Day trip (by air!) to Muscat from Dubai
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, open to non-Muslims from 830-11 am
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is mostly empty in the morning hours when only tourists are visiting
Largest Persian carpet in the world, color gradient changes from the center below the chandelier
The center chandelier, the largest in the world, is 15 meters tall
Even in the room with it, it's hard to fully appreciate how massive this chandelier is
The "Mihrab" at the front of the massive men's prayer room in Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, the design is functional to facilitate acoustics without amplification. Like most of this mosque, the design is Persian.
Another shot showing the color gradient on the carpet across the prayer room
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
Mutrah Souq in old Muscat, an outdoor market with an assortment of shops... many selling tourist goods with fairly aggressive hawkers. This market is near the port where cruise ships dock, so the shopkeepers may be targeting those types of visitors
Muttrah Fort in old Muscat
View from top of Muttrah Fort
Old Muscat
Sultan's Palace
Arsiya (front), slow cooked rice and meat with date sauce, and Qabouli Laham, a spiced rice and meat dish at Bait Al Luban restaurant
Luqaimat (sweet dumplings) @ Bait Al Luban restaurant,
Coastline in old Muscat
