Explore Oman's whitewashed capital Muscat by following the corniche from the fish market, past the balconied buildings of neighbouring Muttrah Souk to the Sultan's Palace. The latter shelters beneath the 16th-century Portuguese forts of Al Jalali and Mirani.

 

Spend a day the Omani way with a picnic and the company of friends on the beautiful beaches of Yitti, Seifa or Quiryat or in the lush oleander-flowering wadis of Dayqah, Shab and Tiwi.
           

 
Get up with the goatherds in Nizwa, the country's capital during the sixth and seventh centuries. Famous for its early morning livestock market and silver handicrafts, it makes the best base for excursions into the mountains

Scale the battlements of one of Oman's many forts and castles in the old capital cities of Nakhal or Rustaq, and examine why honey wasn't always sweet for unwanted guests at the imposing Al-Hazm, Nizwa or Jibreen Forts.

               
Evoke the spirit of the past at the charged World Heritage Sites of Bat (area of ancient burial mounds) and Bahla (one of the most impressive fortified settlements of its kind in the world but not yet open to visitors). Buy a pot from local Bahla potters but don't rub it - Bahla is famous for genii
 

 

Take a ride on Oman's only train to the depths of Al-Hoota Cave (website: www.al-hootacave.com), first opened to the public in late 2006, near Nizwa and encounter some of the country's limestone wonders.

 

Wander around the old town of Sur, famous for its traditional shipbuilding - and its local nightlife: at nearby Ras Al-Jinz, female turtles lumber up the beach every night of the year to deliver the next generation before slipping back to the sea before dawn. Most turtles arrive in July

 
Come in search of unicorns in the dawn mists of the interior at the oryx sanctuary in Jallluni and let a member of the local Al-Harasi tribe show you the secrets of the Huqf Escarpment

 
Blow your troubles to the wind at the blowholes of Dhofar's Mughsail before following the Queen of Sheba into the mists of time in search of Boswellia sacra, the frankincense tree