8 hours in Oman - The Hidden Gem

We arrived from Dubai after spending the new year's eve next to Dubai Mall. The immigration was slow but they were helpful. Surprisingly the airport was almost empty 🤔 We had a layover for 10 hours and decided to cover Muscat, the capital of Oman, in 8 hours. 🤠😎

We decided to have our breakfast at Primeclass lounge in the airport before leaving the airport. They had some good selections of food and drinks with plenty of space to sit down and relax. So far, this was one of the best lounges we have ever been to.

We hired a taxi to take us to some touristy places. The guy was super nice and knowledgeable. Our first stop was at Royal Palace. We quickly took some pictures and headed to Sultan Qaboos Mosque.

Our next stop was at Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, one of the largest and beautiful mosques in the world. The mosque is built on a site occupying 416,000 m2 (4,480,000 sq ft), and the complex extends to cover an area of 40,000 m2 (430,000 sq ft). The newly built Grand Mosque was inaugurated by Sultan of Oman on May 4, 2001 to celebrate 30 years of his reign. The main musalla can hold over 6500 worshippers, while the women's musalla can accommodate 750 worshipers. 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 20,000 worshipers.

Next, we went to the Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM) is Oman's premier venue for musical arts and culture. The opera house is located in Shati Al-Qurm district of Muscat on Sultan Qaboos Street. Built on the royal orders of Sultan Qaboos of Oman, the Royal Opera House reflects unique contemporary Omani architecture, and has a capacity to accommodate maximum of 1,100 people. The opera house complex consists of a concert theatre, auditorium, formal landscaped gardens, cultural market with retail, luxury restaurants and an art centre for musical, theatrical and operatic productions. Inside there are some restaurants and shops.

By now it started raining 🌧 we reached to Mutrah fort. The color of the water next to it was green and so beautiful.

While it was raining, we decided to go to Mutrah Souq. It is at least 200 years old and is made up of a complex maze of narrow walkways leading to hundreds of small shops that sell everything from Omani khanjers, halwa, and frankincense to kummahs and spices.

Before going to Lunch (of course a late lunch) we decided to quickly stop at the Mutrah Beach. It is one of the popular places where Omani people love to go with their families.

Before heading back to the airport, we went to Lahab Kitchen Restaurant, suggested by our guide and taxi driver. We had some traditional Omani food and drinks. The price was reasonable. Food and service were excellent.

And finally we returned to the airport to catch our next flight. It was a quick yet memorable 1-day trip to Oman. We would love to go back and explore some other areas outside Muscat 😀 the people, food, experience all were amazing.