Editor, Yahoo! India Travel
A resort in Wahiba Sands, Oman
A friend of mine who has left his mark all over the
Arab Gulf, once whispered to me conspiratorially: “Dubai is slutty,
Qatar is greedy and Saudi Arabia is bloodthirsty. But Oman is charming.”
It
was hard to argue with his conviction but then, a few days in Oman’s
capital Muscat left me completely smitten. I returned with the
impression that Oman may have indeed been the original Arabia of
Sindbadian times -- its long, spectacular coastline of cerulean waters
and ancient markets redolent of spices and echoing with Urdu, Malayalam
and Gujarati might testify to that. And if you drive by the
postcard-inspiring Muttrah Corniche at dusk, just a glance at the
gigantic dhows moored in the marina will transport you to the realms of
the Arabian Nights.
Another reason tempts me to strengthen my
case. Muscat may not have Dubai’s nightlife or Qatar’s pomp, but it has
something else that runs deep -- culture. Recently, a potsherd with
Brahmi script estimated to date back 1,900 years was discovered in Oman.
To
the traveller, Oman offers everything from sightseeing and shopping to
cuisine, adventure and nature. Here are seven precious experiences,
which I recommend that you take home from Oman.
1) Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
Most
Omani Muslims are neither Sunni nor Shia; they owe allegiance to the
Ibadi sect, which is one of the oldest schools of Islam founded 50 years
after the prophet Muhammad’s passing. Named after its chief patron,
Oman’s ruler Sultan Qaboos, the Grand Mosque was built in 2001 and its
construction utilised 300,000 tonnes of Indian sandstone.
A magnificent 14-metre-high Swarovski crystal chandelier at the Grand Mosque
The
mosque grounds are a veritable oasis in the 45-degree desert heat. They
are planted with rows of lush neem trees in which sunbirds, bulbuls and
doves seek refuge. The lawns are a welcome green and the drip-irrigated
flowerbeds are in riotous flower. The mosque complex and the grounds
sprawl over 416,000 square metres. The gold-plated dome rises 50 metres,
along with an imposing 90-metre main minaret. The women's prayer hall
has ceilings of Indian teakwood and walls engraved with Quranic verses
in ornate thuluth calligraphy. The spacious main musalla (prayer hall)
can accommodate 6,500 worshippers. Its highlight is a magnificent
14-metre-high Swarovski crystal chandelier. It shines down on the
world's second-largest handwoven Iranian carpet. Non-Muslims are not
permitted to walk directly on the carpet; they are restricted to a blue
cloth-covered walking perimeter from where they can view the features of
the mosque. The walls are lined with shelves of Holy Quran, and their
hue and design are in faithful harmony with the patterns on the carpets,
windows, ceilings and doors.
2) A night on the dunes
Though
air-conditioning is ubiquitous in Oman, to know the true colour of
scorching heat you must visit the dunes. This is the authentic desert --
hundreds of square kilometres of shifting sand dunes rippled by the
wind’s erratic calligraphy, cud-champing dromedary camels, and the
desert’s intriguing inhabitants -- the once-nomadic Bedouin. 
Sunset over the desert in Wahiba Sands, Oman
Wahiba
Sands (also known as Sharqiya Sands) is the province of the Wahiba
tribe of Bedouins and measures 14,500 square kilometres in total area.
The dunes rise nearly 200 metres and tower around us like waves frozen
in a dun-coloured ocean. Dune-bashing is a favourite pastime of the
guides and offers them the perfect opportunity to exhibit some reckless
but skilled driving on the dunes. Before entering the dunes, they
lowered the air pressure on the Land Cruiser’s tyres for greater
traction on the soft, slippery sand. Then, adrenalized, they raced at
terrifying speed, whipping up mammoth clouds of dust.
We stopped
at a Bedouin tent and were offered coffee by a striking Bedouin woman,
her eyes lined darkly with kohl. Her hands and feets were deep orange
with henna. She said it kept her body cool in the roasting desert heat.
Inside the tent, away from the glare of the sun, it was still a
suffocating 40 degrees. 
