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| One of the Ministries at Old Muscat |
City planning worldwide has given in to a skyscraper vision of the future. The Persian Gulf is certainly not deprived of this architectural trend in cities like Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha. Well, not all though. The Omani capital, Muscat, offers a quite different scope.
Due perhaps to its religious and cultural specificity, Muscat reveals a striking contrast. There investing into the future does not simply mean to build high-rise buildings.
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| Muscat is a city stretching between the sea and a mountain range |
The main idea behind the scene is to blend modernity with a cultural identity that includes a renewed consideration with the natural environment. Muscat might well be a showcase for this idea.
Before landing at Muscat, the aircraft will unveil a vision of a city deprived of skyscrapers and stretching along the sea of Oman and a long coastal range, bare of any vegetation. As the airplane prepares for landing, it becomes obvious that there is no lack of superhighways but that the highest constructions are the minarets of the many modern mosques standing out amidst the whiteness of the urban community.
The new Muscat International Airport opens the door to the previous vision from the air. Even if it
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| Inside Muscat Airport terminal |
is a state-of-the-art architectural achievement, a definite sense of local inspiration transpires through its conception. This is a phenomenal construction, placing it among the most striking new airports worldwide.
Due to its topography enshrined between sea and mountain, the city is a long stretch of low-rise buildings merging into a rocky coastal landscape on the eastern side of the Gulf of Oman. This is where the ancient communities of Mutrah and Old Muscat are located.
The city is modern but shows that the housing concept adopts a resolute limit to the size of the buildings often displaying an ethnic touch. There is no lack of commodities. There are a few mega-malls, and as modern as the mosques may look their concept displays a clear local touch. In the central residential coastal area of Al Khuwayr, the new Opera House remains the only other imposing monument of the cityscape. Along the sandy beach area of the Oman Sea, free parking zones have been allocated in order to offer a full pedestrian escape to shops, cafés and restaurants. There is also a shaded beach pathway for people in search of calm or of the marine breeze.
Ras Al Hamra is a cape, now home to the plush residential area of Qurum. The small river estuary has been turned into a protected natural bird reserve, and Al Qurum Park on the hillside provides
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| Garden of Al Alam Palace |
another escape to the natural environment. The effort to add a natural touch to the arid environment is obvious in the garden-planning displayed here and there across the city. This is all apparent at Old Muscat, where many government buildings and Al Alam Palace are located. Numerous lawns and thousands of flowers occupy a herd of gardeners, who turn the landscape into a natural paradise. All the official buildings display an Omani trait: crenelated rooftops, wood balconies, paneled doors.
There is a clear evidence everywhere that a modern planning conception may have a traditional cultural flavor.
The natural Bay of Mutrah remains the main country harbor. The modern port version now bears the eponymous name of Sultan Qaboos Port. But the spectacular Mutrah Corniche has a long walking strip that allows visitors to admire the facades of the old harbor buildings. This more historical community is also the home of Mutrah Suq, one of the oldest covered markets in the Arab World.
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| On the Mutrah corniche |
Politically and also religiously (the Ibadi religion is a third branch of Islam), the Sultanate of Oman is a peaceful country, where people are very friendly and most certainly open to a modernity in favor of preserving its traditional heritage. Today, the blend of these two concepts is happily displayed in Muscat.
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