only had one shoe. It was just for a different foot.

Then, I opened a drawer and I don't know exactly what happened. There was a fault with its runners, if that's the correct word and it shot out and crashed to the floor. I only just managed to leap out of the way before it broke my foot. At this point I lost it completely. I got back on the phone and shouted about the safe and about the drawer. I was really angry. That worked though. We got both things fixed within minutes.

I went for a swim to calm myself down, but Peter didn't want to come with me. I suspect he was glad to get rid of me.

The pool was on the roof next to the bar and restaurant. It was nice up there.

Golden Tulip Pool.

Golden Tulip Pool.

Golden Tulip Pool.

Looking at the view from the roof however I realised the hotel was almost totally surrounded by uncrossable busy roads. I felt like I was marooned on an island. It's almost impossible to walk anywhere in Muscat. Everything is cut off by roads and most of the roads don't have pedestrian crossings. I saw almost no-one walking except in touristy areas like Mutrah. I love exploring on foot so I really didn't like this. I suppose it's understandable in a country where the temperature is often in the fifties though.

Roads near the hotel.

Roads near the hotel.

Roads near the hotel.

Across the roads there was a mall but although AI told me it was two minutes walk away that appeared to involve crossing a motorway. I didn't go to the mall. To be honest I don't really like malls anyway.

Muscat Grand Mall.

There was also a lovely restaurant and bar on the roof. This is called Sama Terrazza Rooftop Lounge.

Golden Tulip rooftop restaurant.

Golden Tulip rooftop restaurant.

Shisha.

Shisha.

I stayed for a while and watched the sun set.

Sunset on the first night.

Sunset over the shopping mall.

Later we ate dinner in the roof restaurant. It was a beautiful setting. The food was ok, but not great. I had chicken shawarma and Peter had fish and chips.

Peter in the rooftop bar.

Peter with fish and chips.

The restaurant at night.

My chicken shawarma.

Us in the restaurant.

I took some pictures of the views from the roof and of the pool by night.

Night View from the roof.

The shopping mall at night.

The roads by night.

The pool at night.

Peter agreed that he'd come out with me the next day, but I told him: "You know what. Why don't we just treat ourselves to a lazy day by the pool", so that's what we did.

We began with a long leisurely breakfast. The breakfast was actually pretty good. I especially liked the masala chai

Peter at breakfast.

Me at breakfast.

After breakfast we relaxed in the room then went upstairs and swam and sunbathed. I also enjoyed reading a book. It was blissful. Mind you it wasn't as hot as we expected, because there was a strong breeze blowing across the roof.

Selfie by the pool.

Peter in the pool.

Peter in the pool.

Peter in the pool.

Me in the pool.

Me in the pool.

If we had gone out, I'd have wanted to go to The Royal Opera House. This is a beautiful building and it's possible to do a tour of the inside. Although we didn't actually take a taxi to the opera, we passed it several times, so I was able to photograph it from our passing vehicle.

Apparently Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, was a huge fan of classical music, and he ordered the construction of an opera building in 2001. The Opera House was built by the Carillion Alawi Construction Company and was officially opened in October 2011 with a production of the opera Turandot, conducted by Plácido Domingo.

It's possible to do a tour of the Opera House for a fee, every day, except Friday, between 8.30am to 5.30pm.

The Royal Muscat Opera House.

The Royal Muscat Opera House.

The Royal Muscat Opera House.

The Royal Muscat Opera House.

The Royal Muscat Opera House.

The sunset on our second night was more dramatic than on the first night.

Sunset second night

Sunset over the mall.

Sunset second night.

Sunset second night.

Flowers at sunset.

Again we ate in the roof top bar. Peter had chicken tenders and I had chicken tikka. It was very peaceful, though there was a football match on on the huge screen by the pool.

The pool at night.

The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque.

Even though I had enjoyed my taxi ride that turned into a tour the day before, I felt a bit uneasy about going off in a taxi on my own again. Peter, who didn't really want to traipse around tourist sights that he couldn't see, felt a bit sorry for me and said he would come with me on my next outing. For that outing I chose a visit to Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. We had already caught a glimpse of it on our journey from the airport and it looked very impressive.

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque viewed from the taxi on the day we arrived.

We got up early because tourists can only visit the mosque in the morning from 8.30am to 11am and not at all on Fridays.

First we headed down to breakfast and decided to eat in the garden this time. James was there already and invited us to share a table with him, which we did.

