Grand Mosque, Muscat

What an amazing, beautiful and awe-inspiring building. I wasn't expecting it to stand right beside a multi-lane main road but it is nonetheless extremely quiet and very beautiful. Clean, shiny marble everywhere, a carpet that took 600 women years to weave, a HUGE chandelier in the men's mosque, a library and gardens. I had to make a quick trip to a souk a couple of days previously to buy a new top as I'd overlooked bringing one with sleeves to the wrist! I'd remembered a scarf to cover my head and long trousers but didn't get the arms sorted and 3/4 length was not good enough. Another long-sleeved, cotton, sequined top to add to the collection bought in Pakistan...

We had a fabulous trip around Muscat - to the souk (again), the mosque (awesome), the Sultan's palace and his guest house (where he houses his special friends), the old city and the fish market!

The guy in the photo is our driver and guide. A lovely man called Akram who knows everything that there is to know about Muscat.