Muscat: The Royal Palace

The Royal Palace, Qaṣr al-ʿAlam, didn't look as I had expected it to.  Built in 1971 by Indian architects Shapoorji Pallonji, it is colourful - even flamboyant - whereas I had thought it would be more muted in line with the opera house and Grand Mosque.  

The palace sits between the historic Al Jalali and Al Mirani forts, the former of which is shown to the left of the photo above, taken from the latter fort.  I had wanted to visit the Al Jalali fort, but either I went the wrong way or it isn't open to the public because the route was blocked by guards who were friendly but firm that this was not going to happen.

Nonetheless the view from Al Mirani gives a good view of the palace grounds and a diferent perspective of the royal palace itself.

Moving on from Royal Palace area, I took a walk along the Mutrah Corniche, a very pleasant 2 mile promenade around the Muscat harbour.  In the picture below, you can see the promenade, and the mountains behind the city.