Muscat, Oman

4th September 2018

Arriving in Muscat at 8 am this morning, we are now very close to Abu Dhabi, where we stopped over on the way to Greece to start our holiday. It is going to be a very hot and humid day. Fortunately, we only have a morning tour planned and most of the time we will  be in an air conditioned bus.

The port at Muscat is much smaller than Salalah, better suited to the arrival of Cruise ships, and has limited container and bulk freight facilities. Large wheat silos dominate the shore, and there is a large flour milling company in town.

Once a Portuguese settlement, the main visible reminders left are a number of forts, located on hilltops around the harbour.

A couple of small coastal dhows are berthed at a nearby wharf and are transporting bags of cargo, and other loose items, along the coastline. We saw them depart this morning and they were back again at around 3pm.

Our bus is ready at 9am to take us on our tour, and disembarkation in Oman has be very trouble free with no delays. Soon we are on our way to our first destination, the Al Alam Palace, the Ceremonial Palace of the Sultan of Oman. Whilst it is one of the 6 residential palaces used by the current Sultan Qaboos, it's primary purpose is for ceremonial occasions, like visits from dignitaries etc. The Palace is very large and covers a large expanse of land. The few shots below show some of the buildings, and gardens.

Main Entrance 

Dining Halls and meeting rooms

Well manicured green gardens surround the Palace

Access to the inner grounds of the Palace is not allowed, however we spent around 20 minutes walking around the grounds surrounding the Palace.

Whilst travelling between locations, our guide provides a bit of information about Oman and Muscat. Oman has a population of around 4.5 million, of which only about half are Omanis, the rest are Pakistani, Indian, and other migrants mainly from nearby countries. Muscat has a population of around 800,000 is by far the largest city.

Next stop is the National Museum. Sadly, no photography is allowed inside the museum, which is a shame because the displays were very good. Here are a few shots from outside.

Museum Entrance

It is getting very warm and sticky, and our next destination is the Mutrah Souq, in the old town, not far from the harbour. It is a large souq and they are naturally very pleased to see passengers from a cruise ship who are dying to part with their money. Much of the stuff we saw there was no different to what we saw in Asia years ago, and has a strong Indian influence.

It was interesting to walk through, and we ended up in a spice shop and bought some Bhuja Mix to have with drinks, and a small bottle of saffron.

Across the road from the Souq, we can see the Viking Orion on the other side of the harbour

Our last visit was to see the Sultan Qaboos Mosque, a  spectacular building which was a long way from town, but worth the trip. The Mosque was completed in 2001 and was the Sultan's gift to the people. It is built on a grand scale and is only available for visitors between 8am and 11am, so unfortunately we can only roam the outer perimeter.

Across the road is the Supreme Court Building, also very impressive.

Back on the bus we head back to Viking Orion, and arrive in time for a late lunch. 

Late afternoon saw the Sultans vessel return to the harbour and tie up to its berth, close to the city.

We had a nice dinner at Manfredi's restaurant on board before heading up onto the pool deck for "Dancing under the Stars" with the Viking Band (who are quite exceptional). This was the party to celebrate us leaving port, as the departure from Muscat was not till 10.45pm.

The next few days are at sea before we reach our final destination, Mumbai.