If you ‘accidentally’ don’t follow the rules and still don’t experience any protest, this definitely doesn’t mean that it is accepted. Omanis are simply far too friendly and polite to show guests how embarrassed they feel.

So if you are thinking about what to pack in your luggage, I recommend that you read these lines and take them to heart.

Because of the high temperatures, especially in summer, light, breathable fabrics such as cotton, viscose or linen are ideal. The shape should be loose rather than slim fit.

Open sandals or slippers, like the Omanis wear, are particularly suitable as shoes.

In Oman, you often have to expect to have to take your shoes off, e.g. in the mosque when you enter a house, some small shops or simply on a carpet outside. Then it is practical if you don’t have anything to lace up.

Different rules apply to clothing depending on the location:

In public spaces, especially in towns and villages, i.e. where it would be possible to meet locals, the rule of thumb for men and women is to cover your shoulders and knees! Clothing should be loose-fitting and not figure-hugging, transparent or too revealing.

There is no obligation for women to cover their heads in Oman, even though most Omani women do so. Tourists are not expected to do so.

Since public beaches and wadis are also very popular with Omani families, you should make sure to respectfully follow the rules here. This means that women should not swim here in a bikini or skimpy swimming costume. Short leggings and a T-shirt are the more appropriate attire here. Normal swimming shorts are ok for men.

In hotels and resorts, especially on beach areas belonging to a hotel, shorts, swimming costumes, even bikinis and looser clothing are accepted, but it is recommended to dress appropriately again in public areas after visiting the beach.

It is stricter if you want to visit a mosque or other religious places.

Men should wear at least a short-sleeved, preferably long-sleeved shirt (preferably in discreet colours) and long trousers. Clothing should not be too tight or too revealing.

Women can choose between a long dress, long trousers or a long skirt with a blouse. In any case, the clothes should be loose-fitting, reach to the ankle, have no slits, be long-sleeved and have no neckline. In addition, women here in the mosque must keep their heads covered. If the scarf slips, they will be approached very quickly to correct it.

My personal view of things:

It’s mainly about showing respect to local values, tradition and culture by adapting our outfits. I can also appreciate wearing an abaya (if it’s not black ;-)) You can try it out at the Sultan Qabus Mosque. There is a small shop at the entrance to the mosque where you can hire abayas for a small fee. Scarfs in different price ranges have to be bought.

Details of the trip are here https://www.geoworldtravel.com/oman.php and here is an hour plus Youtube video by James on the Geology also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKJByX_-DdQ . You are welcome but do not thank me too soon. As you watch the video there will be whole sentences of technical words that a non-geologists will have never heard before! Geology is like Law or Medicine as a technical profession full of complex issue using their own technical language. Just to grasp the basics of geology is 3-5 years of University training, with competence not really achieved for at least another 5 years working as a practitioner.

To understand the geology of an area in a meaningful way you really need to visualize the rocks in 3 dimensional space, with them sometimes being absent because they have been removed by erosion, sometimes still being present but hidden because they are buried beneath the surface. This three dimensional distribution across tens to hundreds of kilometers is further complicated by having evolved across the fourth dimension of time. That time is on scales beyond human experience with events spanning tens to hundreds of millions of years so that we never get to observe and test our ideas because we mere mortal humans simply don’t live long enough! I am currently watching a new BBC documentary series called ‘Earth’ that would actually be a good general introduction to many of the geology concepts so well exposed in Oman https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_(2023_TV_series). A slightly older series called ‘Voyage of the Continents’ also does a good job of explaining how the fundamental geology process of Plate Tectonics creates, over time, the wide variety of rocks we can observe in different places. Yes the system is complex but it is not chaotic so with practice and experience it can be understood. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3696480/” Thank you David for sharing this interesting information with us. I am sure it will be a challenge to dive deep into this topic.