Round The World and other travels

I made sure that I was up and about and had eaten breakfast in good time for my City Tour pick-up at 0900. My driver appeared on schedule and we eventually identified each other near the main entrance to the hotel. First stop was the Grand Mosque, which lies further away from the historic city of Muscat, and nearer to the airport, than the hotel. This turned out to be another stunningly beautiful building, probably less breathtaking than its brand new equivalent in Abu Dhabi, but this was made up for by the wonderful patterns and symmetry in the external design. It was a joy to walk about the outer parts of the structure and look for new viewpoints. One thing that I found odd was the dramatic difference between the men's prayer hall and the women's equivalent, which was much smaller and, while still beautiful by any reasonable standards, was a noticeably plainer affair. My guide explained that most women prefer to pray at home, which to my mind explained the first point but not necessarily the second.

We then back-tracked and headed towards the old port of Mutrah, starting with a visit to the fish market, followed by an extended stop at the famous Souq. I usually don't enjoy these places because of what I tend to call the 'hassle factor', but in all honesty this one didn't bother me at all. The merchants made their pitch, but completely understood and respected the concept of 'No, thank you'.

One of the most notable features of the Old Town is that it is completely hemmed in by hills, which adds considerably to its visual appeal. We stopped at the well-presented Bait al Zubair museum (no photos allowed) and then at the magnificent Al Alam Palace, official residence of the Sultan.

We then returned to the hotel. Although the tour had been expensive for a solo traveller, I was happy that it had been worth it, to see all the main sights in a completely stress-free manner. After a quick clean-up, I had lunch at the hotel's in-house branch of Trader Vic's and enjoyed it immensely. Having done so much in the first part of the day, I was happy to spend what remained of it lapsing back into relaxation mode, realising that my first visit to this city was rapidly drawing to a close.