After breakfast, I used my taxi app to get a taxi. I now knew, or at least thought, that a cheaper taxi had to go to the back of the hotel, so I took Peter there. Unfortunately while the front of the hotel was flat, the back had steps with no rail and Peter fell on them. Luckily he wasn't badly hurt. I was thinking how annoying the taxi rules were when I received a message from our driver saying: "I'm here waiting, where are you?" I showed this to a member of staff and he said: "Oh he's waiting at the front of the hotel." I said: "I thought they couldn't do that." It turned out that they could if you went all the way to the outer gate of the hotel. I said: "I'm not taking my husband back up the steps, he has already fallen." The staff member then phoned the driver and asked him to come around the back of the hotel.

My smallest note was a 20 OMR and I had tried to break it for smaller notes at the hotel reception, but they had told me that they could not do that early in the morning, it had to be later in the day when they had received payment. They assured me that 20 OMR wasn't that big (it's around £40.) Luckily I double checked with the driver before getting in the car. He said that he didn't have change, but he'd go to a shop and get some. It took him a while, as the shops also didn't have a lot of money on their premises in the morning.

This driver was a real sweetie and nothing seemed to be too much trouble for him. He even tried to undercharge us, but I actually gave him a tip because he was so nice.

At the mosque the attendants directed me to an entrance that was suitable for wheelchairs, but Peter said no, he didn't want to come in. I said: "You've come all this way. You have to come in." He said: "I came with you, because you didn't want to go alone. I never said I would come in." I couldn't get him to change his mind, so I put his wheelchair in the shade and went in alone.

One of the attendants took pity on him and brought him a bottle of water. They probably thought I was an awful person who just abandoned my husband in the mosque car park.

I was wearing long trousers, a high necked T-shirt with a long sleeved top on top of it and I had brought a black headscarf. I was hoping my clothes would pass the required entry rules and that I wouldn't need to buy or hire any other clothes to get in. Fortunately, I was told I was dressed suitably and allowed in.

The first area I came to was the mosque gardens. There was a large area in front of the mosque with marble floors and water features as well as trees and flower beds. On one side of the mosque there was a long narrower garden filled with brightly coloured flowers.

The mosque across the gardens.

The mosque across the gardens.

Marble path and water feature.

Flower beds at the side of the mosque.

Looking across the gardens.

There were arched corridors along two sides of the mosque. Here you could find washrooms and ablution rooms where you could wash your feet and hands before going inside the mosque to pray. There were beautiful views of the main domed mosque buildings through the archways.

Ablution room.

Arched walkways.

Looking at the mosque from the arched walkway.

Looking at the mosque from the arched walkway.

The corridors had wonderful colourful tiles, each set unique. Some were traditional blue floral designs, others were more modern. There were lots of reds and browns as well as the blue.

Delicate floral design.

Beautiful blue tiles.

Modern looking design.

Traditional floral design.

Trees.

Blue and pink.

The arched corridors were lined with lanterns. I wonder how it would look here at night when presumably these are lit up.

Lanterns line the walkway.

The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque was financed by the then Sultan of Oman, Qaboos bin Said Al Said. It took six years and seven months to build and was completed in 2001. This is the largest mosque in Oman and can accommodate 20,000 worshipers.

From chatting to a few Omanis, such as taxi drivers and hotel staff, it seems that Sultan Qaboos was a very popular leader.

Qaboos bin Said Al Said was born in Salalah in 1940. He ruled as Sultan of Oman from 23 July 1970 until his death in 2020, making him the longest-serving leader in the Middle East and Arab world at the time of his death. Sultan Qaboos modernized Oman and ended its international isolation. His reign was marked by a big improvement in living standards for most Omanis. Sultan Qaboos had no children and was succeeded by his cousin, Haitham bin Tariq, who is the present sultan.

Various materials were used in the construction of The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, including different types of stone, wood for the doorways and window frames and glass for windows, lanterns and chandeliers.

The first building I went into was the women's prayer hall, which can accommodate 750 women. It had carved wooden doors and stained glass windows with geometric patterns.

Windows and chandeliers.

Windows and chandeliers.

Doorway.

The main square shaped prayer hall occupies 58,940 square feet and has a central dome that rises 160 feet above floor level.

Dome of the main prayer hall.

Prayer hall and main Minaret.

The main prayer hall.

Mosque and minaret.

Shiny marble.

Archways.

A lot of the mosque is made of Indian sandstone.

Looking down the length of the mosque.

Everything reflected on the shiny floor.

The mosque.

The mosque.

This mosque has five minarets, representing the five pillars of Islam. The main minaret is 300 feet high and the four other minarets are 149 feet high.

Minarets in the distance.

Minaret.

Minaret above a courtyard.

