Rob Crossan takes an affordable break in exotic Muscat, a capital city that’s dry as a bone but souk-ed in character

The camel has been dead for a long time. Looking like a deflated balloon, the skeleton appears to have de-ossified to the point where there is nothing left except a winded marquee of withered, leathery skin. If even a camel can’t make it, I’m thinking I’m in some pretty harsh territory. How much longer can I survive? What sort of person could possibly want to be out here in this desert?

‘Do you mind if I go a little wild?’ asks Salah. Without waiting for an answer, he throws the Land Rover into reverse and freewheels backwards down the side of a sand dune that we would require a winch to mount, if it were any steeper. ‘Wadi-bashing’ is new to me, but the idea of charging vehicles up and down the dunes and dry oases of Oman is one that is clearly popular with locals. ‘This is making me a little thirsty,’ Salah admits as we finally come to a spluttering halt at the bottom of the dune. ‘It’s okay – I can drink some water in five and a half hours from now.’

I’ve timed my visit to coincide with Ramadan, and the sultanate of Oman is possibly the most accessible place on Earth to witness this incredible feat of stoicism and stamina that Muslims across the world endure for a 30-day period. No food, cigarettes or even water can be consumed between dawn and dusk – an ordeal that’s just about tenable in Singapore’s rain-heavy climate, but in the 40°C heat of capital city Muscat or the wadis beyond is an act of determination and defiance of the elements that’s truly astonishing. As I don’t practise Islam, I’m expected to eat and drink well away from the public eye during the day. Unlike other nations in the region, Omanis are tolerant of the fact that non-Muslims don’t fast during the Holy Month, but discretion – and an understanding that this is a rule that goes way beyond social etiquette – are required by everyone who visits the country during this special time.

When darkness arrives briskly at 6.30pm, it’s worth the wait to enjoy Omani food. The vast coastline, which boasts a grand total of one resort, is home to many fishing villages that survive, as they have for centuries, by bringing in tuna, lobster and humour (a particularly meaty type of grouper). Muscat is becoming increasingly acquainted with five-star hotels whose adjoining restaurants cater to wealthy Westerners, but it’s better to stroll around the ancient souk of Muttrah in the centre of Muscat where, come dusk, you’ll find cafés serving syrupy-sweet Arabic coffee and dishes of kabuli lahem (braised lamb legs with rice, chick peas, raisins and onions) and lqimat, an unctuous, deep-fried sweet covered in saffron sugar.



Men sit together on walls wearing the long dishdasha – collarless white smocks with billowing sleeves that both flatter slimness and conceal corpulence – and kummar – flat-topped, embroidered rimless hats. Tiny stores selling dusty coins and collections of khanjars (elaborately bejewelled silver knife-holders containing a curved blade, traditionally worn around the waists of Omani men), are sold by traders who are positively catatonic in comparison to the aggressive sales pitches you may have experienced in the souks of Marrakesh or Cairo.

Escaping the city is an exercise in leaving behind the 21st century. We drive across the Jebel Akdar and pass through mountains so dry that just looking at their crusty, crenellated shapes turns the tongue into an emery board. The higher ranges have circular grooves like overworn vinyl; lower down the rocks splinter and crumble like cracked pastry crust. They seemed almost to smoulder at night as the heat drained away and we reached the Al Thawara spring in the small fortress town of Nakhal in the north-west of the country.

Here the natural spring creates a verdant bed of date palm trees and bathwater-temperature water that looks out over the teeth-clenching ferocity of the Nakhal fort, built 350 years ago, and a warren of trap doors, secret passages and turrets. There’s no 4x4 dune action to be had here. Just a brooding reminder of the bravery and self-restraint of the people who inhabit this peaceful corner of the Middle-East.

Essential information
Several airlines operate flights from Singapore to Muscat. Qatar Airlines has daily flights from S$1,632; go to www.qatarairways.com for more details, or to www.expedia.com to compare prices. Stay at Barr Al Jissah resort and spa in Muscat. Rooms start at S$283 a night; for details go to www.shangri-la.com. Bahwan Travel provides tailor-made and group tours around the country; see www.bahwantravelgroup.com for details.