| 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. |
| Average
Temperature in Oman (in Degree
Celsius) |
|
|
|
Summer |
Winter |
|
Day |
Night |
Day |
Night |
Muscat |
43 C |
32 C |
25 C |
17 C |
Salalah |
30 C |
28 C |
28 C |
20 C |
|
| 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." |
| Working
Hours |
: |
|
| Ministries
and government establishments |
: |
7:30 am
to 2:30 pm (Sat-Wed, week-end is Thursday and
Friday) |
| Private
sector companies |
: |
8:00am to 1:00pm;
4:00pm to 7:00pm (Saturday-Wednesday)
8:00am
to 1:00pm on Thursdays. |
| Markets |
: |
8:00am to
1:00pm, 4:00pm to 9:00pm. |
| Banks |
: |
8:00 am to
12 noon. |
| Timings
differ during Ramadân. |
: |
Ramadân, the
holy month of fasting, is the ninth month on the
Arabic calendar which is a lunar calendar. Every
year Ramadân shifts back about ten days on the
western solar calendar. In the year 2001 Ramadân
will begin in the third week of November.
Restaurants and other eateries are closed during
daylight hours during the Holy Ramadân period. |
| Shopping
hours: |
: |
Shopping establishments are
open from 9am to 1 pm and 4pm to 9 pm. Department
stores, supermarkets and shopping complexes are
open throughout the day during Ramadân from 9am to
10 pm, with a short lunch break all through the
week, except Fridays. These timings could vary
with different shops. |
