Invaders hoping to capture Oman's Nizwa fort in centuries past would have had some medieval defence methods to deal with.

The inland Omani town of Nizwa is separated from the Gulf of Oman and the city of Muscat by the Jebel Akhdar mountains. It is home to the largest fort on the Arabian Peninsula and is still a great place to buy traditional Omani wares.

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This coastal city has been turning out sea-going vessels for thousands of years.

Jill Worrall visits an Omani shipyard which has been turning out vessels for thousands of years.

Muscat first began to make a name for itself in the 14th and 15th centuries as a trading port but it was the Portuguese who built some of its most distinctive architectural features.

Sultan Qaboos ibn Said (whose family has been in power since 1747), is the current ruler of Oman and is revered and loved throughout the country, perhaps in part because he has funded projects such as this glittering mosque, which was opened in 2001 after a six-year building project and can accommodate 20,000 worshippers.

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On a trip to Oman, Jim Eagles heads to the 'Grand Canyon of Arabia' and navigates sheer drops and rock falls to visit an abandoned cliff face village.

This area, often referred to as the Grand Canyon of Arabia, once supported dozens of remote mountain settlements. In the early 2000s however, the Oman Government moved all the inhabitants to less remote sites with easier access to modern services, leaving the villages to ghosts and foreign trampers.

Fortunately, there are still places in the Middle East that remain oases of tranquillity amid those deserts of dissatisfaction.

Cathrin Schaer visits a country which appears different from the headlines.