Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 24 749111; Al-Seifa; mains OR7; noon-10.30pm)
This atmospheric open-air restaurant on the
beach, next door to the Sifawy Boutique Hotel, is a casual venue for sampling quality
food. Ask for the catch of the day and the chef's choice of preparation.
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Qurayat
24 / POP 44,900
There are a number of features to enjoy in this attractive fishing village an hour's drive
east of Muscat. Sights include the 19th-century
fort
and a unique triangular
watchtower
tower extends for many kilometres with only the occasional football team to interrupt it.
The town was once an important port, famous for exporting horses that were reared on
the surrounding plains. Sacked by the Portuguese in the 16th century, the town never re-
gained its importance, although it retains a lively fishing industry and is celebrated for its
basket makers. The large, porous baskets are made from local mangrove, and are used for
keeping bait fresh aboard the small boats that pack the harbour.
Qurayat is well signposted from the Wadi Aday roundabout in Muscat, a pretty and at
times spectacular 82km drive through the Eastern Hajar foothills on a fine highway. Look
out for Indian rollers (blue-winged birds) in the palm trees lining the avenue into town.
Shared taxis cost OR2.5 and microbuses OR1.500 from the Wadi Aday roundabout. A taxi
costs OR15.
There are no places to stay in Qurayat, but it makes a pleasant day trip from Muscat if
combined with Mazara, or a good stop-off before continuing along the coastal highway to
Sur.
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Mazara
24
Positioned halfway along Wadi Dayqah, protected by a fort perched on a rocky outcrop,
surrounded by copper-toned mountains and half-buried in thick plantations, the pictur-
esque village of Mazara makes for an interesting day out from Muscat. A loose as-
semblage of toads, kingfishers and goats congregate in the semi-permanent pools that
gather in the bottom of the wadi.
