Muscat offers the visitor a rare opportunity to witness a modern center existing in harmony with its traditional culture. With its natural harbor, Muscat, meaning ‘anchorage’, lies in a natural bowl. Our tour of the Grand Mosque (excluding Thursdays and Fridays) and Bait al Zubair Museum (excluding Fridays) is a brief introduction that traces Oman’s history and development. After driving along the Cornice to visit the fish market and colorful Mutrah Souq, we make a photo stop at the official palace of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, the magnificent Al Alam Palace which is flanked by the 16th-century Portuguese forts of Mirani and Jalali. (All visitors must be fully covered to wrists and ankles; ladies must wear a scarf covering hair and neck for a visit to the Grand Mosque.)