One of the first few things that we immediately noticed upon entering Muscat, Oman’s capital city, is the abundance of white houses.
The following shot was taken by my sister, Sophia, the proud owner of the Nikon D3000 that we used throughout this trip. We—Sanaf, my other sister who is also my photography buddy, and myself—kept Sophia busy behind the wheels as we took charge of the more difficult task at hand: photography. Masood had less pressing matters in his mind, like finding us a hotel to stay in, for example, since we didn’t book beforehand. We didn’t even know where the hotels were located in the city.
Where was I? Oh, yeah, I was showing you this photograph taken by Sophia. Did I tell you that she isn’t the least bit interested in photography? She hardly took four pictures throughout the trip. One of them was this one.
So she ended up focusing sharply on the leaves and branches, and left the main subject blurred in the background. “That’s a nice picture, Sophia!” I told her, taking the camera from her hands. “I’ll take it from here.”
She’s better at sketching, while I’m better in photography. Life is fair.
These low-lying white houses typify most of Muscat’s urban landscape.
“Wow, this looks like Greece!” exclaimed Sanaf, who has traveled to Europe several times. “Oh yes, it does!” the rest of us agreed, without the slightest idea how the houses in Greece looked like.
Not having skyscrapers obstruct our view was a pleasant change. We—the residents of the UAE who cannot imagine a building without a construction crane sitting on top of it—felt so liberated, like we were able to breathe.
And if Dubai is clean, Muscat is even cleaner.
That’s a pretty place!
lol @ feeling liberated by the buildings 
Yep, that’s true, LavendarClouds! Never felt so free in a long time
Wow!
You sister should take more photos! I like the composition.
The town seems to be lost in mountains.. Beautiful..
Harebeat, she’d rather be the subject than the one behind the lens. We actually talked her into buying the camera (another sister is the one using it all the time)
I’ll let her know that you liked her composition
Oh then you should more photos of her
And let me guess.. If she like to be the subject, you prefer to be behind the lens, don’t you?:)
Are you three sisters?:)
Yes, she prefers to be the subject; there’s less work involved in that
But I’m more of a landscape person, so she doesn’t get into many of my photographs. And yeah, I prefer to stay behind the lens. I love photography.
And no, I will not post more pictures taken by her (or of her) because this is *my* blog
I’m a loving and generous sister like that.
OK, I got it! Then more of your photos
They are great!:)
Thank you!
Looks like they are all peace loving people like their houses…love it.
Yeah, that’s true. The Omanis are quite friendly too.
Love the white houses and the backdrop of the mountains.Just awesome view and the place looks so clean too and that’s definitely a bonus to visit.
Now for the lovely shot by your sister,that was amazing
Those leaves deserve their limelight away from the man-made white houses!And who knows how long they’ve been standing there for someone like Sophia to give them the spotlight 
MashAllah for your photography and lovely sisters 
Yes, Lat. I really liked how all the houses were painted white. It added more to the cleanliness.
Yeah, yeah…take her side. And take the side of those leaves too. I’ll let Sophia know how much people are loving her framing
Oh, do you have a FB account? I’ll add you.
Yes,I do.I’ll add you too.Thank you for being such a sweet friend!mA!
And btw,i’m always on your side!,Even if it looks like I’m siding the leaves
haha!
“i’m always on your side!,Even if it looks like I’m siding the leaves”
Haha!
Thank you! That makes me feel a lot better
wow….lovely pictures….u are making me want to travel to the middle east!!! thats not fair!
Hi Leena! But that’s fair, specially when the weather is gloriously pleasant. And besides, I know that you are on bed rest, issi liye tho I am bringing the Middle East to you
Indeed, extremely beautiful city!
I always enjoy your photography (apart from beautiful travelogue).
Thank you, Raheel!
We really liked the calmness of Oman, and the friendly Omanis too. And the free parking spaces
lovely city again i m back bhae
u r doing goodddddddddd
Princess Reedssss, welcome back! We missed you around here
Wow!
loving the white houses! They look so grand!
and you guys are so funny! Sisterly love aye
Yep, sisterly love it is, Smiley!
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They are all lovely pictures, and I like the way your sister framed the houses with the trees. Of course a smaller aperture would have focused everything.. but it’s a really nice picture. The best is of course the next one – DSC_0264 – showing the Muscat city.
Funny, I can’t imagine a Gulf Arab city without tall buildings and here it is
Mezba, she shoots on auto mode only
Yep, I knew there were going to be mountains and forts, but it took me completely by surprise that there weren’t tall buildings in Muscat! Or maybe four or five ten-story buildings in total
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hey, i like the mountains in the background. the place looks so serene.
you took great pictures, as usual, nadia. regards,
doon po sa amin recently posted..Isang araw…
Thank you so much, dpsa!
I chanced upon your blog while planning my trip to Oman. Thanks for all the useful info and snaps. I am all the more looking forward to my trip after reading your posts.
Cheers
Amrita
Thank you so much, Amrita! Oman is very beautiful and I’m sure you’ll have a nice time. Have fun!