Dune-bashing with SUVs is a favourite pastime in Oman
Just
before we checked in at the luxurious Desert Nights Camp, we watched
the sunset from the dunes - the blood-red sun sank slowly on the hazy
horizon. The desert night is a phenomenon. All through the early
evening, the wind whipped up a light, fine dust that penetrated
everything. The temperature dropped to a very pleasant 20 degrees and
the moon painted the ribbed dunes in silver. An oud player strummed his
instrument, punctuating the quiet night with melancholic strains.
Only Scheherazade could have made it more romantic!
3) Wadi Bani Khalid and Bimmah Sinkhole
It’s
easy -- and naïve -- to imagine a desert as a vast waterless expanse.
The various kinds of desert that I encountered in Oman ranged from bare
to scrubby and rocky and some were studded with thorn trees. Another
popular illusion is one of the oasis -- from reading tales handed down
by travellers, one expects it to be a waterhole fringed by palm trees. 
Boys swim at noon in the jewel-like watercourse of Wadi Bani Khalid.
Wadi
Bani Khalid upturned both of those impressions. Wadi is a term used
across Arabia and the Middle East for watercourses in the desert. Wadi
Bani Khalid is the mouth of an underground aquifer. The arid off-white
landscape, blazing under the sun, turns suddenly lush and verdant as you
approach the wadi from the road. Thick clusters of date palms
interspersed with fields of fodder grasses, shrubs, herbs and fruiting
trees such as citrus, papaya, guava and mangoes dangling on stringy
green stalks were everywhere. The bushes swarmed with birds. The wadi’s
aquamarine blue waters were translucent and clear. Fish swam in it,
dragonflies pirouetted in the air, and water spiders wove nests of
bubbles on the surface. Boys were diving happily into the cool water
from a bridge and, though we burned equally from heat and envy, we had
no choice but to stand helplessly in our touristy attire and watch.
The Bimmah Sinkhole is stunning both for its extraordinary size and beauty.
Bimmah
Sinkhole, close to the coast on the road from the city of Sur to
Muscat, was the next unearthly spot. A sinkhole is formed when the
earth’s surface layer collapses to reveal an underground cave or
depression, often filled with water. In this case, the ground over a
subterranean aquifer had collapsed, revealing a striking jade-green and
sapphire-blue pool of water 40 metres wide and 20 metres deep. A walkway
leads you right down to the water’s edge. Seawater mixes with
freshwater through an underground channel, resulting in an algal bloom
that causes this fantastic gradient of colours.
4) Jabreen Castle
The
heart of modern-day Oman was once a separate nation -- the Imamate of
Oman, differentiated from the Sultanate of Muscat. From Muscat, the
175-km drive to the ancient city of Nizwa, the governing seat of the
erstwhile Imamate, takes a little over two hours on smooth macadam
roads. With certain detours, the ride passes by two very special sights
-- the ancient Bahla Fort (one of Oman’s oldest forts, dating back to
the 12th century, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and the underground
limestone caves at Al Hoota. 
The entrance to the picturesque Jabreen Castle in interior Oman
A
gnarled tamarind tree, lush of leaf, welcomes you to the beautiful
Jabreen Castle, just 20 km from Bahla. Built by Imam Bil'arab in 1670,
its labyrinthine interiors are built over two sections containing two
and three floors respectively that echo the twittering of thirsty
sparrows. Groves of date palms surround the castle while paintings and
ornate Islamic calligraphy adorn the walls inside. Despite the
dehydrating heat of the desert outside, the interiors remain cool.
The
Imam’s tomb, located left of the entrance, is believed to be haunted by
a curse, or so say the guides, teasing mirthfully. Superstitious
tourists are tricked into kissing the wall of the tomb seventeen times
for fear of ill luck! 
The stately interiors of the Jabreen Castle in Oman
Defying
the curse, I did not kiss the wall. Lost in the twisted bowels of the
castle, I called out for help, much to our guide’s amusement.
5) A taste of Shuwa
To
the Asian palate Omani cuisine is familiar yet unique in taste and
flavour. Owing to centuries of spice trade between the Indian
subcontinent and Arabia, the cuisine is inflected with notes of
cardamom, pepper and saffron. 
