Last week I was back in Oman and spent some time in Muscat. Hot and humid at this time of year, packed into space amidst foothills of the surrounding mountains, nevertheless, the city has great charm.
Along the Muttrah corniche….
Mosque by the famous Muttrah souk…
Strolling past a royal ship….
In the Qurm beach area, white villas with high walls, tree-lined avenues and beautifully designed mosques lead to a glorious beach, heading north towards As Seeb, a fishing town several kilometres north-east of the city.
The view from Qurm beach…
White and gold gleaming in the afternoon sun…
Fishing boats at As Seeb…
I came across these rather amazing doors and gates at the entrance to one particularly grand villa.
The set on the right…..
The doors in the middle….
the set on the left…
Part of the villa facade…
Taking part in Thursday Doors, pop on over and check out some more doors this week…..
Travels in the Middle East and beyond 
Lovely doors. Is that actually an island off Qurm Beach? (pls excuse my ignorance)
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Thanks for commenting PB, in answer to your question it is called al Fahal island,
“Al Fahal Island (Shark Island) is situated around 4km from the mainland and has an area of just 2.24 km2. It is composed mostly of around 55 to 35 million year old Eocene limestone and marl.
This limestone was originally part of the sea floor. It is made up from the shells of marine organisms such as bivalve shellfish, coral and algae, deposited in a shallow marine environment.
The island outcrop is now exposed on the surface due to uplift and change in sea levels.”
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Love those beautiful carved wooden doors. 🙂
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Thank you, they are rather splendid!
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Such an amazing part of the world! Great photos 🙂
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Thanks, Rainee, I love to spend time in Oman, it has to be “my place to go” currently….
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Looks like something out of The Arabian Nights 🙂 Very pretty and I love the intricate decorative elements.
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oh wow . . those doors are amazing. So wide . . . . did they open onto a courtyard?
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Thanks, Becky, it is a massive villa and I took the photos from the car so couldn’t get the enormity of it in a single shot. It looked like they opened into a courtyard at the front of the house… All those 3 doors/gates were along the front wall with lots of wall in between… it’s a large plot!
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Wow!! So big…..also very impressed you took these from a car as they’re excellent
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Your doors are always just so wow. This was a particularly pretty post with the mosque tower and dome — and that window box thingy made of stone — so much pretty!
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Thanks, Joey, this region has some great opportunities for photos. I tend to focus on the old, but the new are also worthy of posts too ( building up a library!). The light, the heat, the ambience of the region makes for some evocative moments…
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So many wonderful visual elements in this post and those doors are very impressive. Great shots!
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Thanks, Norm, my thoughts are that they were fairly expensive doors!
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Stunning as always. Xx
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Nothing, I mean absolutely nothing, like that around here!!
I love the photo of the blue tower on the mosque with the mountains in the background and the lights with the gold trim on the left edging. Nice!
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I agree with Norm. The doors are very impressive. Wouldn’t it be something to see them from the inside?
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Gosh yes, but I suspect those doors won’t be open to me! I couldn’t work out what they are made of- it looked like moulded metal or wood treated to look as such… I’d love to get closer!
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Going up to ask for a tour would definitely be out of the question.
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What an astoundingly beautiful place! Thank you so much for sharing!
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The doors are magnificent, but I’m most amazed at the blue minaret and the yellow cupola. I would not be able to look elsewhere.
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Thanks for commenting, I am amassing rather a collection of beautiful mosque photographs. Oman seem to favour colour on the minaret and cupola roof whereas UAE mainly have carved white/cream stone ones. Both have their own attraction!
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Definitely a grand villa, with beautiful doors and gates.
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Thanks, Jean, it was a grand place. I have just this week spotted one to top it off in Dubai, it requires a very early photograph session as it’s on a busy road ! Hopefully soon to appear in Thursday doors!
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Beautiful doors and building architecture from that side of the world. Thanks for showing us what the culture is really like instead of news pictures of a war torn Middle East.
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Thank you. There is a lot to discover in this region,luckily no war in my neck of the woods!
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I always thought al Fahal island looked like a giant turtle!
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You are right, it does!
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Splendid doors these 🙂
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