Mike MacEacheran plunges deep into the heart of mystical Muscat and tastes its exotic delights
At first there are 60 or so dolphins. Then another ten appear. Peering over the edge of the boat, a Spinner dolphin breeches the glossy surface beside me just to make sure it still has a captive audience. Occasionally, I catch one out of the corner of my eye as it bursts from the water like a submarine torpedo.
It is about 7am and the air blowing in off Oman’s eastern coast is salty and thick. “It’s never hard to find the dolphins at this time of the morning,” says the fishing-boat captain. “They are often nearer to the shore, hoping to catch tuna that have escaped from the fishermen.”
On the horizon, several other clippers bob in the water like wine-bottle corks – it is the tourist high season in Muscat and every skipper tells a story. “I can find them almost every day,” he grins. Our captain looks no older than 18, but – by nonchalantly steering the boat with his bare left foot – it is clear that he knows exactly where to find today’s most valuable catch.
Muscat means “anchorage” in Arabic, and it is perhaps best understood by its relationship with the sea. Once home to the great Arabian navigators, it is still economically dependent on its seas and sailors. Though the pearl harvests and large “Bombay shells” may no longer be sold up the Thames for silver pennies, Muscat is still home to a strong naval base and is the very essence of the modern-day Arabian Gulf lifestyle. In the pre-breakfast morning light, its life aquatic is like a mesmerising sea shanty.
The captain’s mobile phone rings and he reveals a cracked-lip smile. “Aiwa aiwa,” he laments. “My friends come now.” Speaking feverishly, he points to the other boats, which now pirouette on the waves and turn to stake their claim on the shoal of dolphins that still skim the frothy surface beside us. This morning, I guess we have had all the luck.
Making our way back to Muscat from the periphery of the Strait of Hormuz, we leave the dolphins to play with their new audience. Fishermen wave and steer their skeletal boats back into shore. Effortlessly, they drag their patchwork nets on to the sun-dried docks and prepare for market. Apart from the lapping waters breaking against the hardwood teak, jolting like the creaking of a broken pendulum, there isn’t a sound to be heard.
At the harbour pier, Dirk, an amiable German native originally hailing from Monchengladbach, explains the Omanis’ unique philosophy to exploiting the sea. “The locals know these waters so well,” he says. “The only thing that has changed nowadays is we have to make sure every tourist wears a life-vest. If the coast guard spots even one person on our boat without one, they will send it back to shore.”
Other than this simple guideline, Dirk is free to pioneer the nascent scuba-diving industry off Muscat’s coast. It is perhaps this new-found sense of discipline that has started encouraging a greater variety of visitors to Oman’s rugged coastline. At the latest count, Dirk’s Euro Divers outfit has identified nearly 40 scuba sites – boasting sharks, manta rays and the odd lost Caribbean turtle.
Oman is opening up to a new breed of seafarer. Under the leadership of Sultan Qaboos, Muscat has become a renaissance city. Even though the capital has been in operation as a port since the early 14th century, seasick-green glances have begun to dart across the border from the diamond-polished emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi as the city has grown in stature. It has embraced the introduction of the country’s first
“six-star” business hotel (see panel below), which boasts decadent suites, butler service, infinity pools and a private beach, and a rise in adventure and eco-tourism – yet it remains overtly retrospective.
The government continually invests in securing its heritage by safeguarding Muscat’s inspiring skyline of ancient olive-lit minarets and hilltop forts. Unlike its emirati brethren, the Omani administration has also managed this growth despite a turbulent economy, making it sustainable, environmentally sound – and most important for the time being – attractive to the tourist dollar.
A short drive north of Muscat, this is in particular evidence. Property developers are in the middle of creating the Wave, a US$800 million luxury hotel and residential project including an 18-hole Greg Norman-designed golf course, while the city’s US$15 billion Al Madina A’Zarqa (formerly known as Blue City) marina, near Al Sawadi, is one of the Arabian Gulf’s most ambitious and anticipated fantasies. Phase one of 12 is due for completion in 2012, and it confirms Muscat’s status as a classic narrative in the making. If he had ever graced its promenade, Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea might have had a definite Arabic flavour.
As the hours roll by like the tick-tock wave motions of the turquoise sea, I make my way into the heart of the historic quarter for a typically English stroll along the seafront. Unlike other Arabian cities, where the majority of the beachfront has become lucrative real estate – accessible only by membership or golden ticket – the best things in Muscat can still very much be free. Flanked by merchants’ houses, marble dolphin statues and Portuguese sandcastle forts, which stand as mighty bastions of times gone by, the Corniche curves into a gentle white-tiled smile and is more than happy to welcome every pedestrian.
