Oman

Time Out swaps the onset of the UK winter for an affordable, exotic break in Muscat where, as well as welcome winter sun, he discovers a beautiful capital city and a strange local sport

Nizwa City Mosque

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, then 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 if it was any steeper would require a winch to mount it. The concept of ‘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 finally we come to a bronchial, spluttering halt at the bottom of the dune. ‘It’s okay – I can drink water in five-and-a-half hours from now.’

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Even on my visit during Ramadan (which was Sept 12-Oct 11in 2007), 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 take part in for a 30-day period. No food, cigarettes or even water can be consumed between the hours of dawn and dusk: a test that might be just about possible in Britain’s aqueous climate, but in the 40C heat of capital city Muscat, or the wadis beyond, is an act of determination and defiance of the elements that is truly astonishing. As a Westerner, I’m expected to only eat and drink during the day well away from the public eye.

Old Muscat

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 is required by everyone who visits the country during this special time.
When darkness arrives, briskly at 6.30pm, it’s worth the wait to eat Omani food. The vast coastline, which boasts a grand total of one resort, is home to many fishing villages which survive, as they have for centuries, by bringing in tuna, lobster and humour (a particularly meaty type of grouper).

Muscat is getting more and more acquainted with five-star hotels with adjoining restaurants which cater for 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 which both flatter slimness and conceal corpulence – and kummar – flat-topped, embroidered rimless hats. Tiny stores selling dusty coins and collections of khanjars, elaborate 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 Marrakech or Cairo.

Nakhal fort

Escaping the city is an exercise in leaving behind the twenty-first 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 over-worn vinyl; lower down the rocks splinter and crumble like cracked pastry crust. They seemed to almost 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 bath-water 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.

When to go
Winter is the ideal time to visit as temperatures drop to around 35C and the air is much cooler. The Muscat Oud festival runs from now until Dec, and the popular Muscat Festival, which features art, theatre performances and sporting events at venues throughout the city, runs from Jan-Feb 2008.

Getting there
Gulf Air operates daily flights from Heathrow to Muscat. Prices for a return flight start at £287. Visit www.gulfair.com for details.
Staying at Barr Al Jissah resort and spa in Muscat. Rooms start at £150 a night. Visit www.shangri-la.com for details. ‘Bahwan Travel’ provides tailor-made and group tours around the country. See www.bahwantravels.com for details.

Rob Crossan