Muscat is one of the most important and oldest cities of the Arabian Peninsula. This is also the capital of Oman. Muscat is located on the coast, which has been an important destination since ancient times. Due to its advantageous geographical position through Muscat were transported exotic materials to the Roman Empire. After the capture of this territory by Portugal in the XVI century Muscat became the raw carrier for this country. Due to such history Muscat has embodied the culture of Arab, Portuguese, and Indo-European peoples. You can see old buildings, mosques, forts, and narrow lanes everywhere in Muscat. They make even greater contrast with buildings of modern times like shopping centers and business areas
Ruwi and Matrah are two well-known districts of the capital of Oman. Ruwi is a business capital, and Matrah is famous for its ancient buildings, historical monuments, parks, gardens and authentic Arab shops. Amazing mango groves of Muscat are one more sight of this place as they were grown over 200 years ago.
Among other well-known attractions of this place are the Mirani and Jalali forts, which were built by the Portuguese in the XVI century. Karume Park is one of the most wonderful and enchanting parks of Muscat. It was opened in 1993. The territory of the park is notable for numerous waterfalls, lakes and fountains. The main feature of the Riyam park is a statue of a large incense burner in the center of it. Such places as Qaboos Ben Said Palace, Sultan Qaboos Mosque, and Matrah Faure Fortress are definitely worth your attention
You can have a good time in Muscat. There are many types of recreation here, such as diving, shopping in local bazars, beautiful sandy beaches, and much more.
A unique architectural monument is the Al Alam Palace. Despite the fact that it was built in compliance with all national traditions, the palace looks incredibly impressive and original. This palace was built relatively recently, in 1972. It was erected as a ceremonial palace for the Sultan. Tourists are not allowed to enter the palace, but everyone can look at it. A beautiful playground with a garden was built around the palace. Here, there is a direct descent to the sea.
The city has many beautiful mosques. An interesting monument is the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. It was built in 1992, but the mosque looks much more impressive than other modern monuments. The main building material for the construction of the mosque was sandstone. A unique decoration of the interior of the mosque is considered to be the unique Persian carpet which was made by hand, and weighs more than 20 tons. This mosque is very large. It can accommodate up to 20,000 believers at a time.
