By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:42 PM on 26th November 2010
With machine guns manned, this was the tight security as the convoy transported Queen Elizabeth II during her state visit to Oman arrived in the capital.
Thousands of people wearing traditional dress and holding Union Jack flags lined the streets along the route into Muscat as the Queen was officially welcomed by the Sultan of Oman, Qaboos' Al-Alam.
The monarch and the Duke of Edinburgh arrived yesterday from Abu Dhabi as part of a five-day state visit to the Gulf.
Convoy: Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh are driven through the streets of Muscat, Oman, in a flotilla of Land Rovers
Security: Armoured Humvee vehicles with turret mounted machine guns surrounded the royal convoy to the Sultan of Oman's palace
The royal party met the Sultan at the capital's Muscat Gate and the two heads of state then travelled to the palace in a flotilla of green Land Rovers.
A mounted band of bagpipers led the motorcade into the royal residence and a waiting guard of honour.
Protected from the burning sun by an ornate wooden canopy, the Queen and the Sultan were then given the royal salute.
The Queen then led the Sultan on a viewing of priceless British paintings from the Royal Collection loaned to the Omani palace by the Tate.
Ceremony: The Queen meets with dignitaries at the Al-Alam Palace in Muscat
Shade: The monarch and the sultan shelter underneath an ornate wooden canopy as they are given a royal salute by a guard of honour
Tour: The Queen sits with Sultan Qaboos bin Said before being shown a host of British landscape paintings loaned to Oman by the Tate
The artworks represent British landscape painting over the past 250 years from some of the country's most famous artists, including Gainsborough, Constable, Turner, Millais and Singer Sargent.
It was a picture of a group of horses by George Stubbs, best known for his anatomically correct studies of the animals, which made the most impression on the Queen.
Sir Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate, showed the royal party around the pictures, which will go on display until the New Year.
Traditional: Women wearing national costume and waving Oman and Union Jack flags lined the streets of Muscat as the royal party arrived
The Stubbs picture shows mares and foals against a landscape backdrop and the Queen turned to the Sultan and said: 'You know they always painted their front legs and their back legs out.'
Sir Nicholas said after the viewing: 'The Queen, because of her familiarity with the Royal Collection and Stubbs, was explaining he was the first to paint the horses in a naturalistic way.
'To show the Omanis a group of British landscapes painted over the last 250 years is a very important way of promoting the relationship between our two countries.'
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