The Olympic torch relay in Oman's Muscat, the ninth stop of its global journey, started yesterday afternoon.

The relay kicked off at local time 5 pm (1300 GMT) at Al Bustan roundabout in the eastern part of the coastal city, where lies the duplicate of an ancient Omani wooden ship that sailed to China more than 1,000 years ago.

The duplicate of the ship called "Sohar" visited China's southern port city of Guangzhou in 1981 in order to commemorate the ancient sailing from Oman to China and then was placed at the roundabout as a symbol of the friendship between the two countries after returning to Oman.

Accompanied by music and drums, Sayyid Al Mutassim bin Hamoud Al Bousaidi, minister of state and governor of Muscat, along with Ali Masoud Al Ali Sunaidy, minister of sports affairs and chairman of the Oman Olympic Committee received the torch lit by the Olympic flame in a specially-designed lantern carried by Liu Jingmin, vice chairman of Beijing Organizing Committee of Olympic Games.

A brief ceremony was held in front of the wooden ship with the presence of about 1,500 people in celebration of the light of the torch. Omani music band ROP played music and Omani youth performed Alliwa' dance, a kind of folk dance.

About 200 Chinese who work in Oman came to the spot to cheer for the torch relay. More than 1,000 people are presented, holding flags of Oman, China and the OOC.

After the ceremony, Sayyid Shihab bin Tareq al Said, advisor and cousin of Omani Sultan Qaboos bin Said, took the torch and became the first one among the 80 torch bearers who will cover a 20-kilometer-long journey.

After 250 meters, he handed the flame over to Sayyid Fatik bin Fahar al Said, under secretary of the Ministry of Heritage and Culture and also a member of the Royal family, to run another 250 meters.

The route of the torch relay will stretch along the coast, passing Al Alam Palace, old Muscat, Muscat Gate and Mutrah Souq where a break will be made. The relay will end at Al Qurm Natural Park in central Muscat at about 8:30 pm (1630 GMT) where a closing ceremony will be carried out to celebrate the journey.

The stop in Muscat is the ninth one in the Olympic torch relay outside China, and it has already been in Almaty, Istanbul, St. Petersburg, London, Paris, San Francisco, Buenos Aires and Dar es Salaam.

The Olympic flame arrived in Muscat on yesterday morning from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and will continue its journey in Islamabad, Pakistan tomorrow.