Muscat, Oman is a clean and beautiful city lying on the Arabian Sea along the Gulf of Oman. It's also the capital and most populated city in Oman and an important trading port between the west and the east. According to our daily Currents publication, Muscat is termed as a Beta-Global City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. It is a city with great wealth due to an economy mainly centered around oil and gas.
Our excursion today was to visit the Bait Adam Museum and have lunch there. I took several photos during our short drive to and from the museum. The fact is, it's difficult to get decent photos of a city while traveling at highway speed and trying to shoot through a tinted bus window. But I will post anyway to try to at least give you some idea. Additionally, I've decided to break this post into 2 parts - this one more for sharing information and the second for photos.
Here's a list of interesting facts we learned about Oman today:
* Oman is the oldest independent state in the Arab world with rich history
* One of the safest countries in the world (also terrorist free) scoring almost a zero on the Global Terrorism Index (with Sharia Law, who wants to step out of line?)
* Home to 5 UNESCO World Heritage Sites
* It is considered a bird watcher’s paradise
* Oman’s top selling beverage is Mountain Dew
* Alcohol – pretty unheard of except for tourists. Public drinking, intoxication and DWI are all punishable offenses. Alcohol can only be purchased in licensed venues (hotels, restaurants, clubs). No liquor stores in Oman.
* Our (Indian) guide says "it's easier to buy a car than to get a driver’s license." It can take 10 tries or more to get a license (our guide has tried multiple times and spent $1500). Our observation - there are no old cars on the roads.
* Speeding – a speeding ticket will cost you $150 and 24 hours in jail
* Driving - very few drive, no heavy traffic, cars are forbidden from honking, excessive noise it not allowed
* Cohabitation – it is illegal for unmarried couples to live together
* Attire – always modest, no shorts or sleeveless tops except at the hotel beach or pool
*Citizens don’t pay any taxes and medical care is free (with citizenship card)
* Foreigners cannot immigrate there but they can come to work in tourist season; after 7 months, they must return to their country and apply for another visa to come back in
* Surprisingly (to me) women get equal pay with men for the same jobs
* No one votes (Sultan holds absolute rule)
* $1 of their currency (rial) is equal to $2.50 in our currency
* Gas is $2 per gallon
* Omanis must buy
drinking water (desalinization water is used for cooking and bathing
only)
* Gray water is collected 2 times per week, then purified and used for irrigation
Of course there is a ton of information on the internet if one is curious, but these are some of the things I found interesting that our guide shared with us today.
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