January 22: Sailing the Persian Gulf
Today was spent sailing from Bahrain to Muscat, Oman. Nothing to see but the sea.
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| That very flat piece of land in the far background is Iran |
January 23: Muscat, Oman
Today was spent touring
Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of
Oman. Muscat is much smaller than Dubai or Doha, but the thing that makes it most unique is that the government limits the height of buildings to about 8 stories, and all buildings must be white or natural stone. Oman is not as dependent on oil as the UAE or Qatar, with its economy mostly based on trade.
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| Children's Public Library |
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| Supreme Court of Oman |
Our first stop was at the
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque.
The carpet in the main prayer hall is the second largest in the world, behind the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
For some reason, they didn't make Brenda wear a full-length covering.
Our next stop was the National Opera House.
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| Lobby of the Opera House |
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| Entrance to a mall connected to the Opera House |
From there, we drove to some towns on the outskirts of Muscat.
Then we drove back into Muscat to visit the
Al Alam Palace, where the Sultan resides.
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| Al Mirani Fort, built by the Portuguese in the 16th century |
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| Entrance gate to Al Alam Palace |
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| Part of the palace |
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| More of the palace |
From the palace, we returned to the ship. In the harbor, near our ship, were two huge yachts, owned by the Sultan of Oman.
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| Another view from the port |
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| The port of Muscat at night. One of the Sultan's yachts is at right |
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| The children's pool on our ship |
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| The main pool on our ship |
January 24: Muscat, Oman
On our second day in Muscat, we spent the day wandering around the port area, which is in the Mutrah (or
Muttrah) district of Muscat.
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| The Sultan's yacht, again |
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| In front of the fish market |
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| In the fish market |
While touring the port, we visited the souk.
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| These run about $200 each |
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| Along the shoreline in port |
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| Mutrah Fort, built in the 1580's |
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| Mutrah fort and the harbor area |
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| More KFC |
When we returned to the ship, we were treated to personalized tea.
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| Sunset over Muscat |
January 25: Khasab, Oman
Today's stop was in
Khasab, a town on the northern tip of Oman. We began with a quick tour of the central part of Khasab. Our first stop was Khasab Castle, built by the Portuguese in the 18th century. The castle contained a small museum.
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| Khasab Castle |
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| In the museum |
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| Khasab Mosque |
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| In the market in front of the mosque |
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| Street in front of the mosque |
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| For those who don't demand the very best |
There's not a lot to see or do in Khasab, so we headed out to the surrounding area, passing through several towns.
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| Al Qala Fort |
Ultimately, we stopped at the small town of Bukha, to visit
Bukha Fort, which dates from the 16th or 17th century.
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| The mosque in Bukha as seen from Bukha fort |
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| Inside the fort |
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| Beach at Bukha |
From Bukha, we headed back to Khasab, passing through a few towns and desolate areas.
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| Re-entering Khasab District |
Next: Day 11 -- Back in Dubai
