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 Oman Travel Tips General Information
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Oman
General Information
Area: 309,500
sq km (119,500 sq miles).
Population: 2,538,000
(official estimate 2002).
Population Density: 8.2
per sq km.
Capital: Muscat. Population:
685,676 (2001).
GEOGRAPHY: The Sultanate
of Oman occupies the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula with almost
1700km (1062 miles) of coastline stretching along the Indian Ocean and
the Arabian Gulf. It is bordered by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the
west and the Republic of Yemen to the south. The United Arab Emirates
lies to the northwest of Oman and to the east lies the Arabian Sea and
the Gulf of Oman.
Government: Sultanate
since 1744. Head of State and Government: Sultan Qabus bin Sa’id
since 1970.
Language: Arabic is the
official language. English is widely spoken. Swahili is also spoken by
the population from East Africa. German and French are spoken by some
hotel staff.
Religion: Predominantly
Ibadi Muslim, with Shi’ite Muslim, Sunni Muslim and Hindu minorities.
Time: GMT + 4.
Electricity: 220/240 volts
AC, 50Hz.
Communications:
Telephone: IDD is available.
Country code: 968. Outgoing international code: 00.
Mobile telephone: GSM
900 network. The Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) is the local
operator (website: www.omantel.net.om).
Fax: Services are available
from Omantel. There are fax facilities in most hotels and in the major
cities.
Telegram: Services are
available at the counter in the Central Telegraph Office, Muscat. In case
of difficulty, visitors may book calls through the international operator.
Internet: There are Internet
cafes in the cities of Nizwa and Muscat. ISPs include Omantel (website:
www.omantel.net.om) and WebOman (website: www.weboman.com).
Post: Airmail to Western
Europe takes three to four days.
Press: English-language
newspapers include The Oman Daily Observer and The Times of Oman.
Radio: BBC World Service
(website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice) and Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov)
can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and the most
up-to-date can be found online.
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