Our day started early as we drove to the Grand Mosque only recently built. A magnificent building surrounded by stunning gardens all laid out in Islamic patterns and it was odd to see traditional British bedding plants all about to bloom in December but it is too hot for them in their summer. We first visited the ladies prayer room whose simple beauty was only matched by the men's prayer room which has the world's largest carpet which took 600 women 3 years to weave. A massive chandelier,all gold and crystal,hung from the ceiling and all around the walls were intricate Islamic patterns. The ceiling was all made of teak.
Then it was off to the Royal Opera House which was built 3 years ago . A beautiful lobby and VIP entrance led you past displays of ancient Omani instruments to the soundproof doorways into a traditional auditorium. Clearly state of the art with individual screens on the backs of chairs and mixing desks that appear out of the floor replacing some seats. It was no surprise that the building housed the world's largest organ but it was to find out that tickets for the opera were about a tenth of those in the uk!
Our next port of call was the port to visit the fish market and then into the souk where Sebastian couldn't resist buying Omani headgear so he could blend in with the locals.
We then drove into old Muscat to see the royal palace and a museum of Omani life full of interesting artefacts. Travelling further down the coast after Ahmed had picked up his laundry,we saw the marina and finally a very fancy hotel complex where we had lunch and a very large cold beer at the poolside bar by the private beach. It was quite strange to see women in bikinis necking shots at the bar!
It was then time for Angharad to get her flight back to Qatar. That evening we strolled around the hotel to find a cash machine before having grilled meats and salad in an Omani cafe where the staff could not have been any more friendly shaking our hands and introducing themselves as we left.