Arabic cuisine is rich in spicy flavours. Photo: ThinkStock
With
their scents of char-grilled kababs and shawarma, the open-air
cafeterias in the Muttrah Corniche are inviting but our guide, warning
us not to ruin our appetites, hustled us off to Kargeen Caffe. Hookahs
bubbled in the dimly lit garden restaurant and the smell of food was
tantalising.
We nibbled on hummus and pita bread as we awaited
our orders. When mine arrived, I could barely take my eyes off it. I had
ordered Shuwa, an elaborately prepared dish that was originally a
festive meal of desert Bedouins. To make Shuwa, an entire cow or goat
(or even a camel, I was told) is marinated with condiments and spices
such as red pepper, cumin, turmeric, cardamom, garlic and vinegar and
wrapped in banana leaves. It is then slow-cooked -- often for up to 48
hours -- in an underground clay oven, a process that allows the juices
to blend perfectly and cooks the meat to buttery tenderness. The choice
cuts are served wrapped in banana leaves on a bed of hot saffron rice.
So aromatic, succulent and delicious was it that it brought tears of joy
to my eyes.
6) Cool off in the Jebel Shams mountains
A
hill station in the desert? Unfathomable! To imagine it, you must first
cast aside the cliches of what a hill station ought to look like. No
tea gardens or pine groves. No waterfalls and high-altitude lakes. Just
sober grey mountains of what looks like compressed sand, rising in
forbidding spires from the desert floor. The valleys between them were
ringed by dessicated ghost rivers lined with pebbles and scree that come
alive in a spate of destructive flooding when it rains.
The View camp at Hail Al Shas in the Jebel Shams mountains of Oman
From
Nizwa, in the interior of Oman, we drove past Al Hamra, an ancient
village of mud dwellings remarkably preserved and inhabited by people
who had equipped them with the modern comforts of air-conditioners and
refrigerators. The road climbed upward into the Al Hajar mountains,
getting more desolate and lonely. At one point, we gazed into a
cavernous, seemingly bottomless valley in which Egyptian vultures were
flying far below -- this was Oman’s own Grand Canyon. 
Oman's own
Off-roading,
our guide drove us up along a craggy mountain road to The View camp at
Hail Al Shas. Here the temperature was a comfortable 30 degrees Celsius
and we looked with longing at the tents that were to be our
accommodation for the night. As the sun dipped and the moon came out,
the valley of Al Hamra glowed like a huddle of fireflies.
Lit by
a giant yellow moon, the desert night here was cool and pleasant, and
different from the one I enjoyed in the dunes. All night, I left the
tent flap open in a joyous invitation to the breeze.
7) Amouage Perfume Factory
“All
the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand,” cried Lady
Macbeth in hysteria. Hands of all sizes, however, will return smelling
divinely kissable after a visit to the Amouage perfumery.
Arabia is married to perfumes. And Oman’s regal seal is stamped on the range of exquisite fragrances manufactured by Amouage. 
A worker packs bottles at the Amouage Perfume Factory in Rusayl, Oman
Amouage
Perfume Factory in Rusayl, Muscat opened in 1983 when the sultan
commissioned Guy Robert, the French master perfumer behind Chanel, Dior
and Hermes, to create "the most valuable perfume in the world". With top
notes of Lily of the Valley, rock rose and silver frankincense, heart
notes of iris, patchouli and cedarwood, and bottom notes of civet,
sandalwood and ambergris, it is described as the “ultimate symphony.”
Buy
it you must, but if you can’t afford to do so, despair not. Guests are
taken on a tour of the factory, led by a gracious and well-spoken
hostess, to learn how the exquisite perfumes are manufactured, sorted
and bottled. As with many other industries in Oman, women comprise a
fair share of the workforce, sharing workspaces with traditionally
dressed men.
At the end of the tour, we gratefully accepted a dram bottle of the coveted perfume as a souvenir. The
thoughtful hostess slipped another into my bag -- for my wife, she said with a knowing smile.
Adapted for Yahoo! Singapore.
Bijoy Venugopal is Editor - Travel. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook
