Muscat: The Coast

One odd part of living in Abu Dhabi is that one can spend hours near the water without actually frolicking in it.  Muscat has no such problem. The city is built entirely along the winding coast, and the beaches are wide open to everyone.  Our hotel was a two minute walk from this beach, which was busy all night, with Omanis and expats basking in the glowing sunset, and playing in the warm water.

From the 17th century to the 19th century, Muscat was the capital of the Omani Empire, which stretched from Pakistan and Iran to Zanzibar.  Its wealth was largely based on trade.  Muscat has two large ports, between which there is a beautiful corniche, with free bicycles!









Looking into the water, we saw hoards of butterfly fish feasting on Wonderbread, many crabs, and one turtle! All in the course of a five-minute period of gazing intently down.

After our first day exploring Muscat, we enjoyed pizza (rated by at least one person as the best in the Middle East!) before our date with the Opera House.

Hatta Fort

 

We are trying to squeeze in UAE travels while the weather is still tolerable.  One of the places on our list for this spring was Hatta, a fort town in the mountainous center of the country.  The climate at Hatta is hot but drier than Abu Dhabi and Dubai, making it a relative summer haven.  

Nearby Hatta Fort is a small complex of a few towers and a main square, now converted into a museum scattered with all-too life-like soldiers.

We stayed at a charming hotel, open since 1981 (an eternity by UAE standards).  Hatta Fort Hotel lacks the sheen of modern UAE architecture, and we didn't miss the glitz one bit. It is an unofficial gathering spot for the Dubai Harley Davidson club. The 100+ degree weather didn't deter the bikers from parking their bikes in the sun and striding about in their leather pants.

The hotel has an endearing medley of attractions: a putt-putt course, where the "greens" are cement (the ball never stops rolling!), rabbits in a rabbit house, goats, ducks, and several loquacious peacocks.

Even though it is spring here, it is still quite warm.  We walked up to the hotel's observation point. Despite our considerable sweat, no one will be impressed with our ascent.