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OMAN FROM ABOVE: The image pictured was generated using satellite data. The data is ray-traced at extremely high resolution quality to give the amazingly lifelike result seen here. For more details and to order your own custom prints for anywhere on Earth please vist earth.imagico.de Photograph by ### Oman may lack the glitzy skyscrapers and trendy rooftop bars of Dubai or Doha, but its spectacular and peaceful mountain retreats and beautiful coastline more than make up for that, says Cathy Adams 61
HIGH LIFE: The spectacular setting of Jabal Akhdar, a hillside village where life feels so detached that goats seem the only company When you re 2,000 metres above sea level in the northeast corner of Oman, standing over a deep canyon in the mountains of Jabal Akhdar, you can bet your last rial there ll be a mega-storm raging. This is the second storm I ve seen in The higher rainfall at higher altitudes means shrubs and trees grow and agriculture can be supported and that explains why Jabal Akhdar translates as green mountain. 36 hours. Thick bolts of purple lightning are zigzagging down to the ground slightly too close for my liking and the wind whips the dust around in all directions. This kind of storm would probably decimate the UK, but in the rocky Hajar mountains it s just standard after-hours entertainment. My friends and I had driven in a battered 4x4 for four hours from Muscat to get here. The hillside village of Jabal Akhdar is so remote that you re counted in and out by military personnel, and it s not unusual to drive for miles without seeing another living thing. But, as the old adage goes, good things come to those who wait and after a frightening journey around hairpin bends and down dirt tracks, we finally arrive at the vertiginous retreat of Alila Jabal Akhdar, a clutch of luxury stone huts overlooking a giant gorge. It s so detached from the rest of the world that there are only a few mountain goats for company until the first fat drops of rain start to fall, when they disappear back into the canyon and the guard at the gate is so bemused to see another human being that it takes him a while to remember to open the gate for us. During what is a mildly terrifying night without power, we sit on our balcony in the blackness, overlooking a craggy ravine, with the dregs of a bottle of merlot for company. The storm quickly passes, and Jabal Akhdar becomes lifeless once again. This is the Middle East as it should be there s none of the glitz of Dubai or the skyscrapers of Doha and, with temperatures hovering around the mid-20s, it s brisk enough to warrant jeans and a jumper (in May). It s hardly the Middle East I know. A hike around Jabal Akhdar the next morning rather underlines the point. Spring means rose season, and the peaks are covered in bushes with roses in all shades of pink sprouting from their tops. The views, stretching for miles over brown and green rocks, are some of the most arresting I ve ever seen, and the locals welcome us with open arms (although if you re offered Omani coffee, think twice it s bitter and watery, and tastes like cement at the bottom). There s little to keep you in Jabal Akhdar for longer than a couple of days, though life slows down to a crawl up here, and despite those jaw-dropping views of deep ravines from every angle, it s got none of the buzz (or the thick desert heat) of the city. But before we shunt our rented Nissan Pathfinder back to Muscat, we take a THE VIEWS, STRETCHING FOR MILES OVER BROWN AND GREEN ROCKS, ARE ABSOLUTELY STUNNING Photograph by Steve Graham 62
NEED TO KNOW detour to Wadi Shab, on the outskirts of the city. It s a narrow valley, hemmed in by sandstone cliffs, with aquamarine freshwater pools ripe for swimming. It takes a steaming 30-minute clamber over the rocks before we slide into the cool water, swimming beneath jagged rocks from which cliff divers jump. The deeper into the valley A SPEEDBOAT TRIP INTO THE BAY REVEALS SPINNER DOLPHINS SPLASHING AROUND IN CLEAR WATER MARBLE MARVEL: An area of Muscat s huge and beautiful Sultan Qaboos mosque, which boasts the world s biggest chandelier and its complex of caves you swim, the more beautiful it all becomes. Sufficiently cooled down and ready to face Muscat, Oman s capital, we cruise along alternatively modern and ramshackle highways back into urbanisation. Muscat is essentially a sprawl of low rises and souqs scooped out of the rocky Hajar mountains, and it feels like somewhere that only exists because it has to. It s got all the ornate tradition that the Middle East does so well there s the giant Sultan Qaboos mosque (its huge chandelier, the largest in the world, weighs 8.5 tonnes) and the Muttrah Souq in the oldest part of the city, selling almost everything but some things are changing quickly. Muscat still makes its money primarily through the export of fish, pearls and dates, but the tourism industry is gradually picking up strength. Unfortunately, we don t stumble across any glitzy rooftop hotel bars, and nightlife is almost limited to a tiki cocktail at Trader Vic s at the InterContinental, which feels more like gatecrashing a wedding than a night out. But what Muscat does have is miles and miles of beautiful coastline facing the glittering Gulf of Oman, with golden sands, a sizeable population of dolphins and the looming Hajar mountains in the background. The Omanis refer to the souq, which is around 200 years old, as the Market of Darkness because its dense network of narrow alleys, lined with shops, keeps out the daylight. A double room at Shangri-La s Barr Al Jissah resort starts from around 144 a night. shangri-la.com/muscat Rooms at Alila Jabal Akhdar start from around 180 a night. alilahotels.com Return economy fares to Muscat with Qatar Airways start from 577pp. Qatar Airways operates 45 flights per week from London Heathrow, Manchester and Edinburgh to Doha, flying to over 130 worldwide destinations including Asia, Australia and Africa. Return business class flights start from 5,474pp. qatarairways.com Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah mega-resort, slightly outside the city, offers the best of both worlds: close to Muscat proper, but with a private slice of Omani sea. While it s tempting to lounge in the infinity pool at the resort s Al Husn hotel or eat fresh fish and watch the sun set at traditional Omani seafood restaurant Bait al Bahr, a speedboat trip into the bay reveals spinner dolphins splashing around in the clear water. There may be no skyscrapers in sight, and the mountain storms might be kneetremblingly frightening, but I think I like this quiet version of the Middle East. e Photographs by Mlenny Photography/Getty Images, Haytham Pictures / Alamy 64