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SULTANATE OF OMAN

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Capital: Muscat

Government: Monarchy with a provisional legislature (the Majlis Ash Shura)

Head of State: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said

Major industries: Oil, natural gas, agriculture, and fishing

Ruling body: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said is Head of State and rules by decree. He is assisted by a cabinet of ministers, Diwan of the Royal Court (the central body of bureaucratic affairs), and the Majlis Ash Shura, a body of representatives elected by the populace.

Population: Approximately 2 million. Around 1.5 million are Omani nationals. The remaining are expatriates from India, Asia, other Arab countries, Europe and USA.

Area: The Sultanate encompasses an area of 300,000 sq kms.

Airport: Seeb international airport, 40 km from Muscat city centre. Seeb International Airport, located in Muscat, serves many international airlines such as British Airways, KLM, Kuwait Airways, Swiss Air and Emirates. The national carrier is Oman Air, which flies to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, Pakistan, Qatar, Egypt, and Sri Lanka as well as performing domestic flights to Salalah, Masirah Island and Musandam.

Climate: The country's climate is predominantly arid and varies slightly from one region to another. In the coastal areas, the weather is hot and humid during the summer months, while it is dry elsewhere in the interior. Milder weather dominates the mountains and Dhofar region all the year round. Winter temperatures can be as low as 15°Celsius and summer temperatures can be as high as 48° Celsius in Muscat and as high as 54° in the desert. Dhofar, located in the southernv region of the country however, enjoys a regular monsoon between June and October, every year.

Best Time to visit : The best time of the year to visit Oman is between October and April, when the weather is pleasantly warm in the day and cool in the evening. Temperature averages at 25-35 degrees centigrade during the day and dips to 17-19 degrees centigrade at night.

Religion: Islam, predominantly Ibadhi sect.

Language: Official language is Arabic. Other languages spoken include Urdu, Swahili and Baluchi. English is widely spoken and along with Arabic is the common business language. Most Hotel staff speak German and French as well.

Culture: Like all the Arab countries, Arab Islamic Culture dominates the life style in the Sultanate. However, being an international market, people of various other nationalities are also present.

National Dress: Men - dishdasha (robe),Kimah (cap),mussar (turban)Women - jallabia (dress), sirwall (trousers), thobe (overdress cloak, lahaf (head shawl), abaya (black cloak). Women generally leave their face and hands exposed, while in the desert, women of the Bedouin tribes wear a mask, called a "birqa."

Musuem & Attractions

Bait Al Zubair
Muscat
Tel: 736688
Timings: Sat 4-8pm, Mon-Wed 4pm-7pm,
Sun, Tue, Thu 9am-12.30pm
Entry fee : Below 10 yrs of age - free,10 yrs to 15 yrs - 250 baizas, adults - RO1

Children's Museum
Tel: 605368
Shatti Al Qurum,
Easily identfied from the highway (look for two large domes).
Timings: Sat to Thu 9am-1pm, 4pm-6pm. Fri - evenings only
Entry fee- up to 12 yrs 100 baizas,above 12yrs 500 baizas

National Museum
Tel: 701289
Collection of jewellery, regional costume, weapons and pots.
Located near Abdulridha Mosque-Ruwi.
Timings: Sat-Wed 8am-2pm.
Entry fee - Children - 100 baizas,adults- 500 baizas

Natural History Museum
Tel: 605400
Housed within the Minstry of National Heritage and Culture. Al Khuwair
Timings: Sat-Thu 9am-1pm, 4pm-6pm,
Fridays evenings only
Entry fee - children - 200 baizas, adults 500 baizas

Sohar Fort Museum
Tel: 844758
Timings: Sat - Thu - 9 am to 1 pm, 4-6 pm
Fri evenings only

The Sultan's Armed Forces Museum
Tel: 312648
Bait Al Falaj,
Timings: Sat-Thu 7.30am-2pm, Fridays closed.
Entry Fee - children free,adults RO 1

Al Marah Land Amusement Park
Tel: 564514
Timings: Sat-Wed 4pm-Midnight, Thu - Fri 10 am-Midnight
Located at Qurum Natural Park

Ice Skating Rink
Tel: 696492
Timings: Daily 9 am-11 pm
Located at Al Khuwair

Planetarium
Tel: 677 834
Timings: Tue at 7 pm & Thu at 10am.
Located in Qurum between PDO Gate 2 and BP Main Office.

Go Karting
Tel: 677750
Location close to Golden Tulip/ Oman Exhibition Center, Seeb.

Golf
Ras Al Hamrah Golf Course
Tel: 677321
Located beyond the PDO Recreation Club in Ras Al Hamra.

