Muscatمسقط

Muscat sits where the Hajar mountains meet the sea, and its harbour has been used for a very long time. Oman has been a seafaring country since antiquity: ships from the Omani coast traded copper, frankincense, dates and pearls with Mesopotamia, India and East Africa, and the port of Sohar to the north is tied to the tales of Sindbad. Muscat itself grows in importance from the medieval period as a sheltered harbour that could be defended from the hills.

In 1507 the Portuguese, seeking control of the routes between India and Europe, attacked and occupied Muscat, and they held it, with breaks, until 1650. They fortified the harbour with the twin forts of Jalali and Mirani in the late sixteenth century and built walls and watchtowers on the hills. Those forts still stand on either side of the sultan's palace and are the main sight of Old Muscat, although they are not open to visitors.

The Portuguese were expelled by the Ya'ruba imams, who took Muscat and went on to build an Omani sea power that reached the East African coast. In 1744 Ahmad bin Said, a governor from Sohar, drove out Persian forces and founded the Al Bu Said dynasty that still rules today. In the nineteenth century Sultan Said bin Sultan moved his court for long periods to Zanzibar, which became the centre of an Omani trading state that ran cloves and ivory. After his death the empire divided, and Oman's role in the Indian Ocean declined.

Muscat in the early twentieth century was a walled town with a few thousand people, and much of the country was closed off. Sultan Said bin Taimur ruled from 1932 to 1970 with little investment in roads, schools or hospitals. In July 1970 his son Qaboos took power and began what Omanis call the Renaissance: a programme of building that created a modern state. He ruled for fifty years and died in January 2020, when Sultan Haitham bin Tariq succeeded him.

A visitor sees this history in layers. The forts and the walls are Portuguese. The Corniche and the port at Muttrah are the merchant Oman of the nineteenth century. The wide roads, the white buildings and the Grand Mosque are the Renaissance.

Muttrah is the old commercial port of Muscat, and it is the district where the city feels most like a town. Houses and mosques face the water, the Corniche runs along the harbour for a few kilometres, and the fort on the hill above the souq watches the entrance. The port has been the main landing place for goods and people for centuries, and it is still a working harbour, with cargo ships and fishing dhows tied up near the fish market.

The population of Muttrah has long been mixed. Merchant families from the coast of Baluchistan, from the Indian subcontinent and from East Africa settled here, and the Lawatia community, traders of Shia Khoja origin, built large family houses near the water. This is why you hear Arabic, Balochi, Urdu and Swahili in the streets, and why the food and clothing in Muttrah are more varied than in the interior.

The souq is the heart of the district. It is one of the oldest markets in Arabia, with covered lanes that run inland from the Corniche and lead through a maze of small shops. Traders sell frankincense, silver, dates, halwa, cloth and household goods. Prices are negotiable in the lanes, and sellers expect a calm conversation. The shop lighting, wooden roofs and the smell of frankincense and spice make it easy to lose an hour.

The Corniche is the place to walk in the evening. Families stroll along the seawall, dhows sit in the harbour and the port's cranes are lit at night. The fish market at the northern end opens at dawn, and the early morning is the best time to see the catch brought in, choose a fish and have it grilled at a nearby stall.

Muttrah shows you how Muscat worked as a port city. Trade came before the palace; the merchants' houses, the market and the harbour were the reasons the city grew, and the sultan's palace sits in a separate district a short drive along the coast.

Frankincense, the resin of the Boswellia sacra tree, is Oman's oldest export. The trees grow in the southern province of Dhofar, and the resin was carried by caravan and ship to Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome, where it was burnt in temples and used in medicine and perfume. UNESCO has listed the Land of Frankincense, including the port ruins of Sumhuram, as a World Heritage Site. Muscat's souq is where you see that trade at the point of sale.

Buying frankincense is an education in grades. The best resin is pale, translucent and almost lemon-scented when burnt on charcoal in a small clay burner; the darker, dustier pieces are cheaper and used for daily incense. Shopkeepers will let you smell and taste, and the price depends on grade. Compare two shops before you buy, and keep the resin in a closed container away from heat.

Silver has an equally long history in Omani craft. Women's jewellery, including heavy necklaces, anklets and headpieces, was made by silversmiths and worn as a form of savings. Men's silver is best known in the khanjar, the curved dagger that appears on the national emblem of Oman. A traditional khanjar is worn on the belt at ceremonies and weddings, with a decorated silver scabbard and a hilt of horn or wood, and a good one costs many hundreds of rials.

Many objects in the souq are made outside Oman today, so ask what is local. Omani makers work with silver, wood, palm fibre and clay, and a hallmark or the name of a workshop is a good sign. Bait Al Zubair, a private museum in Old Muscat, shows historic jewellery and weapons in a family house, and gives you a benchmark before you shop.

The everyday luxuries of the market are simpler. Omani halwa is made by boiling starch, sugar, ghee, rose water and spices for hours, then adding nuts and saffron; it is served with coffee. Dates come in many varieties, and a small box makes a practical gift. Rose water and oud perfume are also on sale, and a few drops go a long way.

