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Bander Jissa by twilight
A metaphor for everything you ever wanted after hours

Like a ghost crab scuttling across silent shores, subtle hints of sea bream, processed tomato and cream flow through our dinner, easing us from evening into the night. Outside, waves lap at the private beach and yellow limestone cliffs now black against a darker sky. It might sound like poetic license, too sugary sweet or a wee bit of apéritif too much, but it's all true. Such creature comforts are so accessible they could almost be passé, from the luxury of the largest hotel complex in the sultanate to the anonymous accessibility of an endless string of deserted beaches. They're there for the taking, and yours for the evening.

This doesn't necessarily have to be five star, though we do guarantee it will be tough to draw oneself away from gazpacho and lamb with chutney. Instead, walk over the artificial moat, past the expansive luxury of the Piano Lounge, with its backlit walls, softly illuminated bar and of course, the pièce de résistance, the piano over a backlit floor. Walk past the little shop, with its French prints over Vilebrequin swimsuits, up the theatrical staircase twisted around the chandelier. There, beyond the beginnings of the new marina, up and down the brand new road, stretches Bander Jissa. With its toes in the mountains and the sea, this patch is a self- contained microcosm of everything you could look for in an evening.

Barely a bay later lies the Oman Dive Centre, with another private beach, a collection of watercolours by a Belgian artist and food by acclaimed chef Anas. But it is in the limestone cliffs overhead that the locality reaches out beyond the paid attraction of food and drink. There, starting at twin GSM transmitters, is a path cleared across the rocky ridge that makes its way high above the water, a limestone finger jutting out into the sea. A half hour walk, rising and falling gently over the topography, this hike will put you above Qantab beach on your left, the ODC on your right and the Shangri-La's Barr al Jissa Resort and Spa up ahead. The end point, just above a deserted beach accessible only by boat or the hiking path, has a couple of sawed tree trunk benches that look out to sea – the perfect location to while away the twilight.

Even city slickers who prefer engines to half hour walks can enjoy the area. Bander Jissa retains its mass popularity with boatmen who will pick you up from the civilised shores of Qantab (with its paved road and lone coffee shop). A couple of minutes and a few rials later, you're dropped off at a beach of your choice, picked up at a later designated time. Friday mornings whiled away in the shallows also promise sunburn, but evenings bring only good times.

More physical activity will reward you with absolute luxury. Start walking west down the beach from Qantab village and you'll soon hit a shore of wet stones, crabs and moss. An hour of slithering through this and you'll be in the private backyard beach of the Al Bustan Palace InterContinental Muscat. Find yourself a place at the last bench, with your back to the lawns and palms, the sea in front and hills on either side. This is when you realise that the experience a few beaches earlier can be mirrored here, and then again and again. Bander Jissa can be seen more as an accessible metaphor for a coastline that goes well beyond the reaches of the city. Such larger considerations needn't keep you from more immediate compulsions. You've got everything from the Al Khiran Terrace, with its nightly themed buffets, to the Royal Oman Philharmonic Orchestra. You could take the paired up package at a discount, combining fresh seafood with Rimsky-Korsakoff's Sheherezad, perhaps. Tucked below the cavernous lobby of gigantic arches that rush out of maroon upholstery and carpeting, the minimalist Al Khiran sits in stark contrast to the ornate reception of the hotel. Walk under blue and green tiles through the massive atrium that smells faintly of frankincense and you'll find enough attraction to last many evenings. There's China Mood, the devastatingly stark Chinese restaurant, with its famous Peking Duck. A few steps away lies Al Marjan, the only French restaurant in Oman, and by the doorway is the Al Maha Bar, laid back in subdued elegance.

High up, higher than the dome of the Bustan, the Shangri-La and even the hiking path out to sea, lies another idea. This off road stretch connects the peaks that look out over Wadi Kabir on one side and Bander Jissa on the other, with equal attractions at either end. Come here in the evenings in time for sunset, and the pedestrian commonality of the street will light up down below, offset by reflected twilight over the rocks above. The best time to photograph this is just after sunset, when the ambient light matches the twinkle of streetlight and cars. Your dirt pathway will take you over the tops of hills, up and down from one viewpoint to another. Apart from the occasional GSM transmitter you will be quite alone on any weekday evening. You can picnic, cycle or just gaze out, perhaps best of all. Enjoy this while you can – there’s already a new road being made, rising up from Bander Jissa and leading a new, shorter way to Yitti, where huge development is on the anvil. There’s a lot more coming your way, but you don’t need more than a quiet evening that you could have to yourself now.

In that moment of open ended possibilities and twilight, Bander Jissa seems most attractive. Start at this patch, and remember there's the rest of the city still waiting. The night is young, and yours.