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rocklets as well as painted burners and charcoal brick-ettes. Oman’s Dhofar region produces the world’s best and

costliest frankincense because of warm winters andsummers dotted with rain showers, an unusual micro-climate for a region that contains part of the EmptyQuarter, an expanse of desert made famous by postWorld War Two British adventurer Wilfred Thesiger (orMubarak bin London as he was called) in his bookArabian Sands, a must-read for any visitor to Oman. Our small convoy of 4x4 vehicles – led by

Mohammed – leaves the Boswellia sacra groves andheads into the sands for some dune bashing. In Arabicthis is called tloua al ramel, or “climbing the sands”.

lost cityOur drivers show us some of their tamer moves beforeheading off to the Lost City of Ubar. Clearly, this is nolonger lost. Known as “Atlantis of the Sands” byLawrence of Arabia, this caravan staging post wasdiscovered by under-sand satellite scanning by NASA.It was unearthed by explorer Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, who led the on-ground searchteam in 1992. In truth, there’s not a lotto see but the walled town was once astrategic transport hub on the famousincense road. More scenic by far is Khor

Rori, a UNESCO WorldHeritage Site. Legend hasit one of the Queen ofSheba’s palaces waslocated here. Khor Rori– to the ancients itwasSumhu-ram – dates

“This is not good, come back in twoweeks, then you will be able to cutthe wood again and get the best sap.”Mohammed, our guide, is an experton a certain milky-white tree sap.We’re in Wadi Dawkah, a valley about

15 miles from Salalah in the Dhofar region in the farsouth of Oman. The wild desert trees we’re being showndon’t look much. Straggly, in fact. But these areBoswellia sacra trees and they produce a resin which,when dried and then burnt, emits a pungent, heady odour.

This crystallised gum – which weknow as frankincense – has been prizedthroughout history. It was one of thethree gifts brought by the Magi for thebaby Jesus when they travelledfrom the East. Today, the Sultanof Oman keeps the best stuff forhimself and his ultra-luxeAmouage perfume house. Visitors to Salalah, Dhofar’s

main town, can haggle in HaffaSouk for the next-best grades.Frankincense resin droplets aredried in caves to form small,hard, multi-coloured lumps. Thefrankincense shops of Salalah –of which there are a prodigiousnumber – will sell you direct-from-the-farmer frankincense

Gulf state Oman has emerged from the shadows of itsneighbours to become one of the region’s rising tourismstars. Carlton Reid goes in search of its legendaryfrankincense in the deserts and souks of Dhofar and alsoexplores capital Muscat with its fish and gold souks, whilePeter Ellegard reflects on Oman’s other attractions

Gold,frankincenseand more

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oman tipsl Buying frankincense: A half-kilo bag of mid-grade, mixed frankincense can be picked up forabout £2-£3. Prices in the souks of Salalah andMuttrah are little different, so haggle.

l Must visit: Built in 1995, the five-towered SultanQaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat is cut from300,000 tonnes of Indian sandstone. Its domedprayer hall has room for 6,500 devotees beneaththe world’s second largest chandelier, kneeling onthe world’s second largest, hand-knotted one-piece carpet; it took 600 Iranian weavers fouryears to make.

l Eating out: The Chedi, Muscat, a large, beachsideboutique hotel with an infinity swimming pool todie for, has a restaurant acclaimed as one ofOman’s best. The Mumtaz Mahal Indian restaurantin the Qurum National Park serves made-at-your-table “snake coffee”, where brandy is drizzled overorange peel and set alight.

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n One of Oman’s500 forts

n An Omani frankincense burner

n A frankincense seller inAl Husn Souq, Salalah

n Bedouin children

Peter EllegardShangri-La Hotels and Resorts

at least to 300BC and flourished until the fourth centuryAD. The walled town is impressive, and scenic; it’s sitedon a bluff overlooking an Arabian Sea inlet.The Arabian Sea is a big draw for visitors. Oman has

some stunning beach resorts. Some of them are even

livelier in the early hours of the morning. But the partiesare of the eco variety – small groups of people beingshown the night-time egg-laying ritual of green seaturtles at the Ras al Jinz nature reserve. Guides know thebest spots. Turtles can also be found lumbering up thebeaches of the Daymaniyat Islands Nature Preserve,offshore from Oman’s capital, Muscat, as well as otherareas nearby and around the city of Sur.

chicMuscat has been much developed since the currentsultan came to power; he deposed his father in 1970.However, unlike neighbouring Dubai and Abu Dhabi,Muscat is low-rise, tasteful and really quite chic. Muscat’s harbour at Muttrah has a 3km-long

corniche, or promenade. It’s dotted with statues andcanopies and seats. Try to rise early for a cornicheamble. At 5.30am, the mountains are black behind thecity and the cloudless sky starts its purple-to-red-to-yellow welcome to the day. Sprinklers along the cornicheadd mist, and mystique. At 6am, head along to MuttrahSouk, for the sights, sounds and smells of the fishmarket. There is also a gold souk there. Sip your first Arabian coffee of the day as Muscat

comes to life. And come to life it does. The city – the

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forts, fjords anddesert hospitality