Minarets and arches.

Inside the main prayer hall is very beautiful with tiled walls, patterned carpets and chandeliers.

Inside the beautiful prayer hall.

Inside the prayer hall, extensive carpets.

Inside the prayer hall, chandeliers.

Inside the prayer hall, pillars.

Inside the beautiful prayer hall, showing tiled walls.

The carpet covering the floor of the prayer hall took more than six hundred workers four years to produce. It contains 1.7 million knots and weighs 21 tonnes.

Carpet.

The main chandelier inside the prayer hall is made of 600000 crystals and 1122 halogen bulbs and weighs 7.7 tonnes. There are thirty-four similar, but smaller chandeliers.

Chandelier.

There's a beautifully decorated Mihrab indicating the direction of Mecca.

Mihrab.

Mihrab.

There are courtyards with walkways, arches and lamps.

Courtyard.

Doorway.

Lamp

As I was leaving the mosque, I noticed an impressive building in the distance. I later discovered that this was the Supreme Court of Oman.

Supreme court of Oman.

Supreme court of Oman.

We were going to use our app to get a taxi back to the hotel, but we were almost immediately surrounded by official taxi drivers. They asked at first for 5 OMR and we said: "That's too much." Then to our surprise they said: "6." I told them: "You are going the wrong way." Eventually we got home for three Omani Rial, though we had only paid 1.5 to get there. At least our official taxi could take us right to the front door. We later discovered Peter's shoe had fallen off getting out of the taxi and he hadn't noticed.

We spent the afternoon swimming and eating lunch by the pool.

Food by the pool.

Peter with his beer.

Peter in the pool.

Peter in the pool.

Peter in the pool.

Peter in the pool.

Peter in the pool.

In the evening we went to the lounge. James wasn't there as he was meeting up with a friend he used to work with. This was the only night the lounge wasn't friendly.

When I went to get food, I found there was almost nothing there and then noticed one man had taken almost every sandwich and every samosa to his table and ate the lot by himself. I've never seen anyone in a lounge behave like this before. The guy in charge of the lounge was frantically making more food due to this and was clearly very stressed.

There was a very loud obnoxious Australian guy talking to an equally loud obnoxious white West Indian guy. They kept swearing nonstop at top volume and moaning about everything. At one point they went around the lounge looking at everything saying: "This is shit, this is shit, this is shit....." We left early as we couldn't take any more

Me in The Radisson Lounge.

Peter in the Radisson lounge.

The lounge had been lovely on the other nights. It just shows you, it all comes down to the people you meet. Sadly, we were going to learn the truth of this the next day, too.

Although we had been exhausted the night before, I woke up really early, maybe it was the time difference. Peter wanted to sleep more, so I decided to go for a quick walk before breakfast.

I wanted to look at a small park and a mosque near our hotel. To get to the park I had to cross two roads. I noticed there didn't seem to be any pedestrian crossings on any of the roads, but the traffic wasn't that busy, so I crossed into the park without problem.

Our Hotel.

Fountain outside the hotel.

Buildings near our hotel.

Buildings near our hotel.

The park provided a welcome splash of green to its surroundings. It had grass and palm trees.

Park near our hotel.

Park near our hotel.

Park near our hotel.

Me in the park.

I passed a man trying to stop a taxi, then another man who stared at me open-mouthed in surprise. I said: "Good morning!" to him and he gave me a big smile.

I crossed another road to get to the mosque and there was a man there who stared at me so much I was beginning to think I must have grown two heads or something. He even started walking backwards to continue staring at me. I tried the good morning ploy again and it worked. He gave me a huge smile, then mercifully left me alone.

The mosque here is called Said bin Taimur Mosque. Apparently this mosque was built by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said in memory of his late father, Sultan Said bin Taimur. It was opened in 1999. I wasn't sure if non-Muslims could go inside or not. Anyway I had left my headscarf in the hotel room. I just walked around the outside and took photos. I didn't realise at this stage that almost noone walks around here, except in places like the Corniche and that most roads are very difficult to cross. That, plus the fact I look different from Omanis, was probably why everyone was starring at me.

Said bin Taimur Mosque.

Said bin Taimur Mosque.

Said bin Taimur Mosque.

At the mosque.

I noticed there was a Spar Supermarket on the other side of the road from the mosque and went there to buy us some snacks. Then I walked back to the hotel.

Peter and I went to breakfast. At breakfast we bumped into James again. He had been sitting in the garden, but we had sat inside. The breakfast food was good. Peter had omelette, beans and potatoes and I tried several Arabic dishes.

Breakfast room.

