Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque

Day 3 in Oman

Today we focused on the west side of Muscat. The obvious starting point was the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. At the time of it's construction it was the largest in the world (now superseeded by the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi). The details in the stone and wood work were incredible. From the doors, the windows, the archways and the hanging lanterns all had something that rewarded a closer look.

Our next stop was the Natural History Museum. I had wanted to go here but was worried Jen might not find it particularly interesting. Happily she really enjoyed it, learning about the landscape and wildlife of Oman. Of course, I enjoy it too. Especially the fossilised fir tree on display which is almost 260 million years old, very special.

Lunch was at D'Arcy's kitchen. My vegetable wrap was particularly tasty! Washed down with a pure fruit juice, can't get enough of them!

Our last stop of the day was to the Amouage perfume factory on the outskirts of Muscat. We were able to have a look at the workers bottling the perfume by hand and meticulously checking every step for quality. We were then able to smell all the different varieties, both the male and female version. You could tell these were uniquely middle eastern scents but all very nice!

Lunch was a return to the Turkish house restaurant for some more fish! This time grilled king fish, red snapper, prawns and squid. Once again all excellent!