9-Day Essence of the Orient Private Tour from Muscat

Day 1 · Arrival in Muscat

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   Muscat

   Passing by

   On arrival at Muscat airport, our representative will greet you and you will be transferred to the Hotel.

Overnight in Ramada Hotel, 4 star city hotel close to beach

Day 2 · Muscat by Night

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   Muscat

   5 hours

   Pickup from your hotel at 1600 Hrs and proceed to the Muttrah. Drive along the waterfront cornich and take our first stop at the bustling Muttrah souq. Later visit Bait Al Zubair Museum. It consists of a concise collection reflecting the splendid Omani Heritage. The collection includes traditional Omani Weapons such as swords, daggers, rifles & their accessories, along with jewellery, cosmetics & cos-tumes from various regions of Oman. We drive to the magnificent Al Alam Palace, the official resi-dence of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said the ruler of Oman. The palace is an architectural marvel for both its design and its location between the twin Portuguese forts Mirani and Jalali (A brief photograph stop from outside only).

   We head towards a Local restaurant for a Delicious dinner.

   After dinner, transfer back to your hotel at around 2030 Hrs.

Overnight stay in Ramada Hotel, 4 star city hotel close to beach

Day 3 · Muscat – Nizwa – Jabal Akhdar – Birkat Al Mouz

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   Jabal Akhdar

   8 hours

   Nizwa city is famous for its history, culture, origins and heritage that abound in its customs, traditions, crafts, and the traditional industries and handicrafts our forefathers have known and excelled in as a means of livelihood.

   Explore the Nizwa Souq. The impressive New Souq complex has been sensitively designed using Omani fort architecture and elegant Islamic arches. The air-conditioned halls of this souq are full of fresh fruit and vegetables, herbs and spices, huge stacks of dates and freshly caught fish. This is still the best place to buy traditional silver “Khanjars” (hand- carved Omani daggers) and Bedouin jewel-lery, where silver is still sold by weight.

   Later visit Nizwa Fort, The 17th century round tower fort nearby is Oman’s most impressive tower. Built on a solid base of rock, the huge tower was designed to withstand the vibrations of 24 cannons. From the top, a superb panoramic view gives visitors a bird’s eye view all around Nizwa and the sur-rounding plains – a sure delight for all avid photographers!

   We then drive to visit the village of Barkat ul Mauz. Enjoy a walk through the lush green date planta-tions.We continue our drive through Wadi Al Madeen. From here a 36 km stretch of winding road takes one to Jebel Akhdar (2000 mts above sea level) the green jewel of the Al Hajjar mountain rang-es, a truly unique spot in the Arabian Peninsula. Enjoy the cool climate up in the mountains. Al Jebel Al Akhdar is famed for its fruit orchards typically laid out terrace style along the slopes of mountains, which are endowed with natural springs and aflaj. The villages of Saiq, Wadi Bani Habib (the village of the old houses) & Al Ain dot the landscape. The villages overlook a spectacular landscape of dramatic peaks, gorges and wadis. The roses of Jabal Al Akhdar fill the air with fragrance when in full bloom (March / April). Rose water is distilled in the homes of the villagers.

   After the tour drive back to Nizwa

Overnight stay Golden Tulip Nizwa, 4 star city hotel

Day 4 · Jabreen – Bahla – Al Hamra – Misfah

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   Misfat al Abreyeen

   8 hours Admission included

   After Breakfast we drive to Jabrin and vist Jabrin Castle . A visit to Jabrin castle enables the visitor to recapture the atmosphere of medieval Oman. The 17th century fort is one of Oman’s finest castles and has some exquisite hand-painted ceilings. (The Jabrin Fort has two floors of steps to climb in order to view all the rooms and the terrace). Islamic inscriptions combine with secret hiding places for soldiers in the dining room.

   We then drive to Bahla and visit Bahla Fort which has been declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO.

   We will furthet visit Bahla Pottry factory and witness the art of pottery . A visit to Abdullah ibn Hamdan Al Adawi and his sons is recommended. They practise their craft in a workshop in a palm garden.

   Later we visit Al Hamra Village nestled in the foothills of the Jebel Ahkdar; its multistory mud houses are among the oldest preserved in Oman. Later we then visit Misfah, a pretty village with stone houses, precariously clinging to the side of a huge mountain cliff. The village is laden with date, lemon and banana groves.

