Monday 17 January 2011

OMAN - great escape - part 1

Traveling is my biggest hobby, especially visiting foreign countries, discovering their culture and the most beautiful places. I like to try their regional cuisine and listen to stories from local inhabitants. This time I have had a pleasure to visit a beautiful part of Middle East - Oman, country bordering with United Arab Emirates and Jemen, on the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean.



My journey has started in the biggest city of Oman and its capital - Muscat. This amazing city is located on the coast of the Arabian Sea (part of Indian Ocean) and surrounded by high mountains.



The most fascinating part of the city is old town with the Sultan Palace and two forts that guard it. They are called Jalali and Mirani and they were erected by the Portuguese in about 15th century. The Sultan Palace seems to make the biggest impression at sunset when the sun’s rays are reflecting in the golden columns of the building.


http://www.internetstones.com/image-files/sultan-qaboos-palace-muscat-oman-entrance.jpg


While walking along the streets of Oman you can notice many highlights of the city that will catch your eye. One of them is the Grand Mosque of Sultan Qaboos. Those huge structure is an incredible show of lights and colors. The interior of this Muslim temple is decorated by the biggest, hand made carpet on the world. While visiting Muscat You have to notice that open hours for not Muslims visitors are till 11 am.


http://www.layoverguide.com/wp-content/uploads/blogger/9-oman-grand-mosque-4_782408c.jpg



Other very important landmarks in the city that you will not want to miss are the huge port and Arabian souk (bazaar) in Mutrah. Those old districts of Muscat have made a great impression on me. Their seemed to be like from tales of "thousand and one nights". Shopkeepers from Mutrah souk offer many Arabian items, spices and souvenirs such as antique Omani guns and jewelery, saffron and cashmere scarves. I discover a lot of great and cheap small restaurants. They can be found on almost each corner in this city but what is very important they are open just before sunset. So if you start your trip around the city don’t forget about preparing your own sandwiches;)


http://sayami.de/images/20090804184602_oman_mutrah.jpg


http://tripideas.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11-oman-muttrah-souq-muttrah-city-oman-2ba50c.jpg/




The city is full of new constructions and new buildings that appear each day. A new project of Sultan Qaboos is an opera house in the heart of Muscat which will attract many tourists in search of a cultural experience. Shopping centers, new housing estates and hotels also are part of the city's development especially due to the fact that Oman becomes a new touristic destination.


http://www.watg.com/uploads/images/large_CA29E258-3048-7B3D-C565C5EC2F45C02D.jpg

Muscat is amazing especially during sunset while red sun lights are illuminating white buildings surrounded with high mountains.

You can get to know more in my next post.


Have you ever been in Middle East? Where?
What is your the most "exotic" trip experience?
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15 comments:

  1. Adam Młodziejowski17 January 2011 at 14:55

    I've been to Syria, Jordan, Lebanon out of the "exotic" places in the Middle East, I'm not counting Egypt and Turkey because they are more turist oriented.

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  2. s513318 January 2011 at 02:39

    I've never been in the Middle East but this region has always interested me. Maybe this summer I will go to those place. I do not have exotic adventures, only traveled through Europe.

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  3. s515418 January 2011 at 06:58

    I've never been in Middle East, but I think Oman is a very interesting place to visit. That country offers many tourist attractions. I don't have any "exotic" trip experience, becouse my summer holidays I usually spent at the seaside, in Poland.

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  4. MMM18 January 2011 at 09:07

    I have never been to Middle East - it's too hot for me ;) I also don't have exotic trip experiences, because I travelled in Europe and Poland.

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  5. s387418 January 2011 at 12:13

    I haven't been to Middle East. This region looks interesting, but for me, Asia seems more entertaining. Nonetheless, there's something about Middle East. Especially Iran may be an unforgettable place to visit, but for me, this is to hardcore.

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  6. Krzysztof Wołk20 January 2011 at 04:36

    I've never been to the Middle East, and somehow I was not pulling. With photos and stories I conclude that it is a very nice and interesting region. I made few travels in my life. Seaside holiday is unlikely to be an exotic experience. But I dream of a trip to Hawaii:).

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  7. s413721 January 2011 at 08:12

    I’ve been once in northern west part of the Egypt. On the Asiatic part of that country. Actually, it’s quite close to Middle East .
    But I have never been further. My friend’s wife came from Iran. Now they live together in Sweden. When we meet each other, she use to talk about her nation, family and Persian culture. It is a really interesting culture, I think. So different. Most of people (I used to be a member of that group - few years ago) think that Iran is quite the same like Iraq…but nothing could be more wrong! This summer we are going to go to Thailand – could be quite fun.

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  8. s450421 January 2011 at 08:20

    No I have not. To me there is nothing interesting. My most “exotic” trip took place two years ago at Warsaw’s downtown .I had an adventure in kebab shop and still I can’t believe I’m alive after that. Obviously I could feel the atmosphere of Oman there.

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  9. asia engel21 January 2011 at 13:13

    I'm not sure if that may count as "the Middle East", but perhaps I could mention Tunisia. It is also Muslim and Arabian country, so there are many cultural similarities. As Tunisia is very tourist destination, I can't call this trip very exotic, even tough I've visited some not very well-trodden places there.
    I suppose the most exotic place I've been was Ceuta, the Spanish port in Africa. There are no tourists but illegal limitrophe trade and specific atmosphere :-) City seems to be more Arabian than European, but Spanish Catholic tradition is stronger then on the old continent. I had to spend a night there all alone, with no place to go and it was rather exotic ;-)

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  10. s429722 January 2011 at 04:01

    1. I have never been to Middle East, nor do I want to go. It doesn't seem attractive to me, I prefer other directions of travel.
    2. The most exotic place I've been to is the Grand Canyon. I felt very small standing there surrounded by the vast open space of the canyon. It is hard to imagine that such a large space could be completely filled with the waters of the Colorado river.

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  11. kniaz22 January 2011 at 11:19

    What is funny - "exotic vacations" for almost all of us means something different, various destinations, but that's good:), it means that everyone is interesting in diffident way!

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  12. kniaz22 January 2011 at 11:25

    s4504 it's sad that the most “exotic” trip for you was Warsaw's downtown kebab...
    btw in Oman they have shoarma, not kebab

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  13. ASko22 January 2011 at 13:31

    My most exotic adventure is travelling to Egypt when I was a child. We were sailing down the Nile River and we visited a lot of egyptian's temples of the faraoons.

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  14. Paweł Jabłonka s525826 January 2011 at 10:31

    1)I have never been in Middle East,but I would like to go there in the future ,I am interested in culture of these populations.

    2)As I mentioned I wasnt on any exotic trip so unfotunately I havent any experience from that kind of trip.

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  15. s567627 January 2011 at 01:55

    Unfortunately, I have never been in Middle East or on any exotic trip so I don't have any experience to share. Maybe someday.

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