Annual rainfall in Muscat averages 10 cm (4 in), falling mostly in January. Dhofar is subject to the southwest monsoon, and rainfall up to 64 cm (25 in) has been recorded in the rainy season from late June to October. While the mountain areas receive more plentiful rainfall, some parts of the coast, particularly near the island of Masirah, sometimes receive no rain at all within the course of a year. The climate generally is very hot, with temperatures reaching 54°C (129°F) in the hot season, from May to October.
The rial (Arabic: ريال, ISO 4217 code OMR) is the currency of Oman. It is divided into 1000 baisa (also written baiza, Arabic: بيسة).
A vast gravel desert plain covers most of central Oman, with mountain ranges along the north (al Jebel al Akhdar) and southeast coast, where the country's main cities are also located: the capital city Muscat, Matrah and Sur in the north, and Salalah in the south. Oman's climate is hot and dry in the interior and humid along the coast. During past epochs Oman was covered by ocean. Fossilized shells exist in great numbers in areas of the desert away from the modern coastline. The peninsula of Musandam (Musandem), which has a strategic location on the Strait of Hormuz, is separated from the rest of Oman by the United Arab Emirates and is thus an exclave. The series of small towns known collectively as Dibba are the gateway to the Musandam peninsula on land and the fishing villages of Musandam by sea. Boats may be hired at Khasab for trips into the Musandam peninsula by sea. Oman has one other exclave, inside UAE territory, known as Madha. It is located halfway between the Musandam Peninsula and the rest of Oman. Belonging to Musandam governorate, it covers approximately 75 km² (29 sq mi). The boundary was settled in 1969. The north-east corner of Madha is closest to the Fujairah road, barely 10 m (32.8 ft) away. Within the exclave is a UAE enclave called Nahwa, belonging to the Emirate of Sharjah. It is about 8 km (5 mi) on a dirt track west of the town of New Madha. It consists of about forty houses with its own clinic and telephone exchange.
From the 6th century BC to the arrival of Islam in the 7th century AD, Oman was controlled and/or influenced by three Iranian dynasties, the Achaemenids, Parthians and Sassanids. Achaemenids in the 6th century BC controlled and influenced the Oman peninsula. This was most likely exerted from a coastal center such as Sohar. By about 250 B.C. the Parthian dynasty brought the Persian Gulf under their control and extended their influence as far as Oman. Because they needed to control the Persian Gulf trade route, the Parthians established garrisons in Oman. In the third century A.D. the Sasanids succeeded the Parthians and held the area until the rise of Islam four centuries later.
On the advent of Islam, the faith reached Oman within Prophet Muhammad's lifetime. The conversion of Omanis is usually ascribed to Amr ibn al-As, who visited the region. By the middle of the eighth century AD, Omanis were practicing a unique sect of the faith, Ibadhism, which remains a majority sect only in Oman. Ibadhism has been characterized as "moderate conservatism," with tenets that are a mixture of both austerity and peace.
The Portuguese occupied Muscat for a 140-year period 1508–1648, arriving a decade after Vasco da Gama discovered the seaway to India. In need of an outpost to protect their sea lanes, the Europeans built up and fortified the city, where remnants of their colonial architectural style still remain. Revolting tribes drove out the Portuguese, but were pushed out themselves about a century later 1741 by the leader of a Yemeni tribe leading a massive army from various other tribes, who began the current line of ruling sultans. A brief Persian invasion a few years later was the final time Oman would be ruled by a foreign power. Oman has been self governing ever since.
In the 1690s Saif bin Sultan, the imam of Oman, pressed down the east African coast. A major obstacle was Fort Jesus, housing the garrison of a Portuguese settlement at Mombasa. After a two-year siege, it fell to Saif in 1698. Thereafter the Omanis easily ejected the Portuguese from Zanzibar and from all other coastal regions north of Mozambique. Zanzibar was a valuable property as the main slave market of the east African coast, and became an increasingly important part of the Omani empire, a fact reflected by the decision of the greatest 19th century sultan of Oman, Sa'id ibn Sultan, to make it from 1837 his main place of residence. Sa'id built impressive palaces and gardens in Zanzibar. He improved the island's economy by introducing cloves, sugar and indigo though at the same time he accepted a financial loss in cooperating with British attempts to end Zanzibar's slave trade. The link with Oman was broken after his death in 1856. Rivalry between his two sons was resolved, with the help of forceful British diplomacy, when one of them Majid succeeded to Zanzibar and to the many regions claimed by the family on the east African coast. The other Thuwaini inherited Muscat and Oman.
1 Jan Ras as-Sana (Islamic New Year).
9 Mar Mouloud (Birth of the Prophet).
23 July Renaissance Day (Marking the start of the reign of Sultan Qaboos).
20 Jul Leilat al-Meiraj (Ascension of the Prophet).
22 Sep Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan).
18 Nov National Day and birthday of HM Sultan Qaboos.
28 Nov Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice).
Note
The population of Oman in 2003 was estimated by the United Nations at 2,851,000, which placed it as number 134 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In that year approximately 2% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 35% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 135 males for every 100 females in the country in 2003. According to the UN, the annual population growth rate for 2000–2005 is 2.93%, with the projected population for the year 2015 at 3,908,000. The population density in 2002 was 12 per sq km (31 per sq mi). The greatest concentrations are around Muscat and on the Batinah coast; together, they have more than half the population.
It was estimated by the Population Reference Bureau that 84% of the population lived in urban areas in 2001. The capital city, Muscat, had a population of 887,000 in that year. Salalah is the principal town of the south. According to the United Nations, the urban population growth rate for 2000–2005 was 4.4%.
Capital: MASCATE
Population: 2,398,000
Area: 309,500 km ²
Time zone: 3h Management; 2h when Italy is in daylight saving time.
Languages: The official language is Arabic, but English is widely used in major urban centres.
Religion: Islam. There are also Catholic and Hindu minorities.
Currency: Rial omanita (OMR)
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