Modern Muscat is the work of the Renaissance that began in 1970. Before that date Oman had a handful of schools and a few kilometres of paved road; within a generation the country had a national road network, hospitals, universities and a capital with wide boulevards. The style chosen for new buildings was low, white and lightly decorated with Omani arches and domes, and rules on height and colour helped the city keep its calm look.

The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, completed in 2001 after several years of construction, is the best-known result. It is built of sandstone and marble, with a main prayer hall for several thousand worshippers, courtyards, arcades and gardens, and a tall main minaret with four others at the corners. Its design draws on Islamic architecture from Oman, Egypt, Persia and Andalusia, and it is the country's national mosque.

Inside the main hall a huge chandelier of crystal hangs from the dome and the floor is covered by one of the largest hand-knotted carpets ever made, woven in Iran in a single piece over several years. The walls are tiled and carved, and the light is soft. Visitors are welcome in a set morning window, and the mosque is closed to visitors on Fridays. Dress is strict: women cover hair, arms and legs, and men wear long trousers and sleeves.

Other Renaissance buildings are worth a look from the car. The Royal Opera House in Shatti Al Qurum, opened in 2011, hosts concerts and opera in a hall with a marble and wood interior; the National Museum, opened in 2016, gives a clear history of the country in air conditioning. Al Alam Palace, the sultan's ceremonial palace in Old Muscat, was rebuilt in the 1970s in blue and gold, and its forecourt is the one place where you can photograph it.

The Renaissance city is not a walking city. Districts are far apart, and it is normal to take a car between them. What it offers instead is calm, cleanliness, and a sense of scale that is comfortable rather than crowded.

Most Omanis follow the Ibadi school of Islam, and Oman is the only country where it is the majority tradition; Sunni and Shia communities live alongside it. Ibadism emphasises consensus, modesty and a preference for moderation, and many Omanis explain the country's calm reputation with it. Mosques are usually plain and are open for worship, not for tourists, and the Grand Mosque is the exception.

Courtesy is the practical rule. Greet with 'as-salamu alaykum', and expect the reply 'wa alaykum as-salam'. Men shake hands and may touch their chest; women may not offer their hand, and it is polite to wait for a woman to do so. Ask about family or health before a request, and do not hurry a conversation. Use the right hand to give or receive.

Coffee is the ritual of hospitality. Omani coffee, kahwa, is light and spiced with cardamom, served in small cups from a pot with a long spout, together with dates or halwa. Accept the first cup, and if you want more, hold out the cup; when you have had enough, shake the cup gently from side to side. Karak, strong sweet milk tea, is the everyday drink for workers and families.

Dress is modest for men and women. Omani men wear a long white dishdasha with a turban or a small cap; women wear an abaya or colourful local dress with a headscarf. Visitors dress covered in public, and swimwear is for beaches and pools at hotels. Alcohol is sold only in licensed hotels and restaurants, and never in public.

Some rules matter more than they look. Photographing people without asking is rude, and photographing military, police or government buildings is forbidden. Flying a drone needs a permit. Public displays of affection are discouraged, and same-sex relations are criminal, so discretion is essential. In Ramadan, eating, drinking and smoking in public by day are not allowed, and restaurants open after sunset.

The Hajar mountains rise behind the city and shape almost everything. They trap heat in summer, they feed the wadis, the dry riverbeds that flood after rain, and they hide villages, terraces and forts that can be reached in a day. Wadi Shab, Wadi Abyad and the Bimmah Sinkhole are popular day trips, but wadis are dangerous in bad weather: a storm many kilometres away can send a wall of water down a dry channel.

The climate is hot and dry. From November to March days are warm and nights cool, and this is the season to walk the Corniche and hike. From April to October the heat is severe, with highs of 36 to 40 degrees and humidity on the coast; the sensible plan is to be outdoors before 10:00 and after 17:00. Rain is rare but heavy, and cyclones from the Arabian Sea, such as Gonu in 2007 and Shaheen in 2021, have reached the coast.

The sea is the other half of the landscape. Dolphin-watching cruises leave from the marinas along the coast, and the Daymaniyat Islands, a protected reserve, offer snorkelling and turtles in season. The fish market at Muttrah is busiest at dawn, and grilled fish is the local breakfast and lunch.

Omani food is a blend of Arabian, Indian and East African influences. Shuwa is meat marinated in spices and cooked underground for a day or more, and is a festival dish. Majboos is spiced rice with chicken, lamb or fish. Harees is a wheat and meat porridge, and mishkak are grilled skewers eaten at the Corniche in the evening. Dates, halwa, kahwa and karak fill the gaps. Alcohol is rare, and juices and coffee take its place.

For a first-time visitor the plan is simple: eat fish in the morning, rest in the middle of the day, walk the Corniche in the evening, and let a licensed operator handle the wadis.