Omani food:

The cuisine of Oman is rather unpretentious, but gains a special charm from the various spices and
marinades. Basic ingredients are rice, typical Arabic herbs, spices such as cinnamon, cardamom,
cloves, pepper, ginger, garlic, nutmeg and cumin, garlic, onions, lemons and limes, as well as
chicken, fish and mutton.

Specialties of Omani cuisine include shuwa (meat cooked slowly in earth ovens for up to two days
with herbs and spices), maqbous (rice flavored with saffron and served with spicy meat), arsia (rice dish with lamb), halwa (creamy mixture of brown sugar, eggs, honey and spices), maqdeed (dried meat), muqalab (dish of offal with pounded spices), mishkak (meat skewers grilled over charcoal) and lokemat (deep-fried balls of flour and yeast flavored with cardamom and served in a sweet lime-cardamom syrup). Dates are ubiquitous and can be considered a staple food here in Oman. Drinks include water and coffee (kahwa) and tea. Omani coffee is strong and bitter, always unsweetened, usually flavored with cardamom and rose water. It is often served with dates, halwa or lokemat. The typical tea is karak, similar to Indian chai, which is drunk with milk, sugar and various spices. Other popular drinks in Oman are laban, a salted buttermilk, and various yogurt drinks flavored with cardamom and/or pistachios. Especially recommended is the variety of freshly prepared juices offered in cafes and small diners. An avocado juice can replace a meal.

Language:

In hotels, restaurants, museums, big shops and car rentals usually English is spoken. That makes it easy for tourists.
The official language is Arabic, but Iranian and Indian languages are widespread. English is the
language of commerce. Part of the population speaks a Swahili dialect and some New South Arabic languages.

Religion:

The state religion in Oman is Islam.
The majority of the population belongs to the moderate Ibadiyah, a direction of Islam little
perceived by the West, which is characterized by democracy and tolerance, tolerance also towards
other religions.
Thus, there are also Christian and Protestant churches in Oman, as well as temples for Hindus and Buddhists. Missionary activities are forbidden in Oman, including those of Islam.

Arabic script:

Since the Arabic script in Oman is a consonant script, the transcription into the Latin script
produces different spellings for the same word.
For example
مسقط = Maskat, Masqat or Muscat
اتّالدینامی جزر = Daymaniyat Islands or Dimanyat
القرم = Qurum, Qrum, Qurm (District of Muscat)
Even on signs we often find different spellings for one place. Don’t let yourself be irritated!

Children in Oman:

Do you want to travel with children?
Oman is just the right destination. The country is considered the safest travel destination in the
world and Omanis are incredibly fond of children. What more could you ask for?
Family and hospitality are top priorities for Omanis. Children are welcome everywhere and are
spoilt for choice with the wide range of child-friendly activities on offer:

• The beaches with many offers are waiting for them
• The desert is one big sandbox
• A Boat trip to meet the dolphins is always thrilling
• Here you can see Arabian Gazelles from close up
• In some places you can bottle feed baby goats or sheep.
• A night walk to the turtles is exciting for everyone
• There are just the right hiking routes, which also please children
• In the souq they experience the world of colors and scents from 1001 nights
• Riding on the back of a camel into the sunset is not only for children.
• …and many more

Important if you want to take photos:

Oman offers endless motifs for the avid photographer. However, you should follow a few rules:

• Police, military and border stations as well as soldiers and policemen are not to be photographed.
• Unsolicited photographing of people is frowned upon. Therefore, it is better to ask people beforehand. Maybe they don’t mind a snapshot as a vacation souvenir. But you also have to accept a refusal
• The import of drones is generally prohibited. However, there may be exceptions in special cases.

Nature:

Fauna:

When travelling to Oman, it is easy to get the false impression that the wildlife consists only of
camels, goats and the large herds of cattle in Dhofar. Many of the wild animals live in hiding, some of them even threatened with extinction.

Among the animals invisible to most are the persian leopard, the white Oryx gazelle, the wildcat, the arabian wolf and the desert hare. Some animals are rarely seen because they are nocturnal: for example, various species of snakes and scorpions.

The sea off the coast of Oman is very rich in species. Whales and especially dolphins are often seen here. Snorkellers and divers can enjoy a healthy underwater world with various ray species, sharks, moray eels, colourful coral fish and other sea creatures. The beaches of Masirah Island, the coast of Ras al Jinz and the Daymaniyat Islands are designated as nature reserves for sea turtles.

Oman’s diverse birdlife is also particularly noteworthy. Many migratory birds stop here on their way to their next quarters. Others can be seen all year round, such as various herons, eagles, vultures, rails, lapwings and the endemic Oman owl.

Flora:

Oman has many different vegetation zones to offer: Deserts, semi-deserts, dry and humid mountain slopes, oases and humid coastal strips, resulting in very different vegetation. While date palms are typical in the north, incense trees and coconut trees are typical in the south, and umbrella acacias are typical in desert areas. There are locations for high-yield agriculture, roses and fruit and vegetable cultivation. The sophisticated irrigation system that originated in Oman more than 2,000 years ago plays a major role, and parts of it have now been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Frankincense:

In the south of Oman lies the cradle of frankincense. It is the resin of the trees that grow and are cultivated in the Dhofar region. A healthy, fully grown frankincense tree yields about eight kilos of resin per season. After three years, the tree is usually given a break of several years. There are four quality levels, which differ clearly in color. From dark brown to amber and a yellowish white to an almost transparent green. The lighter the resin, the purer and thus more valuable the frankincense.  This is also where the Omani Royal al-Hojari is extracted, which is considered the purest and most expensive frankincense in the world. It shimmers greenish, is almost transparent and accounts for only about five percent of the total harvest. It reaches prices of up to 180€/Kg.

The good qualities are mainly used to make incense water, which is drunk in the morning for better health. One can also use the good frankincense as chewing gum.

Darker qualities are used mainly for burning. With it, rooms are “scented” or even clothes.

Geology:

Oman’s geology comprises diverse landscapes that are a mixture of the geological history and
climate of the last million years. The rock outcrops in the Al-Hajar Mountains, Huqf and Dhofar are
of particular interest to international geologists. The rock outcrops span about 825 million years and include at least three periods when the land was covered by ice.

Oman, which lies on the southeastern corner of the Arabian plate, is slowly being pushed northwards as the Red Sea widens. The towering Hajar Mountains and the sunken valleys of Musandam are dramatic evidence of this. In general, Oman is fairly quiet tectonically. In Musandam, there are occasional tremors when the Arabian Plate collides with the Eurasian Plate.

During the Cretaceous, Oman was near a subduction zone and part of the upper mantle was pushed over the continental crust together with the overlying volcanic rocks of the sea floor. This obducted sequence of ultramafic to mafic rocks is the Semail ophiolite complex. The ophiolite is locally rich in copper and chromite deposits.

The inner plains of Oman consist of young sedimentary rocks, wadi gravels, dune sands and salt marshes. Underneath is a layer of older sedimentary rocks several kilometers thick, which host the country’s hydrocarbon deposits. Ancient salt, which comes to the surface in several salt domes such as Qarat Kibrit, plays an important role in the formation of many of these oil and gas deposits. Oman has become a major destination for geotourism, and more and more visitors are being attracted to the spectacular outcrops the country has to offer

Source: Wikipedia
For those interested in geology, there is an app with a wealth of information that is free to
download.
➡ Oman Geoheritage Guide