DANNY BUCKLAND thrills to a desert sunrise as the vast sultanate reveals its treasures

OUR 4x4  SWUNG off the main highway and down a side road fronted by a row of squat buildings featuring a barber, dry cleaner and a coffee shop, towards what appeared to be a commercial dead-end.

However, it opened on to a piece of scrubland and the vehicle, seemingly a needless extravagance on Oman's ell-kept roads, suddenly had real work to do as my driver and I bounced over the rough ground.

As we hit the vast expanse of rich, ochre-coloured desert, the vehicle fish-tailed alarmingly through billowing clouds of sand and the speedometer raced to a heart-thumping 80mph.

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The shifting contours of desert sand made for a perfect playground as we swerved, bumped and slalomed over six miles into Wahiba Sands, the vast desert interior of the Middle East sultanate towards our destination, the Desert Nights compound, home to 30 luxury Bedouin-style tents. They were surrounded by four mini "French Foreign Legion" fort towers and wooden fencing.

We'd come, not just for the fruit cocktails, but for an enriching desert experience.

Electricity, air-conditioning and communication softened the pioneering edges to our night in the desert and the silence of nightfall was overwhelming.

Oman, at the foot of the Arabian peninsula, is opening up its treasure trove of experiences. A calm, prosperous nation, it rarely features on the Middle East radar. The country has almost the same area as Germany and ranges from desert to spectacular mountains and from beach to fjords-like coastline.

The chalets at Desert Nights are chic with rich fabrics and heavy, carved teak jostling for attention in the two rooms and bathroom. A tiled veranda with big cushions was the perfect place to relax and, unlike the sardine-like policy of some developers, the nearest chalet was 50ft away and angled so that overlooking the neighbours was impossible.

We feasted on a desert campfire meal with a spectacular range of fresh food, from huge barbecued prawns through the spice spectrum to Umm Ali, the succulent Middle Eastern take on bread and butter pudding. The music came from guitar and tabla drums as guests sat around on cushions at low tables and revelled in the atmosphere.

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THE TRULY spectacular, though, came at 5am when we scaled a 100ft sand dune and witnessed the miraculous seesaw from night to day. Over our left shoulder a bright full moon was slipping from view as to our right a dusty-coloured sun was clambering over the horizon. The shifting light bounced off the sands to create hues no human touch could create. Barely chilly and without a murmur in the air, it was sensory overload.

After 30 minutes, the sun was on a more confident arc and blazing through the haze to reveal a camel train on a time honoured trail. We sloshed back down to camp in quiet contemplation.

Desert Nights offers a range of activities from riding the dunes in Jeeps and on quad bikes to a more sedate amble on camels. Too soon it was time to mount up and hurtle off into another four-wheel sandstorm. It was just as exciting second time around and our faith in the driver never waivered, even when he missed a lonely acacia tree by millimetres.

Oman is a country of rich experiences stretching from sea to mountain and, culturally, from the souks to Starbucks.

Its search for tourists seems to have hit a rare harmony balancing rugged geography with five-star luxury.

GETTING THERE:

Mark Tours (from UK: 0096 824 782 727/ www.marktoursoman.com) offers one night at Desert Nights from £303pp.

Oman Air (0844 482 2309/www.omanair.com) offers return flights to Oman from £296.

 Cox & Kings (020 7873 5000/www.coxandkings.co.uk) offers seven nights in Oman from £1,395pp.

Oman Tourism: 020 8877 4524/www.omantourism.gov.com