Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MUSCAT
24 / POP 1 MILLION
Muscat is a port the like of which cannot be found in the whole world where there is busi-
ness and good things that cannot be found elsewhere.
Ahmed bin Majid al-Najdi
As the great Arab navigator Ahmed bin Majid al-Najdi recognised in 1490 AD, Muscat,
even to this day, has a character quite different from neighbouring capitals. There are few
high-rise blocks, and even the most functional building is required to reflect tradition with
a dome or an arabesque window. The result of these strict building policies is an attractive,
spotlessly clean and whimsically uniform city - not much different in essence from the
'very elegant town with very fine houses' that the Portuguese admiral Alfonso de Albur-
queque observed as he sailed towards Muscat in the 16th century.
Muscat means 'safe anchorage', and the sea continues to constitute a major part of the
city: it brings people on cruise ships and goods in containers to the historic ports of Old
Muscat and Mutrah. It contributes to the city's economy through the onshore refinery near
Qurm, and provides a livelihood for fishermen along the beaches of Shatti al-Qurm and
Athaiba. More recently, it has also become a source of recreation at Al-Bustan and Bandar
Jissah, and along the sandy beach that stretches almost without interruption from Muscat to
the border with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), over 200km to the northwest.
The opening of the Royal Opera House in 2011, with performances of acclaim from
around the world, has helped place Muscat on an international stage and highlighted it as a
forward-thinking, progressive city. Much loved by its citizens, it continues to be a beacon
for those who live in the interior and a role model of understated calm in a region of hyper-
bole.
History
Muscat became the capital of Oman in 1793, and the focus of the country's great seafaring
empire of the 18th and 19th centuries. Having been party to the control of much of the
coast of East Africa, its 20th-century descent into international oblivion, under Sultan Said
bin Taimur, was all the more poignant. The tide is turning on history, however, and the cap-
ital is once more at the centre of life in Oman.
Perhaps the first documented reference to Muscat is by the 2nd-century geographer
Ptolemy who mentioned a 'concealed harbour', placing the sea at the centre of Muscat's
identity where it remains today. In fact, surrounded on three sides by mountains, it re-
Search WWH ::




Custom Search