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2010
What is one interesting and unique fact you know about the culture of Oman?Posted by: admin in Oman QuestionsThanks! 3 Responses to “What is one interesting and unique fact you know about the culture of Oman?”Leave a ReplyYou must be logged in to post a comment. Login » Related Posts |
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May 18th, 2010 at 6:16 am
A lot of Omanis have a high standard of living, and might not worry too much about traffic fines. So just to make things equal – if you commit a motoring offense – you get to spend a night in jail too.
It is against the law to shout rude things and make obscene gestures at other road users. No matter what you think of their driving.
May 18th, 2010 at 6:54 am
Well, being from the UAE I don’t know any unique facts about Oman which we wouldn’t be familiar either. But – one big difference is that in Muscat you won’t see any highrises like in the UAE.
Btw.: Omanis use black henna.
May 18th, 2010 at 7:18 am
Oman’s culture is much more diverse than that of any other Arabian Gulf state such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE. This is prominently visible from the traditional Omani dresses worn by local men and women. While the national dress of the other 5 Gulf countries is somewhat similar, Omani national dress is much different. You can view the same by Google-ing for images of Omani men and women’s wear.
Oman’s was the ONLY colonial power in the Arabian Gulf region. Two of its prominent colonies were Zanzibar, which is now part of Tanzania and the other was parts of Balochistan (capital Gwadar), which is now with Pakistan.
As a result, Omani culture has a lot of influence from these two parts of the world- Africa and South Asia.
Earlier, Muscat- now the national capital and the rest of Oman were two separate countries. Till early 1970s, the gates of Muscat city would be closed at sundown, shortly after the evening prayers at the main mosque. The gates still exist but now remain open 24/7.
Oman has been traditionally ruled by the Al Bussaid dynasty and the current ruler is Sultan Qaboos Bin Said.
Oman’s currency, the Omani Riyal, is also unique in certain ways. One Riyal is divided into 1000 Baisa. The word Baisa comes from the Indian word Paisa- meaning money. But Omanis use ‘B’ because the alphabet ‘P’ does not exist in the Arabic vocabulary.
Salalah is a region of Oman that has climate somewhat similar to the Indian sub-continent. Separated from mainland Oman by a long stretch of territory that belongs to the UAE, the region of Salalah in Oman witnesses rains and has pleasant weather from June to September though other parts of the country and the rest of the Arabian Gulf have sizzling hot and humid summers.
Its a beautiful country to visit and live. Despite being a Moslem state, it is quite secular compared to some of its neighbors and Catholic churches, Hindu temples etc can be found there. It is also the only Gulf state that has offered citizenship to non-Moslems, mainly from India, who founded business houses in the Sultanate several decades ago.