How to Haggle Like a Pro … and the Omani Designer Gautier and Kim Kardashian Ripped Off

On the southeast corner of the Arabian Peninsula lies an oasis of calm inside the storm of the Middle East: Oman. Named in almost every publication’s 2015 next big destinations list, and despite being perched precariously between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, the sultanate is peaceful, religiously tolerant, and welcoming.

Of course I had to go check it out for “A Broad Abroad.”

I wasn’t disappointed.

The waterfront in Muscat. (Photo: Thinkstock)

Small towns dot the country that are straight out of “The Arabian Nights.” Sinbad the sailor was from here, as well as the famed Queen of Sheba — who is rumored to have once had ownership of the Ark of the Covenant. The whole country is like a fairy tale come to life, with hidden oases around every corner. But unlike the leaders of the other Westerner-friendly country on the peninsula — Dubai — Oman’s sultan refused to tear down historical buildings and instead, upon taking power in the 1980s, focused on infrastructure (there are paved roads crisscrossing the land that are so free of potholes my cameraman kept exclaiming, “What is this? Why don’t we have roads like this?”). All new buildings are done to fit in seamlessly with historical structures.

The Grand Mosque in Muscat, Oman. (Photo: Thinkstock)

The tallest building in the country, in the capital, Muscat, is only 17 stories high, and although there are modern conveniences, outside of Muscat life goes on much as it has for more than 1,000 years.