Docked harbourside is Sultan Qaboos’s RY Al Said super-yacht, the third largest in the world, which he tours along the Gulf coast every summer. The vessel stretches out to 156 metres and houses its own helicopter, several tenders and accommodation for visiting dignitaries or Gulf royalty. Similar in size to Moby Dick, it is in stark contrast to the sardine-sized Portuguese dhows and visiting sailboats tied to the pier beside it.
Although the starboard panorama creates an immediate contrast, my waterside stroll showcases a microcosm of Omani life – fragrant sheesha smoke wafts from cafés, white-capped locals saunter in the sunshine and fishermen linger beside their quarry. I pass the nearby Bait al-Baranda, the national museum showcasing the capital’s commercial heritage, cross Al-Mina Street, home to the Samak (fish) roundabout, and stumble upon the Muttrah souq – one of the best in Arabia – as it begins to light up in the late afternoon.
The heart and soul of Muscat, the souq was originally founded on sea-borne cargo and is a 1,001 nights medieval maze of textile vendors, starfish ornaments and Ali Baba baskets, where the locals still come to purchase coffee, perfumes, pomegranates and spices. To my left is a crooked alleyway decorated like Neptune’s cave, with glittering coffee pots and bronze lamps, while to the right is a lane like a dusty bookshelf. “Welcome, pleased to meet you,” cries a bearded and twinkle-eyed vendor pouncing on my hesitation. “You buy from me only. I have everything you need.”
I am tumbled into his shop and, despite his charming insistence that I buy at least one traditional Omani dagger, I decline. I’m not sure how I would explain that to the customs officials. Curved and sharpened like the world’s most dangerous salmon, it is carried on a hip belt decorated in silver filigree and would instantly turn me into the hardest knife carrier this side of Alcatraz – or nearby Al Ain in any case.
As I make my way out of the souq’s coral maze towards the fresh sea air, I notice that every second shopkeeper has a collection of similarly polished knives and belts. Historically, they would probably have been used for filleting a recently caught hammour or snapper. Today, I can only assume, as fitting judgment on Muscat’s fledgling tourist status, they will be hung above fireplaces or on bathroom walls around the world.
The sun bleeds behind the Muscat hills, and I can’t help but smile. As I smell fresh fish and chips – or perhaps the traditional delicacy of boiled baby shark and French fries – I think: Omanis really do like to be beside the seaside.
See our April issue for the second part of our focus on Muscat, looking at its business scene.
A stay at the Shangri-La
The city’s booming beachside resorts of Bandar Jissah remind visitors why it is so easy to get hooked on Muscat in the first place. Nestled on a hilltop decorated with wonderful contours and ocean archways, the Shangri-La’s Barr Al-Jissah resort and spa is Muscat’s most luxurious hotel and getaway. Developed by local artist and patron Mohammed Al Zubair, the resort is split into three distinct oceanfront hotels, each catering to a different type of guest –?Al Bandar (the Town) is for business travellers, Al Waha (the Oasis) is best suited to families, and Al Husn (the Castle) is the resort’s opulent “six-star” gem.
“It is a fusion of palatial Moorish architecture in the style of Spain’s Alhambra,” explains a hotel spokesperson. Al Husn has its own private beachfront, butler service and cigar lounge, and is one of the most romantic destinations in the region. Looking across to the Gulf of Oman from the hotel’s aquamarine infinity pool – cocktail in hand – life really doesn’t get much better.
Next door, Al Waha is furnished with Arabian tents, latticed windows and bespoke pottery, and is created in traditional Dhofari style, from the southern region of Oman. It’s home to award-winning restaurant Al Tanoor, which offers the best lobster BBQ in the city.
Also highly recommended – to avoid?the heat of the midday sun – is to venture into the frankincense-infused halls of the resort’s alluring, on-site spa retreat, Chi. With 12 villas, a vitality hydro pool, herbal steam room, tundra and tropical rain showers, and an ice fountain, an hour with one of Chi’s massage therapists will leave you feeling like a sultan.?A heady mix of lavender and jasmine?oils will leave your skin glowing like a well-fed lobster’s.
Tel +968 2477 6666; shangri-la.com/muscat
