Muttrah

I've decided that I will spell the town of Muttrah this way (as opposed to Mutrah or Matrah or any other iteration).  The problem being that vowels are fluid and imprecise in Arabic and translating from Arabic sounds to our alphabet letters is subjective.  I believe that the "a/u" sound at the beginning of the word is a bit muddled and is probably closest to the "u" in the word "mutt", meaning that I will spell Muttrah with two t's.

Anyways, Muttrah is a great place to visit when you are in Muscat.  It is an older area and where the port is located.  If you were to travel by boat to visit us, then you would dock here.  In Muttrah, there is the old souq, a produce and fish market, many mosques, forts, and a nearby hike.  It is a popular place to take visitors to get a "middle east feel."  It should, however, be avoided when cruise ships are in port.  It can just get a little congested then.

The Muttrah Port on a day when both of the Sultan's yachts and a cruise ship were docked.

Along the corniche, looking at a couple of lookout towers and the frankincense burner.

There are many rest areas to escape from the sun.  The detail in the domes is beautiful!

I enjoy going through the souq.  It may be chaotic.  It may have some not so authentic items.  It may have salesmen trying to get you to come into every shop.  But it is vibrant and colorful and old.  I love the details of the building and some of the shops.  And you can get some great things here (such as the Omani outfits we bought the boys).  But there are other stores that I love more for authentic souvenirs.  I hope to highlight them in a post soon.

At the intersections inside the souq, you should look up.  The ceilings are all different and beautiful!

Another ceiling

A display of mini Omani doors as well as other nicknacks.

A display of beautiful, colorful lanterns that are popular in many countries in this part of the world.

E in an Omani kuma.

J in a dishdasha and turban or massar looking out to sea.

When my parents were in town, we walked through the produce market.  I had never checked it out before.  It is a large, new building that was definitely not at capacity.  Hopefully the market here grows.  It did make for a good place to park to walk along the corniche and get to the souq.  After walking through the produce market, the next building was the fish market.  It smells like a fish market, so we didn't go in.  But, if fresh fish is your thing, then have at it!

Being as this is an older area of town, there are many old buildings.  There are lookout towers along the coast.  I know that you can walk up into one as we did our first time in Muttrah.  There are also at least 3 forts in the area, though you can only go into one (which I have yet to do... sigh).  There are also many small mosques.  It is enchanting to be along the corniche during a call to prayer because you hear the call from multiple directions.  It is very beautiful and adds to the "middle east feel."

The lookout tower from the parking lot.  These are dotted along the coast and inland on higher ground.

Inside the tower, there are some cannons which are always fun for pictures.

A view from one of the windows.

If you head from the lookout tower or the hike away from the Muttrah souq, you can find some green spaces.  We walked (a ways, to be honest) to find a small beach and park.  Just a different area that probably most people don't explore.

The park we found nestled between the sea and the mountains.