The Emirates flights from Frankfurt via Dubai to Muscat were on time, so I was able to check in to the Grand Hyatt Muscat in the early afternoon as planned. The Grand Hyatt Muscat is great, and I can only recommend it! My stay there left the impression that it is not just any old Hyatt Hotel somewhere on the planet, but a Hyatt in Oman. The hotel is gently traditional Omani or Orientally furnished. It is not cluttered, and also integrates the modern furnishings very cleverly. I quickly set up my underwater photography gear ready for the next day, and began to photograph Muscat, the capital of Oman, together with my Omani guide. The centre of Muscat is very small for a capital, and has a very agreeable quiet atmosphere, something I appreciate very much as someone who is sensitive to noise ;-) In translation, Muscat means “the place of falling”, from the Arabic word root “sagat”. The name stands for an anchor which falls into water, i.e. “the anchor place”, or for the mountains which fall steeply down to the water. For me, the two main points in Muscat were the Mutrah Souq, the Sultan's palace - Qasr al-Alam – and the two Portuguese forts - Mirani and Jalali. The Sultan's palace is a monumental building, and it was unfortunately not possible to enter it.

Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said

Sultanate of Oman

Ministry of Tourism of Oman

Written on 16.04.2007 at 04:00, Category: Images, Knowledge, Photography, Travel, Various.
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