Once a sleepy fishing village on Oman's central eastern seaboard, on the fringes of the Arabian Sea, the port town of Duqm rapidly transformed from a thriving industrial town that is fast becoming a crucial Middle Eastern shipping hub. Visitors to this emerging tourist hub can meander through a beautiful natural rock garden with spectacular wind-eroded formations or relax on Khaluf Beach with its powder-white sand lapped by calm blue waters. Other highlights include Bar al Hikman, a low-lying peninsula with a vast salt pan, numerous fossilised trees scattered in the desert sands and Ras Markaz, a magnificent long stretch of beach. Fossil hunters will delight in the hidden treasures of this area, including Rudist Reef and the Huqf, home to the oldest rocks in Oman, dating back 730 million years.