The Datebook datebook_winter_spring2019_digital_ARTWORK | Page 14

Oman
By Marianne Gray
Photos by Dominika Trelinska
forts on every hill, date
plantations in the valley, wadis,
oases and clusters of flat-
roofed villages, where ancient,
bleached buildings stand
silently, their
sunken windows
keeping them cool.
It’s a wealthy sultanate with a
population of just four million.
Its riches date back to when
frankincense was a major
export, traded for gold from its
empire which encompassed
Zanzibar and ports in what are
now Pakistan and Iran. Now
there’s oil and natural gas.
It’s a country lined by
precipitous, pleated granite and
sandstone mountains of
different colours, a coastline of
white beaches and clear blue-
green sea and undulating
orange sand-dunes where
Bedouins live with their camels.
(I believe Omani camels were
the fastest at the Gulf Camels
Races this year.)
The capital, Muscat (‘muscat’
means ‘anchorage’) lies in a
volcanic bowl, more or less
divided into four quarters by
mountains. It is on the Tropic of
Cancer, an elegant city - clean,
calm and organised - with low-
slung buildings and almost no
crime.
Strolling along the downtown
Corniche is the labyrinthinely
winding souk at Old Muttrah
selling everything from plastic
rubbish to
frankincense
and honey - and
the Fish Market
where tuna the
size of sharks lie
on slabs, their
huge, dead eyes
watching you.
There’s plenty to
see, especially
Old Town and the
Sultan Gaboos
Grand Mosque is
quite over-
whelming. (Ladies
must wear a covering
scarf/shawl and men trousers
rather than shorts.)
Oman is a huge country. In the
70s there were just six
kilometres of tarmac road in
the entire country but that’s
changed. Now you drive on
perfect roads past watchtowers
and 17th Century crenelated
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THE LONDON & UK DATEBOOK
We had no problems in Oman.
It’s still a very traditional and
Nizwa, with its
massive fort, is the
capital of the
interior and is full of
small reminders of
how rural things still
are there, like a sign
for the Goat Market
or some glorious,
very old wood-carving
or traders on camels
clopping into town.
O
man hasn’t been long
on the travellers’ map.
Much of it is a magnificent
wilderness called the Empty
Quarter, which it shares with
its neighbours in the Gulf,
UAE and Dubai in the north
and Saudi Arabia and Yemen
in the west.
Muscat and two VERY long
days by car.
Further east along the pristine
coast, turtles breed, dolphins
frolic, sharks cruise and hardy
folk trek. Perhaps the prettiest
town on the Sea of Oman is
Sur, where dhows are still
traditionally built and the port
looks like a painting from
another century.
There are several
desert camps there,
from glamping in
sheikh tents with
bathrooms or more
basic camps.
Whichever you
choose, make sure
you’re there for
sunset and for
sunrise. These are
unforgettable
moments. I could
have stayed in the
stillness of this
nomadic Bedouin
part of the country for much
longer.
Further south, almost on the
Yemen border, is Salalah, sub-
tropical and lush, with coconut
palms and banana trees.
People from all over the Gulf
go there because it’s very
pretty and different. (Salalah
means ‘the shining one’). It’s a
two hour flight away from
old-world country. The people
met were polite, friendly and
very nice, usually speaking
English. Many cups of coffee
were offered with a smile. The
coffee might have been strong
enough to strip the enamel off
your teeth but hell, it was good!