There is something wonderfully different about arriving in Oman. The landscape does not announce itself with the exuberance of the Gulf’s more flamboyant destinations. Instead, the Sultanate reveals its charms gradually: the serrated peaks of the Hajar Mountains appearing beyond Muscat, whitewashed villages tucked between rocky valleys, date palms shimmering beside ancient falaj irrigation channels and, beyond them, a coastline where turquoise water meets long stretches of untouched sand.