Much of the two hour drive to Nizwa was scenic, but marred occasionally by power lines.
Though overcast by the coast, by the time we arrived in Nizwa it was bright and sunny. Unfortunately, the souk was partially closed on Saturday afternoon, leaving open only the more touristy trinket stores. Leandra was appalled at the starting prices she was given for a few items, so she did her shopping at a fixed price shop inside the fort that benefits a local nonprofit cultural association.
Just up the street from the souk is the Nizwa Fort, a commanding structure with a large round tower. Refreshingly, you can access most of the site, even the stairs to the roofs, so the views are great. The tower itself has some interesting designs to prevent intruders including trick steps (no longer in use of course!), iron banded doors in tight staircases, plus numerous murder holes! I pity the soldiers that had to try taking this fort.
The basement of the fort had lots of explanations and exhibits on Oman life when the fort was in use.
It was now 2p, and we needed to get out of the sun for a bit. On the way into town we had seen a Carrefour shopping center, so we decided to find some lunch. This turned into a multi-mile u-turn adventure, as the entrances is only on one side of the street, and getting to the proper side of the street is a challenge with no traffic circles. However, we persevered and found plenty to eat in the grocery store.
Refreshed, we made our way to Jabeen castle. Unlike Nizwa we were given a nice pamphlet at the entrance. Though a little smaller, the inside felt more refined. Once again, roof access was possible, with some amazing views (and incredible wind!).
From here we decided to drive up to the mountain village of Misfah. As expected, the drive up was very twisty, with several viewpoints (and turnoffs, rare in Oman). Great view of date palms across valley.
We eventually made it to the parking area of the village itself. While there are some nice hikes from here, the sun was starting to set, so after a long day of dry sunshine we took that as our cue to start the drive back to Muscat. Traffic got a bit heavier after dark as people came to town for the weekend, so we stayed a bit more to the right than normal given the slower speed of our rental. Our showers were well earned back at the hotel, as was our savory Indian dinner.