The pillowing clouds of fresh peppercorn laced with vanilla hits your senses upon entry into the “Amouage” perfumery, located in a suburban neighborhood just 20 minutes outside of Muscat, Oman. (amouage meaning “wave” in Arabic). I wanted to venture into this establishment just to get an inside look at how perfumes are created from natural resources. Also, I wanted to chat with the tour guide on Arab women’s love for special made fragrances. I learned that the Middle Eastern culture is known to have the most fragrance obsessed individuals in the world, so it may not be uncommon to find a place like this in your neighborhood. The history of the factory’s first scent was interesting, as the sweet smells was created by burning old date leaves in the hot desert sun and were later carried to the villagers homes to linger throughout the day. How refreshing!!
Category: Oman
Jebel Akhdar
A short scenic visit to the beautiful green mountains in Oman.
There are many parts of Oman that I have yet to be explored but I was told that I must take a short road trip to visit the highest point of this country’s origin and the whole Eastern Arabia. I reached the top of the Green Mountains and I have to say that the view was breathtaking!
The Sinkhole
By taking a nice scenic drive along the desert mountains, just about an hour away from Al Seeb, you can journey off the Hawiyat Park to take a dip in Bimmah Sink Hole. The park is just a few kilometers away from the Arabian Peninsula and is one of the most interesting tourist attractions in Oman.
As I venture out more, I’m starting to realize that Oman may have some
of the greenest cities in the Middle East.
Muscat’s Marble Jewel
Last week , I decided to cross the border for a quick get away to Muscat, Oman, a city five hours away from Dubai. Being my first visit, with not much time to explore, I toured the city’s main attraction The Royal Opera House. The Opera House took 4 years to complete and opened it’s door in 2011. The entire exterior of the building were carved and built from Omani marbled stone, while special wood trimmings and accessories were imported from country such as France and New Zealand. At the start of the tour, we were lead through the main entrance way for the locals, tourists and later down the red carpet to were the Elites enter into the main hall. While in the hall, we were not permitted to snap photos of the stage, but we were given permission to capture the seating area as well as the encased musical instruments. We soon made our way to the VIP sections, which overlooks the hall, to get a chance to embrace the scenery from the balconies. As this was my first visit to an Opera House, I was quite impressed with creativity of the wood carving and stained glass presentation, structure and ambiance.
My visit here has won me over, I’m sold!!
I plan on making time to enjoy many jazz concerts, world winning stage performances and musicals this fall!!