We arrived off the port on a warm. balmy morning.  The haze, much caused by wind-blown sand, had reduced the visibility and had also coated our exterior superstructure with a fine ‘dusting’.  The itinerary mentions ‘Muscat’ however we enter the ‘As Sultan Qaboos’ port near the old town of Mutrah.  Muscat itself lies over the other side of the steep, mountain passes.

Approaching the port, the MSC Splendida is already alongside

We have called here before of course and having ‘done’ the Souk and the sights before, we decided to play golf at the Al Mouj course, about 30 minutes drive away.  I won’t bore you with photos, holding a camera while swinging a club is detrimental to photography; we had a wonderful time on a beautiful course though.  

The pilot boat, (1 of the tugs) comes out to meet us. Arrival only, we didn’t take a pilot when departing

The 16th century fort, most built by the Portuguese, another can be seen on the peak to the left.

Foreground, another watch-tower, behind a Frankincense burner

The Sultan’s palace

4 days holiday in Oman and a dhow takes a party sightseeing.

 And here is the short panoramic video…..

We have 5 days at sea, making for Aqaba, Jordan for Petra and Wadi Rum.  We are paralleling the coast of Oman, then Yemen, passing through the Bab-el-Mandeb, (“Gate of Tears”) into the Red Sea, with Yemen Saudi Arabia to the east and Djibouti, Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt to the west.