BLACKBOOK The sun rises over the craggy desertscape around Khor Najd fjord, left; the weekly livestock auction at Nizwa’s market, right Sharqiya Sands present a bewitching wilderness of ENDLESS APRICOT DUNES that will satisfy any bucket-list dream of beholding the vastness of the Arabian desert miss the aptly named Grand Mosque, opulent Royal Opera House (it’s worth timing your visit to catch a performance, rohmuscat.org.om) and Bait Al Zubair (baitalzubair.com), a switched-on heritage museum and arts space in Old Muscat. With more than 2,000 kilometres of coastline, Oman is also a place to enjoy the sea: snorkelling, diving, dolphinspotting and dhow cruises are popular day trips, and from May to September turtles can be seen hatching on the beach at the Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve (rasaljinzturtlereserve.com), a three-hour drive south from Muscat. You can also get a taste of Oman in the Musandam Peninsula, a northern exclave separated from the bulk of the country by the east coast of the UAE. More easily reached via Dubai, this isolated headland is a place to enjoy spectacular scenic drives and a fjord-like coast best admired on boat excursions available through local resorts and operators. CHECKING IN Fifteen minutes from the airport, The Chedi Muscat (ghmhotels.com) is the capital’s most stylish stop, boasting 158 bright white rooms and villas, a palatial Balinese spa and three swimming pools (including one 103m long). On the Musandam Peninsula, family-friendly Six Senses Zighy Bay Resort (sixsenses. com) rests beside a secluded beach framed by mountains with 82 stone-built villas and activities ranging from diving and paragliding to a sunset dhow cruise. DESERT DELIGHTS A two-hour drive south of Muscat, the Sharqiya Sands present a bewitching wilderness of endless apricot dunes that will satisfy any bucket-list dream of beholding the vastness of the Arabian desert. Crossing these legendary sands in the late 1940s, the great explorer Wilfred Thesiger wrote of how he found “a freedom unattainable in civilisation”, and it’s well worth spending a night in a desert camp – but pick one without the belly-dancers and boozed-up incentive groups. A trip inland should also include a stop at Nizwa, a major trading point and Islamic cultural centre with an immaculately restored 17th-century fort and a huge livestock and produce market on Friday mornings. FROM LEFT: THOMAS LINKEL/LAIF, MARTIN KREUZER 28 DEPARTURES-INTERNATIONAL.COM