Peter at breakfast.

Outside at breakfast.

We had a short rest after breakfast, then headed to the pool where we had a lovely relaxing swim. We stayed there for several hours.

Peter in the pool.

Peter in the pool.

Peter in the pool.

Peter in the pool.

Me at the pool.

We also ordered some snacks and a very expensive beer for Peter. A cute little cat turned up at one point and started drinking the water in the swimming pool. We were to see that cat many more times during our stay.

Peter at the pool.

Food at the pool.

This little cat came to drink from the pool.

I think Peter would have liked to stay by the pool all day, but in the afternoon I wanted to go out sightseeing. I felt a bit nervous about it and tried to persuade Peter to come with me, but he told me he didn't want to, so I booked a taxi on my Tasleem App, which was the only app that would work for me and headed out on my own.

I booked the taxi in our room, then headed downstairs and got a notification that my taxi had arrived already. I headed out the front door, but couldn't find my taxi. I got another notification asking me where I was. I then asked a member of staff where I could find my taxi and he told me to go out the back door. There's a rule in Oman that if you use a cheaper taxi app to get you to your hotel or the airport it is not allowed to take you right there. Trying to find our taxis was to become a bit of a problem on this trip.

Eventually me and my taxi found each other. The driver then asked me where I wanted to go which surprised me because I had already put Mutrah Fort into the app. I told him this and he wasn't sure where I meant. He kept saying: "Mutrah Souq" and I kept saying: "No, Mutrah Fort." Eventually he understood where I wanted to go. Then he asked me where I was from and what else I wanted to see. I told him that today I only wanted to see Mutrah, but that later I would go to the palace. He said: "What palace?" I said: "Al Alam Palace." He said: "I'll take you there first free, then to the fort. It's very near." At first I said: "No, no, just to the fort." However, eventually he persuaded me, so we headed to the palace.

We passed a few interesting things on the way such as: the gate museum, an old watchman's tower and the Riyam Censer in Riyam Park which is designed to look like a traditional Omani incense burner. This was built as a reminder of how important the incense trade once was in Oman. The gate museum was an old gate in the city wall which was used to keep out invaders, then in 2001 it was made into a museum with displays about Oman's history from Neolithic times to the present day. According to my driver every city in Oman has similar old gates.

Muscat Gate Museum.

Old watchtower.

The Riyam Censer.

The Riyam Censer.

View from car.

View from car.

View from car.

I thought my driver would just stop in front of the palace and I'd take a quick photo and get back in the car, but he took me all around this area. He was quite funny he kept saying things like: "I've lost my car. Do you remember where I parked it?" Needless to say if he really had been relying on me, he would never have seen his car again.

Al Alam Palace means Palace of the Flag. It is the ceremonial palace of the Sultan of Oman and is used for official functions such as welcoming foreign dignitaries and heads of state.

The original palace that stood here was built by Sultan Said bin Sultan in the early 1800s on the foundations of the old sea wall between Al-Mirani Fort and Al Jalali Fort. It was very badly damaged by tribal insurgents in 1895 and wasn't rebuilt. The current palace, Qaṣr al-ʿAlam, was built by Sultan Qaboos bin Said and was completed in 1972. It's not open to the public.

Me at the palace.

Al Alam Palace.

Me at the Palace.

Al Alam Palace.

Me at the palace.

My driver at the palace.

As well as the palace, there's a large museum here called the National Museum. I didn't go inside. I thought maybe I would come back on another day, but I'm not big on museums, so didn't.

The National Museum.

The National Museum.

Nearby there were the Al Mirani and Al Jalali forts. These were originally constructed on the foundations of older Omani forts, but were rebuilt by the Portuguese in the late sixteenth century. They have been used as military outposts, royal refuges, prisons and museums.

Al Mirani Fort.

Al Mirani Fort.

Al Mirani Fort.

Me with Al Mirani Fort.

Me at a mosque near the palace.

Then we got back in the car and drove to Mutrah Fort. That should have been the end of my journey, and it should have cost me around 3 OMR, but my driver came with me to the fort. It cost 3.6 OMR (a bit over £7) to get in. They had no change and I had no credit card, so my driver ended up paying part of my entrance fee for me. He then told me to explore the fort and take as long as I wanted and he'd wait for me. By this stage I was beginning to realise I had hired a guide rather than getting a taxi. I began to wonder just how much this was going to cost.

Mutrah Fort is thought to date back to around 1507. It was then given towers and stronger walls by the Portuguese in the 1560s. The main functions of the fort were observation and defence. The fort looks wonderful set against the hillside, but there isn't a lot of it left. It's really just a place to climb up for a view. There's a cafe here if you need a drink after climbing up all the stairs.

