OMAN
​I visited Oman in February 2020.

While sharing much with Arab cuisine in general, including the staples of rice and unleavened bread, Omani cooking is nutritious and varied with a heavy emphasis on cardamonm, saffron and turmeric, reflecting the country's ethnic diversity.*

The livestock market occupies a small plot of land beyond themain market walls, left of the entrance, and the brisk trading in goats, sheep and cattle is a centuries-old tradition.*​

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Omanis are particularly fon of fish...lobster is a popular dish...one common delicacy from southern Oman is rabees, which is made from boiled immature shark, stripped and washed of the gritty skin, then fried with the liver.*

The major concern for all Peninsula countries, particularly those of the Gulf, is water - or rather, the lack of it.  Sustained periods of drought and dramatically increased water consumption over the past two decades have led to a depleted water table.*​

Despite being the capital's main port, Mutrah feels more like a fishing village.  The daily catch is delivered to market, by the Marina Hotel, from sunrise.*​

The historic town of Nizwa, with its giant fort and high-walled souq, lies on a plain surrounded by a thick palm oasis and some of Oman's highest mountains.*

This game is popular with Bangladeshis in Nizwa during the evening.


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lt by the Portuguese in the 1580s, this fort (Mutrah Fort) dominates the eastern end of Mutrah harbour.  Guarding the entrance to the harbour to the east, Al Jalali Fort was built during the Portuguese occupation in the 1580s on Arab foundations.  Sixteenth-century al Mirani Fort was build by the Portuguese at the same time as nearby Al Jalali Fort.*​​

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Each region of Oman is associated with a different craft - Bahla is famous for pottery, Nizwa for silver jewellery, Jebel Shams for rug-weaving, Sur for boat-building, Shwaymiya for basket-making.*
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After many years of restoration, Bahla Fort, one of the largest in Oman, makes a grand sight looming over the sprawling modern settlement of Bahla.*

Built over 12 years in the 17th century by Sultan Bin Saif Al Yaruba, the first iman of the Yaruba dynasty, Nizwa Fort is famed for its distinctive 40m-tall round tower.*​

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*These captions are from Oman, UAE & Arabian Peninsula -- Lonely Planet's travel guide.