Ghallah Wentworth
Tel: 591248
Located near Gallah Army Camp

Golf Driving Range
Ras Al Hamra
Tel: 677321

Beaches

Just off the suburb of Shatti al Qurm is The Intercon Beach facing the Muscat Intercontinental Hotel. This beach is ideal for family outings, morning walks or a jog in the evening.

Close to Al Bustan is the road to Qantab Beach and Bandar Jissah Beach. At Qantab, local fishermen will offer to take you fishing while at Bandar Jissah the view of the rocky coastline is fabulous and just beyond it is the Oman Dive Centre (contact no: 968-9340096), where you can arrange diving excursions and take courses (PADI instruction).

From the Al Hamriyah roundabout near Ruwi is the road to Yitti Beach. This drive on a single causeway road through hilly terrain will lead to a fishing village with winding dirt track and that will further lead to the beach through a long shallow cove. At the beach, fishermen are busy at work, but there is ample room for all kinds of beach activities.

If you would like to spend more time investigating Oman's beaches, rent yourself a four wheel drive and head southeast down the coast beyond Quriyat. After Dibab there are a variety of beaches between rocky outcrops, the most prominent being Mokallah (also known as White Beach). This spot is very popular for overnight camping on the shore. Here the snorkeling is excellent.

About an hour west from Muscat is the popular Al Sawadi Beach Resort, an ideal weekend getaway. For aqua sports enthusiasts, the resort offers dives, snorkeling speedboat rides, water scooters, temperature controlled swimming pool and Jacuzzi.

360 km from Muscat is the beach at Ra's Al Jinz where you can spend a night watching Oman's green back turtles nesting almost any time of the year.

Garden

For what is typically considered a 'desert country', Oman astounds the visitor with its verdant gardens, and elaborate floral displays lining the highways and byways. All the parks are free to enter and usually have small snack shops or drinks stands. Some parks, in or near to Muscat district are as follows:

Qurum Natural Park was opened in 1993 and is 570,000 sq. meters, the largest park in Muscat. The park contains a large boating lake and fountain, 'Waterfall Hill', Sultan Qaboos' Rose Garden and meandering pathways, weaving amongst pungent-smelling shrubs and floral beds.

Past Seeb International Airport, heading towards Sohar, just off the highway, is Naseem Park which has amongst many other features, an Arabic garden, Japanese garden, mini falaj system and a small train capable of holding 70 passengers which circumnavigates the park.

Riyam Park, on Muttrah Corniche, is a favourite park with children. It is a huge, rambling place whose main feature is an enormous incense burner which, when climbed, provides a stunning view of the nearby harbour and surrounding seacliffs. A static fairground is open from 4pm each day provids thrills and spills for the young and the young-at-heart.

Khalbuh Park is located a little further along the Corniche from Riyam Park. It has a small, children's play area and an amphitheatre for concerts by local artists and bands.

Heritage Sites

UNESCO World Heritage Sites
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain range, lake, desert, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated for the international World Heritage program administered by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO.
The program aims to catalogue, name, and preserve sites of outstanding importance, either cultural or natural, to the common heritage of humankind. UNESCO has designated four major sites in the Sultanate of Oman.

Arabian Oryx Sanctuary
The Arabian Oryx Sanctuary is an area within the Central Desert and Coastal Hills bio geographical regions of Oman. Seasonal fog and dew supports a unique desert ecosystem whose diverse flora includes several endemic plants. Its rare fauna includes the first free-ranging herd of Arabian Oryx since the global extinction of the species in the wild in 1972 and its reintroduction here in 1982.

You will need special permission to visit the Sanctuary from Office of the Adviser for Conservation of the Environment, Diwan of Royal Court., phone: +968 693536; Fax: +968 693883 or e-mail: acedrc@omantel.net.om. See also www.oryxoman.com

Archaeological sites of Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn
The protohistoric settlements of Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn located in the Sultanate of Oman, near the United Arab Emirates, make up one of the most important and comprehensive collections of settlements dating to the 3rd millennium BC. The sites are famous for their so-called "beehive tombs". Bat is located to the east of Ibri.
The sites are accessible to the public on a year round basis.

The Frankincense Trail
The frankincense trees of Wadi Dawkah and the remains of the caravan oasis of Shisr and the affiliated ports of Khawr Rawri and Al-Balid vividly illustrate the trade in frankincense that flourished in this region for many centuries, as one of the most important trading activities of the ancient and medieval world.
The Shisr and Khawr Rawri sites of the Frankincense Trail can be seen in the Dhofar region and are accessible to the public. A visitor centre at Al Balid is being developed. Currently the site is not open but can be viewed from the road.

OMAN