bjbj Travelguru.tv Impressions of Oman 7 hours flying time away with only 4 hours time difference,
Oman is an increasingly popular choice for a winter sun holiday. This was my first visit
and I was intrigued to find out what it has to offer Oman is a very old country, but it
s a very new country as far as tourism is concerned. What is really impressive is the
development has been very respectful of traditional styles, traditional values and that s really
down the Sultan who is very popular figure, his palace is right behind me now, and he
has maintained strict controls over the direction that tourism should take in this country The
capital Muscat is the entry point for international visitors. Spread along the coastline and fringed
by a mountain range, it s a very clean, very safe city to explore. The key areas for tourists
are Old Muscat (home to the Sultan s Palace) as well as several interesting forts and museums
and the Corniche, where you ll find the Souk and an attractive esplanade which is a popular
meeting place, especially in the evenings The city s other must see sight is the Grand
Mosque. Strict dress codes apply but visitors are very welcome to explore the beautiful
scented gardens, labyrinth of courtyards and shady walkways before taking in the magnificence
of the main prayer hall. The scale of this place is immense. There s room for 20,000
worshippers at any one time. And just one indication of the scale: the carpet took 600
women, 4 years to weave and it contains, would you believe, 1,700 million knots Aside from
city sights, Muscat s other trump card is its hotels There aren t many capital cities
in the world where you can stay in a 5 star luxury hotel right on the beach. In Muscat
however, there s a choice, from small stylish boutique hotels like the Chedi to some of
the big brand names in luxury like Shangri La or the Grand Hyatt to palaces like this
the Al Bustan The standards across all hotels are generally
high I was particularly impressed by the level of service and friendliness of the staff.
And although not available outside, alcohol is served in all the hotels as well as some
local restaurants. If you can drag yourself away from your lounger by the beach or pool,
beyond the city there s plenty more to see. A popular day trip is a drive into the mountains
which begins with a tour of the ancient capital, Nizwa. Get there early on a Friday and, like
me, you get the chance to witness the extraordinary spectacle of the local cattle market ve driven
about an hour but we ve actually travelled maybe you know 2000 years Its an auction,
the guys are parading the goats and cattle s around this circle there are various people
bidding It seems total chaos but I m sure everybody here knows exactly what s going
on that one, how much is that one? 131 and this one? Oh he s gone a bit wild that one.
Still in Nizwa, take time also to wander around the souk and explore the impressive fort which
dominates the town and offers fantastic views of the surrounding area. Heading up into the
mountains, the drive through these spectacular ranges is punctuated with visits to remote
mountain villages, perched impossibly on the steep slopes. Again, life here has been unchanged
for centuries with ingenious methods for capturing precious water supplies and irrigating lush
pockets of fruit and flower cultivation. Driving through the mountains is a complete wilderness
experience. They re totally desolate , you don t see a soul and then you come to a sight
like this, this is the Grand Canyon, second in the world to the one in Arizona. Its absolutely
immense and drops straight down below me, rather scary in fact For extended stays in
the mountains, maybe to do some trekking or climbing, there are a couple of hotel options
in Nizwa. The Golden Tulip for example just outside the town is in a great setting in
the foothills of the peaks. Rock dominates the Oman interior and provides some wonderful
natural attractions. Heading south of Muscat there s the extraordinary Bimah sinkhole,
a popular spot for a refreshing swim and all over Oman you ll find Wadis. They re rivers
that cut through these great chasms of rock, cliffs on either side. Come on a hot day and
you can splash around in these beautiful pools and some of them you can actually drive along
in 4WD vehicles, known as wadi bashing. From wadi bashing to dune bashing for yet more
contrasts, a 2 -3 hour drive south of Muscat takes you to the Wahiba Desert You can see
nothing but sand, every which way you look, there s rolling, rolling mountains of sand
dune its an unbelievable landscape. My God I think we are going over a sheer cliff here,
a sheer cliff wow, excellent It is possible to experience the desert as a day trip from
Muscat but better still, turn it into a 2 day adventure and stay overnight. There are
several options but I d recommend Desert Nights Camp, a stunning 5 star resort. If you stay
a night in the desert, as well as all the activities you can do, the dune bashing, the
camel riding, quad biking and so on you can just take time to soak up the atmosphere of
the desert which is a remarkable, magical, very romantic place to be at night
Well we ve seen a bit of everything this week. We ve had desert adventures, we ve seen forts,
we ve seen beaches, absolutely breath taking mountain scenery and we ve seen some rather
wonderful hotels too. You could come to Oman and spend a week or two on a sun lounger by
the pool or you can get out and explore, meet the locals and have some really memorable
experiences. My advice? Combine the best of both. tetet h:9g h:9g [Content_Types].xml
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away and only 4 hours time difference, Oman is an increasingly popular choice for a winter
sun holiday Catherine Bartrop Normal.dotm Catherine Bartrop Microsoft Macintosh Word
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g9o{w o{o{s o{o{w *kZZ TCA Travel Promotions 7 hours flying time away and only 4 hours
time difference, Oman is an increasingly popular choice for a winter sun holiday Title Microsoft
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