Oman’s strategic position on the ArabianPeninsula has brought with it not only wealthfrom trade through the centuries but alsoconflict, borne out by the 500 centuries-oldforts, castles and watchtowers littering thecountry.The impressive Nizwa Fort, in the inland

town that was once the capital, is Oman’smost visited monument. Nizwa is a greenoasis in the desert thanks to its aflajirrigation canals.Rise early on Fridays to watch locals

barter for goats at the livestock market inNizwa’s souq. On my visit, some woretraditional, decorative curved khanjahdaggers strapped to a belt while several evenbrandished rifles and ammunition belts, andbeaming smiles. Omanis are disarmingly friendly and

welcoming, none more so than the Bedouin.When I came across a camp while on a 4x4excursion into the vast Wahiba Sands desert,they lived up to their reputation forhospitality, inviting us to join them for lunch,cross-legged on a rug. I followed my hosts’lead when a bowl containing a rice and meatdish, qabel, was passed round, sticking myfingers into the stodgy goo then rolling it intoa sticky ball and dipping it in a bowl of oil

before eating it. Refusing would have offended.At ancient shipbuilding town Sur, just two

hours from Muscat via a new highway,wooden dhows are still made by hand andhuge turtles haul up the beach to nest.Cut off from the rest of Oman by a 45-

mile strip of the United Arab Emirates, thenorthernmost Musandam peninsula is knownas the Norway of Arabia because of itsrugged mountains and deep fjords.When I visited just before Oman’s tourism

boom, it had one 15-room hotel in the maintown of Khasab and you could only fly there.

Now you can also take the world’s fastestferries and there is more accommodation.Guarding the Strait of Hormuz – gateway

to the Arabian Gulf – gives Musandam a verydifferent feel to the rest of Oman. Tinyfishing communities dot the steep-sidedcoast, while inland, villages cling to the sidesof stark, barren mountains. Sightseeing options include taking a dhowfjords cruise, watching dolphins andsnorkelling or diving on isolated reefs, as wellas taking 4x4 trips into the mountains.

Peter Ellegard

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n View towards Muscat's corniche

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2012 Capital of Arab Tourism – stages a number of spectacular festivals during theyear, including music festivals. The sultan is a classical music buff. In 1985 he wishedinto being the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra, with Omani nationals employed asplayers at the Royal Opera House in Muscat. There are also yachting festivals – theExtreme Sailing Series is the world's toughest – and heritage expos. The Tour of Oman is an annual stage race which attracts the world’s best

professional cyclists. Most festivals take place in the cooler spring months. Oman’sNational Day is on November 18 and is famous for its camel races.

oman facts

active omandivingWith newly-sunk wrecks, coral-lined fjords, 900species of fish and rays, turtles and dolphins, Omanoffers world-class diving, but without the crowds. TheMuscat Diving & Adventure Centre offers day andevening dive tours. A two-night package for twopeople costs £300. www.omandiving.com

camel racingCamel races on the Sharqiyah Sands, in Oman’sinterior, no longer use young boys as jockeys, butrobots, radio-controlled from 4x4s which race alongwith the camels. Races take place from October toApril, overseen by the wonderfully-titled DirectorateGeneral of Camel Affairs. Find race schedules onwww.rca.gov.om.

golfMuscat Hills (www.muscathills.com), Oman’s first18-hole green golf course, opened in 2009. The firstnine holes of the Greg Norman-designed Almouj golfcourse (www.almoujgolf.com) at The Wavedevelopment near Muscat opened in December.

cavingMajlis al Jinn – or meeting place of the spirits – is anOmani cave complex, 100km from Muscat, entered byabseiling. The Muscat Diving and Adventure Centre offersa two-day trip for £250. www.holiday-in-oman.com

cyclingOman is criss-crossed by stony tracks. It’s possible toride to the top of Jebel Shams, Oman’s highestmountain. Renting a full-suspension mountain bikefrom Oman Bicycle (www.omanbicycle.com) inMuscat costs £40 per week. The Muscat Diving andAdventure Centre has guided mountain bike daytours for £90.

climbingOman has some classic via ferrata: high mountainroutes equipped with fixed cables, ladders, andnarrow bridges. Snake Gorge – named for its shape –in Wadi Bani Awf, 100km from Muscat, has a cablecrossing 100 metres above the canyon floor. One-dayvia ferrata trips with the Muscat Diving andAdventure Centre cost £90.

when to goThe best time to visit Oman is fromOctober to April, with average daytimetemperatures of 25ºC-35ºC. BetweenApril and September, it is baking hotand humid on the coast and bone dryinland. From mid-June to mid-September,the Khareef monsoon hits the south.

getting thereNational airline Oman Air (www.omanair.com) flies non-stop toMuscat from London. Other services include British Airways(www.ba.com) and Etihad (www.etihadairways.com) via Abu Dhabi,Emirates (www.emirates.com/uk) via Dubai and Gulf Air(www.gulfair.com) via Bahrain. Visitor visas can be bought on arrival.

getting aroundTaxis are widely available in Muscat and other cities. From Muscat, it’s aone-hour flight with Oman Air to Salalah. Flights and fast ferries linkMuscat with Khasab in northern peninsula enclave Musandam. Self-driveis available. Take 4x4 excursions into the desert.

accommodationOman now has a host of top-class hotels. They include the Al BustanPalace (www.albustanpalace.com), Sifawy Boutique Hotel(www.sifawyhotel.com), The Chedi (www.ghmhotels.com),Crowne Plaza Muscat (www.cpmuscat.com) and Shangri-La’s Barr AlJissah Resort & Spa (www.shangri-la.com) in Muscat, and the SalalahMarriott Resort (www.marriott.com) in the Dhofar region. You canalso stay in Bedouin-style tents in the Desert Nights Camp(www.desertnightscamp.com) in the Wahiba Sands desert.

holidaysTour operators featuring Oman include Shaw Travel(www.shawtravel.co.uk), Omantravel (www.oman-travel.co.uk),

Audley Travel (www.audleytravel.com), ElegantResorts (www.elegantresorts.co.uk),Peregrine Adventures(www.peregrineadventures.com),Kuoni (www.kuoni.co.uk) and TropicalSky (www.tropicalsky.co.uk).

tourist informationOman Ministry of Tourism:

www.omantourism.gov.om

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n Turtle and diver

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n Makingrosewater