Hotels in Muscat

Muscat is a Gulf capital that never went vertical. Building height is restricted by law, so the city spreads for 40 kilometres along the coast in low white blocks between the Hajar Mountains and the Gulf of Oman, with watchtowers still standing on the ridges above it.

The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, with its 21-metre chandelier and one of the world's largest handwoven carpets, opens to non-Muslim visitors each morning. Mutrah holds the old harbour, the corniche and a covered souq that has been trading frankincense and silver for centuries. Old Muscat, further east, sits between two Portuguese forts and the Al Alam Palace.

The city is spread out enough that a hire car makes a real difference, and it is the natural base for the country's landscapes: Wadi Shab and Bimmah Sinkhole to the southeast, the mountain village of Misfat al Abriyeen inland, and dolphin-watching or diving off the Daymaniyat Islands.