El Cochinito

We flew Oman Air from Dubai to Muscat, the capital city of the Sultinate of Oman. It's only a short 45 minute hop but a snack and beverage service was still offered.


Mutrah Hotel in Muscat, reportedly the oldest hotel in town


Huge, very clean and comfortable room and quite reasonably priced.


View from our room


Window sill visitor


We visited Sultan Qaboo’s Grand Mosque; it is open to non-Muslim visitors for a few hours on certain mornings of the week.












The main prayer hall contains the world’s second largest single piece of carpet that was made in Iran along with an immense chandelier from Germany.











The Sultan’s Armed Forces Museum was our next stop.


Visitors to the museum are escorted through the exhibits by a member of the Omani Armed Forces. A bored Omani army corporal took us around on what was probably the fastest museum walk through we've ever experienced!




We took a drive on the road to Sur to see some of the countryside. The landscape made us feel as though we were visiting another planet




After two hours of driving we arrived at...


The Bimmah Sinkhole




Hmm, should I try some camel milk?


Saturday morning and kids are off to school early – 6:00am!




We spent one day driving to Nizwa for sightseeing. We spent some time wandering through the Nizwa Souq.


















On the other side of the souq is Nizwa Fort






View of old Nizwa from the fort


20 minutes from Nizwa is Jabreen Castle


National flag of Oman flying over the castle


There was a school field trip touring the castle grounds when we visited


Free multilingual audio guides are available and very informative


If one had to live in the desert some 500 years ago, this is the way to do it






Bahla Fort, the oldest fort in Oman dating back to the 13th/14th centuries; now a United Nations World Heritage Site.


Ruins of the old town next to Bahla Fort


We thought Indiana Jones was just around a corner somewhere here...




Driving through the town of Bahla with my trusty Garmin Nuvi GPS loaded with maps for Oman.


Time for lunch at The Hungry Bunny in Nizwa. We just had to try this place. (It's a fried chicken fast food chain which started in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia).


Driving through the village of Yiti near Muscat on our way to the Indian Ocean






Our Europcar rental – one of the few firms offering unlimited kilometers for car rentals at the airport


Entering Muscat from the west


Hanging out at Mutrah Souq on a Friday evening






Time for a schwarma snack…




Come on Dad, can’t I have this shirt?


Exploring Mutrah Souq








Dad, I’m still hungry…


We ate at a schwarma stand right across the street from our hotel. Four cups of tea and four schwarma was under US$3. One of our favorite meals of the trip!




Time to mail a few postcards then back to Dubai for a day before a long flight home.

Continued in Part 3