Smart Travels: capital cities

Showing posts with label capital cities. Show all posts

Saturday, 24 October 2015

Muscat

We started our trip to Oman in Muscat, the nation's capital. Muscat is very spread out, with few tall buildings, and you are never very far from the sea.

Qurum Beach

Mangrove, Shatti/Al Qurum

Watchtower and Omani Flag

Mutra is one of the oldest and most easterly districts of the capital.

Watchtower, Mutra

old and new in Mutra: the yacht behind the dhow belongs to the Sultan

Corniche, Mutrah

Mutrah fort (built by the Portuguese in 1580s)

in Mutra souq

in Mutrah souq

in Mutra Souq

outside Mutrah souq on the Corniche

Corniche, Mutrah

elevated view showing the whole Cornice, Mutraj

playing games

The Sultan's Palace, built over the site of the former British Embassy, is closed to the public.

Sultan's Palace

The Bayt al-Zubair museum is located in a restored house and exhibits Omani heritage.

modern art at Bayt Al-Zubair Museum

It houses a reconstructed baristi, which is a traditional house made from palm fronds and trees.

Baristi

Bayt Al-Zubair Museum

coastline, old Muscat

dhows off Mutrah

sunset over typical Muscat housing

Royal Opera House, Muscat (built in 2011)

Royal Opera House, Muscat

an Omani meal may end with dates, followed by rosewater to wash your hands

No visit to Muscat is complete without visiting the Grand Mosque, which was a gift to the nation from Sultan Qaboos to mark the 30th year of his reign.

The mosque can accommodate 20,000 worshippers, including 750 women in a private prayer hall.

Saturday, 15 August 2015

Dublin & Central Ireland

After leaving Northern Ireland we headed across country to Dublin, Ireland's capital city.

Frieze on Sunlight Chambers, Parliament Street

I was interested to visit Fishamble Street as (1) it's the oldest street in Dublin, dating back to Viking times, and (2) it's the place where Handel's 'Messiah' (one of my favourite pieces of music) was first performed in 1742.

statue of James Joyce, O'Connell Street

statue of CS Parnell (Home Rule advocate),
northern end of O'Connell Street

Dublin Castle

World-famous Trinity College was founded in 1592 by Elizabeth I, and its alumni include Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, and Samuel Beckett.

Campanile at Trinity College, University of Dublin.

Sphere within a sphere sculpture by Arnaldo Pomodoro at Trinity College

After two nights in Dublin we headed over to the west coast and Connemara. This was the lovely view from our B&B in Spiddal.

I was mad on horses when I was growing up, and at the time Connemara was familiar to me only as the name of a breed of ponies.

windswept Connemara ponies

'Conamara' actually means 'Inlets of the Sea' in Irish.

an isolated cottage in Connemara

locals have an abundant supply of peat to heat their homes with

We then headed to the city of Galway.

Galway Cathedral, with Salmon Weir Bridge to the left,

crossing the Corrib River (Europe's shortest river).

Spanish Arch, Galway, a remnant of the town's medieval walls

Lynch's Castle, Galway, an example of a town castle

Ireland is littered with old castles!

Dunguaire Castle, south of Galway, built around 1520

Muckinish West Tower House, Galway county

In the northern-western part of County Clare is the rocky and windswept limestone Burren region.

at the Burren

Lighthouse, Inisheer, Aran islands (seen from the Burren)

Further south along the coast are the 200m-high Cliffs of Moher, one of Ireland's most popular sights.

Cliffs of Moher

ruined castle keep at the Cliffs of Moher

The region is home to an abundance of wildflowers.

wildflowers

We spent a night in Ennis and then visited the town of Limerick, which for me until then had just been the name of a type of rhyme! You can visit King John's castle there, built by the eponymous English king between 1200 and 1212 on the banks of the River Shannon.