Jan 13

Jan 13 Magic of Muscat

Last week the news was announced that Qaboos bin Said Al Said - the Sultan of Oman - had passed away. He had ruled since 1970, when he made sure things changed a good deal. His father had apparently run the country with a harsh whip – and one can imagine he’d have met with an uncomfortable comeuppance had he survived to witness what is sometimes termed the Arabic Spring.

But the son was different. He began his rule by offering an amnesty to his father’s old opponents - then set about fighting disease, illiteracy, and poverty, upgrading educational and health facilities and creating a modern infrastructure.

Oman is an oil-rich country and this particular sultan has done the wise thing and shared around some of the wealth. Workers don’t pay taxes and yet they are given free education and healthcare as well as property on which they can build a home as soon as they are married.

No wonder they weren’t gathering in the squares of Muscat to overthrow the government during the Arabic Spring. So that’s the background and why I say you can go there and travel freely and safely in this wonderful country.

Most journeys to Oman begin in the capital Muscat, which is where the modern international airport is and also where the government stages a huge annual event. The Muscat Festival attracts over 1.2 million visitors – and one year I was among them.

I enjoyed my day and night out there. At the festival’s heritage and cultural village just about every Omani tradition ever invented is on display and you can watch artisans plying age-old skills as well as visit a working souk, where you can buy woven baskets, pottery and silver and so on.

To be honest, though, all this is better done in the city or in the market towns of the deserts and mountains.

Muscat’s own ancient souk is a particularly wonderful location in which to duck and dive – a great myriad of a place down by the old harbour where the thoroughfares and byways are covered to protect them from the relentless sun.

The result is that the dark alleys and brightly lit shops and stalls take on a thrilling appeal of their own, and meandering around is relatively hustle-free compared with souks in other Middle Eastern cities I’ve visited.

Muscat dates from the first century AD when its harbour won a name for itself as one of the main exporters of frankincense to Greece and Rome. You can still buy excellent frankincense there today - I regularly use the stuff on my wood burning stove at home to give the house an oriental aroma.

Many centuries later the Portuguese heard about the wealth of this region and in 1507 gained control of Muscat. A century and a half later they were thrown out by local Imam - and so the ding-dong power struggle went on. You can still see old castles and turrets perched all around the ancient part of the city, so that you are left in no doubt that this was a place which required much defending down the years.

Indeed, a pleasure boat ride along Muscat’s mountainous coast just to the south of the city is a must. I was staying up the coast some 40 miles north of Muscat at the Millennium Resort, Mussanah - a luxury hotel with its own apartment complexes and harbour. It was built just a couple of years ago to play host to a massive international sailing competition and the place still acts as a hub for serious water-sports activities now.

But the Millenium Resort is also a first class hotel where the food and service is as good as anything I’ve experienced in the region before - although it has to be said that the flat coastal plain on which it is situated is far from lovely.