The fish market
A wave-shaped hall completed in 2017.
Diego Delso — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Izeberg007 — CC0 · Eduard Marmet — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Eduard Marmet — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Andrew Moore — CC BY-SA 2.0
Mutrah Corniche is the seafront promenade of Mutrah, Muscat's old port district, curving about 3 km around the bay from Port Sultan Qaboos and the fish market to Kalbuh. Dhows, yachts and, in season, cruise ships lie on one side; on the other, latticed buildings and mosques sit under a crescent of jagged mountains. Mutrah was the capital's trading heart before oil. The Portuguese built its fort in the 1580s, and the Lawatiya, merchants with roots in Sindh, have a gated quarter, Sur al-Lawatiya, on the seafront. Port Sultan Qaboos, completed in the 1970s, has handled cruise ships, not cargo, since freight moved to Sohar in 2014. Snøhetta's wave-shaped fish market hall, near the site of the original 1960 market, was completed in 2017. From the fish market, the walk passes the blue-domed al-Rasul al-Azam Mosque by the gate of Sur al-Lawatiya, the entrance to Mutrah Souq and the fort on its rock. Gazebos, benches and walls carved with fish line the way, and beyond the fort a giant white incense burner crowns a hill in Riyam Park. At sunset locals stroll or cycle in the breeze. Walking it is free; come early for the fish market or late for sunset. Eastwards the coast road runs through the Muscat Gate to Old Muscat, whose Al Alam Palace, Bait al Zubair and National Museum lie 2.4 to 2.9 km from Mutrah Fort in a straight line, 3 to 4 km by road.
A wave-shaped hall completed in 2017.
Dhows, yachts and cruise ships.
Sea breeze and jagged peaks.
Mutrah waterfront, from the fish market to Kalbuh, Muscat
It is a monument shaped like a mabkhara, the traditional incense burner, on a hilltop in Riyam Park east of Mutrah Fort, looking out over the harbour. Travel guides date it to 1990, for Oman's 20th National Day.
The hall was designed for more than 100 fish sellers and cutters under one roof, along with a fruit and vegetable market. The catch is delivered from sunrise, so come early.