Overnight Stay in Golden Tulip Nizwa, 4 star city hotel

Day 5 · Sinaw – Ibra – Sharqiya Sands

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   Wahiba Sands

   8 hours

   At 0730 Hrs: We drive to Sinaw, the peaceful town of Sinaw, in A'Sharqiyah region is noted for its busy souq. In the open yard of the souk is the livestock market, where camels, goats and calves are auc-tioned and bartered. Bedu women in traditional dress, complete with their burnished indigo-dyed or black facemasks (burqa'a), trade alongside men.

   Besides its obvious economic purpose, the souk is an important meeting place for the Bedu to gather and socialize.

   Ibra is the second largest city in the Ash Sharqiyah Region of Oman. It is located about 170 km (2 hours) from Muscat and has a population estimated at 55,000 people.

   Ibra is one of the oldest cities in Oman and was once a center of trade, religion, education and art. The city acquired its importance as an important meeting point at the base of the Ash Sharqiya. Ibra is home of the huge Al-Harthy tribe, one of the biggest and most powerful tribes in Oman. The Al-Maskary tribe and the Al-Riyamy tribe are also both very prevalent in Ibra.

   Later Desert Safai over golden sand dunes and visit of a Bedouin family. Anybody who chooses to live in the environment of Wahiba Sands must be hardy and resilient to tolerate its potentially harsh climate – and bedu are just that. There are over 3000 Bedu of varying tribal origins who live here amongst the woodland on the fringes of the sands.

Overnight stay in Sama Al Wasil Camp, 3 star desert camp

Day 6 · Wadi Bani Khalid – Sur – Bimah Sinkhole - Muscat

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   Wadi Bani Khalid

   8 hours

   Breakfast in Camp

   Check out from the Camp and depart to Sur. We first visit Wadi Bani Khalid, this is considered one of the most beautiful wadi’s in Oman. The drive to Wadi Bani Khalid is through the Eastern Hajar Mountains, which offers a panoramic view of landscape below. We pass many pretty villages embedded in the mountains. Here the road winds down to the wadi along side a large, shallow pool fringed with vegetation and ends at a village. We park our vehicles at this point and continue on a short trek to the deep blue pools of the wadi. Enjoy a swim in this glorious grace of nature.

   We further drive to Sur and visit Dhow factory, here we observe skilled craftsmen building traditional dhows (fishing boats) in the Sur building yards and see the boats anchored in the harbor.

   Further, we drive to Muscat via coastal road. Our first Stop will at the ruins of Bibi Miriam's Tomb, which can be seen at the village of Qalhat on coastal road to Muscat (photo stop from main Road). Our next stop is the Bimah Sinkhole, a spectacular limestone crater with blue green water at the bottom. On clear sunny days while driving along the coast one might have chance to see sharks in the deep blue water or fleet footed Gazelle sprint across the land-scape.

Overnight in Crowne Plaza Muscat, 4 star beach hotel

Day 7 · Grand Mosque – Amouage Factory - Mabilla

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   Amouage Manufacture And Visitor's Centre

   6 hours Admission included

   Breakfast at hotel

   0900 Hrs This morning assemble at hotel lobby and depart for half-day city tour of Muscat. We will start our tour with Grand Mosque the most exquisite Mosque in Oman. The developed part of the site, including the fully consolidated areas and landscaping, covers 416,000 square meters. The Mosque complex (covering 40,000 square meters) is constructed on a raised podium in keeping with the tradition of Omani mosques that were built elevated from street level. It can accommodate up to 20,000 worshippers and consists of a main prayer hall, women prayer hall, covered passageways, a meeting hall, and library, which will eventually contain up to 20,000 books. A major feature of the main prayer hall is the hand-made Persian carpet consisting of. 1,700 million knots, Weighing 21 tones and made in a single piece measuring 70 x 60 meters. From design stage, it took 4 years complete and 600 female weavers from province of Khurasan in Iran were involved.

   Note: Ladies visiting the mosque are required to cover their head with scarf and do not wear shorts, beachwear or sleeveless outfits as they are to be fully covered.

   Men are required to wear long trousers. No shorts are allowed.

   After mosque, we drive to Mabila for a hosted lunch in Omani Family. Here you will experience the traditional Omani lunch besides you will spend good time with the Omani host family and get to know more about the culture and tradition of Oman.

   Late afternoon transfer back to hotel

Omani Family will host traditional lunch at their home.

Overnight in Crowne Plaza Muscat, 4 star beach hotel

Day 8 · Day at Leisure

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   Muscat

   Passing by

   Day at Leisure

Overnight in Crowne Plaza hotel, 4 star beach hotel

Day 9 · Departure Transfer

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   Muscat

   Passing by

   Breakfast at Hotel

   Check out from hotel (Standard check out time 1200 Hrs.) & transfer to Muscat international Airport for your flight back home.