Private Tour: Mystical Muscat

Begin your private tour with pickup from your Muscat hotel. Meet your private guide, and explore Oman’s capital by private, air-conditioned vehicle, with non-alcoholic drinks available on board for your refreshment. Journey along the immaculate boulevards, and drink in Muscat’s old-time Arabian mystique as you hear about its one-time strategic importance at the crossroads of ancient sea trading routes. Stop first at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in the Bausher Wilayat district. Admire the views of this sandstone masterpiece, completed in 2001, and tour the pristine courtyards and colonnades. View the main prayer hall, famous for its massive hand-woven carpet — one of the world’s biggest — and opulent 46-foot (14-meter) chandelier. Explore the Embassy district, a delightful area of whitewashed embassy and consulate buildings, and pass Qurum park on route to Muttrah, the main commercial area. Visit the vegetable market and seafront Fish Market, and take in the mountain-backed sweep of Muttrah Corniche, with its pretty, lattice-decorated houses and minarets. Then, delve into old Muttrah Souq, a warren of stall-filled alleyways. Absorb the exotic aromas and colors as you pass stands hawking everything from frankincense to perfumes, spices, and antiques like khanjars (silver Omani daggers). Haggle for souvenirs with tips from your guide, and continue to old Muscat, an enclave of old Omani architecture, mansions, and forts. Enjoy a photo stop outside the blue-and-gold Al Alam Palace, the official residence of Sultan Qaboos, and stop for photos of the Mirani and Jalali forts, the two Portuguese-built forts on the clifftops. Lastly, visit the Bait Al Zubair Museum, housed in a traditional private home. View the displays of weaponry, utensils, costumes, maps, and photos chronicling Oman’s past, building a picture of the country’s development and cultural identity through the centuries. Your tour concludes with a hotel drop-off.

• Private tour

• Hotel pickup and drop-off

• Transport by air-conditioned vehicle

• Driver/guide

• Beverages

• Entry/Admission - Bait Al Zubair

• Lunch

• Gratuities