Cotswolds Lifestyle Jan - Feb 2020
We've got 2020 vision as we look ahead to the new year with fitness and health tips, a wedding guide, meat free recipes, an interview with chef Michael Caines and lots of home inspiration.
We've got 2020 vision as we look ahead to the new year with fitness and health tips, a wedding guide, meat free recipes, an interview with chef Michael Caines and lots of home inspiration.
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Images, clockwise from top left: Bedrooms at<br />
Sahab; amazing views from the Sahab pool<br />
area; the infinity pool at Dunes; Dunes tent<br />
interior; Abdul, Dunes' resident camel<br />
with Oman and moved permanently. I asked<br />
her about her thoughts on the way the modern<br />
world is changing what is ostensibly a traditionled<br />
country “the country is not virgin anymore,<br />
in the respect of technology and infrastructure,<br />
she is newly married though - growing a little,<br />
finding her way, experiencing new things and<br />
of course changing - but ultimately Oman is<br />
not so changed from its core and that is what<br />
makes it so magical.”<br />
It is amazing that a country can have as peaceful<br />
an existence as this, often called upon to be<br />
the mediator of other political conflicts. The<br />
Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said plays a part<br />
in this prosperity, and his particular penchant<br />
for aesthetically pleasing architecture has<br />
seen Oman, and Muscat in particular, grow<br />
gracefully and with tradition at its heart - you<br />
won’t see the skyscrapers of Dubai here as all<br />
buildings are limited to four storeys. There are<br />
lots of excursions available from Dunes which<br />
take in some of the city’s best sights - you can<br />
meander through the nearby Matrah Souk or<br />
visit the city’s architectural gem - Sultan Qaboo’s<br />
Mosque. This mosque can accommodate<br />
over 7,000 worshippers inside it’s cool marble<br />
prayer rooms and at its heart it houses the<br />
most dazzling chandelier I have ever seen - all 8<br />
tonnes of it.<br />
I have travelled fairly extensively in the Middle<br />
East, but something about Oman really did<br />
capture my imagination. It offers so much<br />
to the traveller - world-class scenery, lots of<br />
cultural sights, and of course that wonderful<br />
Omani hospitality.<br />
The Al Nahda Group too make the most of these<br />
elements, amplifying them in their hotels to give<br />
guests an authentic, but relaxing experience<br />
and surely fond memories of a holiday filled with<br />
adventure and discovery.<br />
TRAVEL TIPS:<br />
• 4 nights at Sahab and then three nights at Dunes, private transfers and<br />
return flights with Oman Air<br />
• Cox & Kings (0203 642 0861, coxandkings.co.uk) offers 4 nights at Sahab<br />
Resort & Spa on a full board basis and 3 nights at Dunes by Al Nahda on a<br />
half board basis from £2,395 per person (two sharing) including all private<br />
transfers and return economy international flights with Oman Air.<br />
• The currency is the Omani Rial - 2 rials is approximately £1<br />
• The national language is Arabic - handy phrases include 'Shukraan' - thank<br />
you, 'Salam Alaikum' - hello or peace be with you to which the response is<br />
'Wa-Alaikum-Salaam' - and peace with you also<br />
29
Change language