May the forts be with you
Beyond the battlements at the tip of the Arabian peninsula is a spicy blend of history and modernity, writes Greg Lenthen.
With oil set for $200 a barrel and petrol $2 a litre, you might like to see how your money is being spent. Try Oman. Not the showy glitz of Dubai or the other shimmering Emirates up the road. Oman is agreeably low-rise and low-key.
Like the Gulf states to its north, Oman offers the usual "Arabian nights" stopovers: ride a camel, bash a dune and sleep under the stars in a six-star tent. There are camping and trekking, surfing and diving, and just idling around the pool at luxury resorts. But beyond all that, there's history; a rich past colouring a bright future. You can't miss Oman. Head straight down the eastern side of the Arabian peninsula and it's the last stop before the Arabian Sea. The sultanate's story is at once exotic and familiar; the broad strands of Oman's trade and culture weave into the wider narrative that draws together the ancient world and the modern, the East and the West. Read more...
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