Tuesday 2nd April
We sailed into Muscat just after 9 this morning. Muscat is the capital of the Sultanate of Oman. We went on a tour that was to take us to the Grand Mosque. It was a bit of a drive as it was on the outskirts of Muscat and our guide told us if we didn't get there before 11 they wouldn't let us - only Muslims are allowed in after that. We got there at 11 but they had closed the doors so we only got to see it from the outside which was very disappointing. We then had a slow drive back as there was lots of traffic jams. After a bit of time in the souk we went to the old part of Muscat where there are two forts that were built by the Portuguese in the 16th century. Between the two forts is the Al Alam Palace which is the official residence of the Sultan of Oman. As you can see in the photo the exterior of the palace is gold and blue. The whole palace area was lovely. We also went to the Bayt az Zubair museum that contained Omani costumes, jewellery and weapons. All the buildings in Muscat are low level - no high rises here. They are either white or cream and gleam in the bright sunlight. All around the city are mountains, very barren rocks. They are digging away parts of the mountains to give them more room to build.