Middle East Castles & palaces pictures

• World

A 20th-century fort rises above the excavation site for an 18th-century pearl-diving and trading town buried by the sands of the desert.

This 16th-century Portuguese fort was once a prison. It has been turned into a private museum and offers some of the best harbor views in Old Muscat.

Go dune-bashing on a desert safari, camp beneath the stars, take a dinner cruise on a dhow and bargain for gold and spices in traditional souks.

A 20th-century fort rises above the excavation site for an 18th-century pearl-diving and trading town buried by the sands of the desert.

This sultanate on the Arabian Sea features a wealthy capital, a mountain range cut by picturesque canyons and several sections of remote sand dunes.

This 16th-century Portuguese fort was once a prison. It has been turned into a private museum and offers some of the best harbor views in Old Muscat.

East meets west in this historical port city, home to lavish palaces, Portuguese forts and one of the oldest marketplaces in the Arab world.

This sultanate on the Arabian Sea features a wealthy capital, a mountain range cut by picturesque canyons and several sections of remote sand dunes.

Go dune-bashing on a desert safari, camp beneath the stars, take a dinner cruise on a dhow and bargain for gold and spices in traditional souks.

Go dune-bashing on a desert safari, camp beneath the stars, take a dinner cruise on a dhow and bargain for gold and spices in traditional souks.

Go dune-bashing on a desert safari, camp beneath the stars, take a dinner cruise on a dhow and bargain for gold and spices in traditional souks.

Go dune-bashing on a desert safari, camp beneath the stars, take a dinner cruise on a dhow and bargain for gold and spices in traditional souks.

Go dune-bashing on a desert safari, camp beneath the stars, take a dinner cruise on a dhow and bargain for gold and spices in traditional souks.

Go dune-bashing on a desert safari, camp beneath the stars, take a dinner cruise on a dhow and bargain for gold and spices in traditional souks.

Go dune-bashing on a desert safari, camp beneath the stars, take a dinner cruise on a dhow and bargain for gold and spices in traditional souks.

East meets west in this historical port city, home to lavish palaces, Portuguese forts and one of the oldest marketplaces in the Arab world.

Go dune-bashing on a desert safari, camp beneath the stars, take a dinner cruise on a dhow and bargain for gold and spices in traditional souks.