Beyond Muscat: 9 reasons to visit Oman

This desert haven wrapped by mountains is a peaceful and uncrowded spot with five-star hotels, white sand beaches and warm waters.

As well as some of the best diving in the world, it has a souk to rival Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, only without the all the jostling.

But that’s not even the half of it.

Oman is opening to tourism, and some of its greatest treasures are found only a day or so away from the capital.

Here’s a pick of highlights when touring one of the top destinations for 2015.

Musandam Fjords

Musandam is a small triangle bound in by the United Arab Emirates and the Strait of Hormuz — not really the kind of place you’d expect to find something named after a geographic feature commonly associated with Norway.

But these unique inlets with mountains rising directly from sea level to 2,000 meters prove Oman is more diverse than many realize.

There’s no ice, of course. Winter temperatures average about 23 C (73 F).

Instead there are golden brown and red rock faces speckled with palm-filled oases separated by clear, warm waters.

There are fishing villages, the traditional townships of Khasab and Dibba and forts and wadis to explore on land, but the best way to explore the region is on an antique wooden dhow, taken for the day, or even chartered overnight.

Where to stay: Six Senses Zighy Bay; +968 2673 5555

Salalah is the one place in the region worth heading in summer.

In most of Oman, daytime summer temperatures reach average Celsius highs well into the 40s — day after day after day.

In Salalah, the southeast monsoon keeps things more than 10 degrees lower, and it rains — day after day after day.

Known locally as the Khareef, the season is celebrated with a six-week-long festival, and people who are used to dealing with the harshness of a desert climate actually dance in the rain.

The brown mountains are thickly clothed in green, the wadis fill to the brim and it’s possible to understand how the Middle East once possessed a fertile crescent.

Outside the Khareef, however, there’s still reason to visit.

Salalah is the perfume capital of the Middle East, with a UNESCO-listed frankincense plantation.

It also has exceptional biblical sites to explore, such as the summer residence of the Queen of Sheba, and Job’s Tomb.

The area has five-star resorts dressed up as exotic Arabian villages, fine sandy beaches and clear turquoise waters.

Where to stay: Salalah Rotana Resort, Al Saadah, PC 215 Salalah Beach Resort, Taqah Road; +968 2327 5700

Sarah Walton is a freelance writer based Dubai. She writes a culinary travel blog at www.thehedonista.com.

CNN