Today we decided to make a day tour to Muscat and Tell you a few things about one of the most beautiful cities in the Arabic countries. In this 5 minutes video we show you our highlights.
Very early in the morning we started our city tour to Muscat. There is only one road from Jebel Sifah to Muscat. Passing by Al Khairan or we call it just goat city, because it is over and over full of goats, which are sleeping below cars or crossing slowly the road. it seems that the whole city belongs to them, for this reason we call it loveingly goat city. Then after another short ride we made our first stop and enjoyed the nice view of the Council of state.
A couple of minutes later we reached Muscat. Muscat is the biggest city in Oman with a population from approximately 1.3 Million. Since the ascension of Qaboos bin Said as Sultan of Oman in 1970, Muscat has experienced rapid infrastructural development that has led to the growth of a vibrant economy and a multi-ethnic society.
Muscat means “falling place“, because the city is separated from its hinterland by rough mountain slopes. It is rich in history and has therefore many attractions.
Our first stop is (one of) the biggest mosque of the world Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque.
The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is built from 300,000 tonnes of Indian sandstone. The main musalla (prayer hall) is square (external dimensions 74.4 x 74.4 metres) with a central dome rising to a height of fifty metres above the floor. The main minaret reach a height of 90 meters and is surrounded with 4 smaller minarets which are 45.5 meters in height.
As usual in Islam women and men are praying in separate rooms called musalla. The women musalla can accommodate 750 worshippers as the men musalla can accommodate up to 6500 worshippers. The outer paved ground can hold 8000 worshipers and there is additional space available in the interior courtyard and the passageways, making a total capacity of up to 20000 worshipers.
After the visit of the wonderful Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque which is architectural masterpiece we went to the old Mutrah Souq.
Al Dhalam (Darkness in Arabic) Souq is the local name for the Mutrah Souq. The Mutrah Souq is perhaps one of the oldest marketplaces in the Arab world. It has been named after darkness because of the crowded stalls and lanes where the sunrays do not infiltrate during the day and the shoppers need lamps to know there destinations. The Mutrah Souq has been renovated and decorated to maintain the popular style but also to introduce modern amenities so that the market heavily attracts tourists and make the shopping experience comfortable. The Mutrah Souq is divided According to the goods they sell, Gold, silver, household species and clothes etc.
Just behind the Mutrah Souq is the Mutrah Fort, which we decided to visit as next. The Fort is located on a Rock above Mutrah. There are more than 160 steps which finally lead to the Fort.
By 34 degrees Celsius and beautiful sunshine we went up the 160 steps to the Mutrah Fort. After the big effort we were rewarded by a breathtaking view to Mutrah and the beautiful harbor.
At the end of tour we made a stop by the incense Burner the symbol from Muscat.
Befor we finally left Muscst it is a must to see the Al Alam Palace. Al Alam means „The Flag“ in Arabic. The Palace is one of the six royal residences of the ruling monarch Sultan Qaboos and has a 200 year history.
Of course there are many places of interests more which you can visit so the famous Opera, the fish market etc. But we decided to go back in our hotel at Jebel Sifah.
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