Mutrah Fort.

Me in front of Mutrah Fort.

Coming down from the fort.

Inside Mutrah Fort.

Cafe of the fort.

Inside the fort.

View from the fort window.

Fort tower.

Fort tower.

The best thing about the fort are the beautiful views from the top of it

View from the fort.

View from the fort.

View towards watch tower.

It's possible to look over the corniche from here and see the sultan's superyacht, Fulk Al Salamah, which looks like a cruise ship. This is one of the largest yachts in the world. It was custom-built by Mariotti Yachts in Genoa and delivered to Oman in 2016.

View over the corniche.

Corniche from the fort.

View from the fort.

View from the fort.

The sultan's Yacht.

From the fort it was possible to see how dry and rocky the landscape was. The views were great, but the fort was pretty busy. I believe it's also possible to come here at night to watch the sunset.

Rocky landscape.

Rocky landscape.

Rocky landscape.

After exploring the fort, my driver took me to Mutrah Souq, which is one of the oldest souqs in the Arab world. Historically it once served as a trading hub for goods that came to Muscat from India, China, Europe, and other Middle Eastern regions.

There were some interesting shops, restaurants and buildings outside the Souq. I passed the Imam Bargah Mosque which is a place of worship for the Shia Muslim community in Muscat.

The Imam Bargah Mosque.

Shops near the souq.

Silver world near the souq.

Me outside Silver World.

Royal Handicrafts Gifts Centre.

The souq building itself had several beautiful ceilings.

The ceiling in the souq.

Ceiling in the Souq.

There were many very photogenic shops. It was not too hassley inside, though that may have been because I was with a local.

Saffron leading village.

Shop in the souq.

Shop in the souq.

Shop in the souq.

Many of the shops specialised in gorgeous textiles and beautifully patterned carpets.

Textile shop.

Textile shop.

Textiles.

Textiles in the souq.

Carpets in the Souq.

Close up.

Carpets in the souq.

There were souvenir shops selling wooden boxes, toy camels, Aladdin's lamps, knives, incense burners, pointy middle eastern shoes and many other things.

Camels.

Bags and camels.

Souvenir shop.

Souvenir shop in the souq.

Beautiful shop in the souq.

Wooden boxes.

Wooden boxes.

Incense burners.

One part of the Souq was quite touristy and a different part was more geared towards selling things to locals. I loved seeing all the people in their traditional clothes. I took a few discrete pictures of them.

Clothes shop.

Clothes shop in the Souq.

People shopping.

Archway in the souq.

A couple shopping in the souq.

My absolute favourite thing here though was all the gorgeous, fragrant and colourful shops selling heaps of spices and dried goods.

Spices.

Heaps of spices.

Dried goods shop.

Spices in the Souq.

My driver made several stops at different parts of the corniche for me to take photos. He also took me to the Fish Souq at my request, but it wasn't open. He told me to try and come back in the morning. I don't think I have ever had my photo taken so much, as my driver kept taking my phone and taking pictures of me on it.

On the corniche.

Corniche.

Me on the corniche.

Me on the Corniche.

Me on the Corniche.

Me on the Corniche.

There were big bus tours going up and down the corniche. I read they only run when a cruise ship comes in. I'm not sure if that's true or not. They are quite expensive.

Big bus.

My driver had long since had me sitting in the front of the taxi, so I could take better photos. He kept telling me to drive the taxi while he relaxed. Fortunately for him, I didn't or we'd probably both be dead by now. He put me on his phone to talk to his wife and one of his five kids. He told me they all wanted to learn English.

After we went to the Fish Souq and discovered it was closed, he drove me back home to the hotel.

I had started out on a one way fare at 2.70 Omani Rials. If I couldn't get my Tasleem app to work outside, I may have paid around 4 rials to get back on a normal taxi. From the palace to Mutrah Fort might have been around 1 Rial. I had been taken around and waited for and my tour had lasted just under three hours. How much was it going to cost?

Back at the hotel came the moment of truth. He charged me 10 Rial, about £20 which I think wasn't too bad. Peter also said that was pretty good, so I did all right. The only annoying thing about my driver was that he didn't believe I had a husband. He was sure I was in Muscat alone and had made up a husband as a kind of self protection from hassle or something.

That evening we ate in the lounge and spent the evening chatting to James again. James said the price of my trip was very reasonable and since he used to live in Muscat and visits frequently, he probably knows.

It had not been how I intended my day to go, but it was certainly a very interesting experience.