Muscat: Whenever the City of Muscat is mentioned, this recalls its deep-rooted history that makes of it as an exceptional tourist attraction in the Arabian Gulf region at all historical, geographical, urban and cultural levels.
This charming city is the only Gulf city where the mountain embraces the sea and tells each other of its stories and its observation of Omani history.
The eternal embrace between the sea and the mountain, which is one of the features of its beauty, has given the city throughout history prestige and strength, but also made it the city of questions and strangeness and passion.
Some consider that these questions and that material and moral strength have given the city a unique military defence force that is not available to the open cities of the Arabian Peninsula.
Because the city is open on the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean, it was able to open a civilized dialogue with the other coming from all regions.
But it was also the focus of the ambitions of the colonists in many periods of history, especially the stage of geographical expeditions and in particular the Portuguese who took control of the coastal strip of Oman, specially Muscat, but the Omanis were able to expel them not only from the Gulf region but from East Africa as well.
For the first time, a visitor of the city can see the harshness of geography through the rough mountains and how it has turned into a divine beauty, as if the city had been carved into rock or rebuilt as a masterpiece of an oil painting by a skilled artist and restored a more skilled sculptor to simulate the city as we see it today.
The idea of carving the city in the rock can be seen in its castles "Al Jalali", "Al Mirani" and "Muttrah", and the houses built in the Old City neighborhoods and towers scattered all over the city.
Muscat is considered one of the most important cities in the region that is interested in museums. One evidence is the National Museum which is considered a masterpiece of museums in the Sultanate, which highlights the history of Oman and its cultural heritage millions of years ago.
The visitor to the city finds the museum facing Al Alam Palace, which is also one of its historical features and constitutes a major component of the beauty of the city.
The visitor will find a great opportunity to learn about the history of Oman through millions of years by visiting and touring the halls of the National Museum.
Visitors to the museum will have a gallery of about 6,000 carefully selected pieces and monuments representing different stages of Omani history.
In the vicinity of the National Museum there is the Omani / French- Museum, which celebrates the historical relations between Oman and France. Not far from there is the Museum of the Beit al-
Zubair, in addition to the Museum of Beit Al Brenda, the Museum of
Natural History, the Children's Museum and Museum of Currency
History in Oman.
If the National Museum and Al Alam Palace are landmarks of the city,
there are the castles "Al Jalali", "Al Mirani" and "Muttrah" that were
opened last year to visitors, in addition to Al Rawya, Al Saffa Fort,
Sayyid Nadir House, Sayyid Abas bin Faisal House, in addition to
Muscat Wall.
One of Muscat's most popular attractions, which attracts tourists from
inside and outside the Sultanate, is Muttrah Old Market (Souq), which
is also one of the most prominent landmarks in the city and which is
consistent with the famous eastern markets.
The Royal Opera House in Muscat makes of the city world-famous
city that attracts tourists from all over the world. In the Qurum area,
there are the Royal Opera House and the House of Musical Arts where
a visitor can visit the city to take a tour of the latest exhibitions of fine
arts or attend an intellectual or historical lecture.
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