Oman is situated on the southeast corner of the Arabian Peninsula. Oman coastline extends 1,700 Km from the straits of Hormuz in the north, to the borders of Yemen in the south and overlooks three seas: The Arabian Gulf, The Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.   Oman borders Saudi Arabia in the west; the United Arab Emirates in the northeast, Yemen in the south; straits of Hormuz in the north and Arabian Sea in the east.

General information -OMAN 

AREA  The total land area of Oman is 309,500 km2, which makes it the third largest country in the Arabian Peninsula. 

POPULATION Approximately 2 million. Around of 1.5 million are Omani Nationals. The remaining are expatriates from India. Asia, Other Arab countries, Europe & USA.

CAPITAL CITY Muscat

CURRENCY  Omani Riyal (OMR)

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

TIME ZONES  + 04:00 (GMT/UTC)

COUNTRY PHONE CODE  +968

ELECTRICITY 220/240 V 50 Hz, with 3-pin British type plugs

TIPPING Hotels & Restaurants usually apply a 15% service charge to the bill; however it is customary to tip for attentive service

NATIONAL PUBLIC HOLIDAYS New Year's Day: 01.01.2012, Mouloud (Birth of the Prophet): 04.02.2012, Leilat al-Meiraj (Ascencion of the Prophet): 17.06.2012, Renaissance Day: 23.07.2012, Eid al-Fitr (end of Ramadan): 19.08.2012, Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice): 26.10.2012, Islamic New Year: 15.11.2012, National Day and birthday of HM Sultan Qaboos: 18.11.2012

NATIONAL DRESS Men – Dishdasha (Robe), Kimah (Cap), Mussaar (Turban); Women – Jallabia (dress), Sirwal (trousers), Thobe (overdress cloak), Lahaf (head shawl), Abaya (black cloak). Women generally leave their face & hands exposed while in the desert, women of Bedouin tribes wear a mask, called (Birqa).

CONTACT Gulf Dunes Oman, Sultanate of Oman, P.O. Box 4027