Oman
The ancient Arab sultanate on the southeastern corner of Arabia, a land of mountains, desert, and a green monsoon coast, of an old sea empire that reached Zanzibar, of frankincense, forts, and the gentle, tolerant Ibadi faith. The complete guide.
Oman is an Arab country on the southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, facing the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, bordered by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, and looking across the narrow Strait of Hormuz toward Iran. Counting its large foreign workforce, it holds around five million people, with the capital, Muscat, on the northern coast. Oman is a land of dramatic and varied scenery, from rugged mountains and vast desert to a long coastline and a green, monsoon-watered south around Salalah. It is a sultanate, ruled by the Al Bu Said family, and a Muslim country with a distinctive and rare character, for most Omanis follow the Ibadi branch of Islam, neither Sunni nor Shia, known for its moderation and tolerance. Once the seat of a great seafaring empire that reached East Africa, Oman is famous for frankincense, fine old forts, and a deep, dignified tradition of hospitality. This guide walks through the land, the sea, the faith, the food, the festivals, and the customs in turn.
Overview
Oman is a country on the southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, with a long coast on the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, bordered by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to the west and Yemen to the southwest, with a separate piece of its territory, the Musandam peninsula, guarding the Strait of Hormuz in the north. It is the second largest country of the Arabian Peninsula, a land of mountains, desert, and coast. Counting its many foreign residents, around five million people live there, with the capital, Muscat, on the northern coast.
Oman is a sultanate, a monarchy ruled by the Al Bu Said family since the eighteenth century. The head of state is the sultan, currently Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, who holds wide powers and is assisted by a council of ministers and an advisory Council of Oman. The official language is Arabic, with English widely used and several other languages spoken among the country's communities. The faith of the state and of most Omanis is Islam, and Oman is distinctive as the one country where the Ibadi branch of Islam is the leading tradition. The economy rests largely on oil and gas.
A few deep forces shape life in Oman. There is the dramatic land of mountains, desert, and a green monsoon south. There is the old heritage of the sea and the empire that reached Africa. There is the gentle, tolerant Ibadi faith. There is the ancient trade in frankincense. And there is the rich material heritage of forts, crafts, and the dagger, set within a deep tradition of hospitality. The sections that follow trace these and walk through the customs.
Mountains, desert, and a green south
Oman is a land of striking and varied scenery, far more dramatic than the flat deserts of much of the Gulf, and its landscapes range from high mountains to rolling dunes to a green, rain-washed coast. Along the north run the great Hajar Mountains, a rugged range rising to the heights of the Jebel Akhdar, the green mountain, with deep canyons, terraced villages, and old watercourses, while behind them stretches the vast desert of the interior, reaching down to the edge of the Empty Quarter, one of the largest sand deserts on earth.
The coast is long and varied, from the dramatic fjord-like inlets of the Musandam peninsula in the far north, jutting into the Strait of Hormuz, to the fishing towns and beaches that line the Arabian Sea. The capital, Muscat, lies on the northern coast in a setting of stark volcanic hills, an old port now grown into a handsome low-rise city that has kept its traditional character, ringed by old forts and crowned by a great mosque.
Most striking of all is the far south, the region of Dhofar around the city of Salalah, which is touched each summer by the edge of the Indian Ocean monsoon, the khareef, when warm rains and mists turn the hills a brilliant green and waterfalls flow, a season that draws visitors from across hot Arabia to a landscape unlike anywhere else in the region. Between mountain, desert, and monsoon coast, Oman holds a remarkable range of country. This varied land is the setting of Omani life.
The empire of the sea
Oman looks outward to the sea as much as inward to the desert, and its history is, above all, a history of the ocean, for the Omanis were among the great seafarers of the Indian Ocean, sailing their wooden ships on the monsoon winds to trade and rule far from home. From their ports, Omani merchants and sailors crossed to India, Persia, and above all East Africa, carrying dates, frankincense, and goods, and bringing back the riches of distant coasts.
At the height of its power, Oman was not a small coastal state but the centre of a sea empire that stretched down the coast of East Africa, and for a time the Omani sultans ruled from the island of Zanzibar, off the coast of what is now Tanzania, holding sway over a swathe of the African shore and its trade. This African connection ran deep, and to this day there are bonds of family, language, and culture between Oman and East Africa, with many Omanis of African descent and the Swahili language still heard.
This seafaring past left its mark everywhere in Omani life: in the dhows, the graceful wooden sailing ships still built and sailed and raced with pride; in the foods, words, and customs borrowed from Africa, India, and Persia; and in the make-up of the people, which includes communities of Baluch, African, and South Asian descent alongside the Arab majority. The sea shaped Oman as the desert shaped its neighbours. This heritage of the ocean and its empire is at the heart of Omani identity.
Ibadi Islam
Islam is the faith of Oman and the foundation of its life, but Oman holds a distinctive place in the Muslim world, for it is the one country where most people follow neither the Sunni nor the Shia tradition but a third and much older branch, Ibadi Islam, which took shape in the very first generations of the faith, before the great division, and which has been the leading tradition of Oman for well over a thousand years.
Ibadi Islam is known for its moderation, its restraint, and above all its tolerance, a quiet and undemonstrative piety that prizes consensus, modesty, and good conduct over display or zeal, and that has long made Oman a place where different faiths and peoples are treated with respect. Its character can be seen in the old Omani mosques, which are typically plain and simple, without the tall minarets and rich ornament of some other lands, and in a public religious life that is calm and unforced. Sunni and a smaller number of Shia Muslims also live in Oman, alongside the Ibadi majority.
This spirit of tolerance reaches beyond Islam, for Oman is notably open to the many faiths of its large foreign population, with churches, temples, and other places of worship, and a reputation as one of the most welcoming and peaceable countries of the region. The faith still orders the year, with the fasting of Ramadan, the festivals of Eid, and the customs of modesty and prayer widely kept. This gentle, tolerant Ibadi faith is a defining mark of Oman.
The frankincense land
No substance is more bound up with Oman's name and history than frankincense, the fragrant resin that for thousands of years was among the most precious goods in the world, and which comes from the hardy frankincense trees that grow in the dry hills of the southern region of Dhofar. In ancient times this incense was carried by camel caravan and ship across Arabia and beyond to the temples and courts of Egypt, Rome, and the East, bringing great wealth to the land that produced it.
The old trade routes and ports through which the frankincense flowed are honoured today as a treasure of world heritage, the land of frankincense, and the tree, the resin, and the trade remain a proud part of the country's sense of itself. Frankincense is far more than a memory of past riches, for its sweet smoke is woven into daily Omani life and hospitality.
In Omani homes, the burning of frankincense and other incense in a special burner is a gesture of welcome, cleanliness, and dignity, perfuming a room for guests and marking the end of a meal, a custom of deep and continuing meaning. The scent of frankincense is part of the very atmosphere of Oman, in its homes, its mosques, and its markets, where the resin is sold in the old souqs. This ancient gift of frankincense is one of the deepest threads of Omani culture.
Forts, falaj, and the khanjar
Oman is rich in the works of its old craftsmen and builders, and nowhere is this clearer than in its forts and castles, of which the country has a remarkable number, great strongholds of stone and mud-brick that guarded the harbours of the coast and the oasis towns of the interior, among them the mighty round-towered fort of Nizwa and the vast ancient fort of Bahla, honoured as a treasure of world heritage. These forts speak of a long history of independent tribes and of the religious leaders, the imams, who once ruled the interior.
Just as remarkable is the falaj, the ancient and ingenious network of water channels that carries water for miles from the mountains and underground springs to the fields and villages of the dry interior, sharing it out by careful old custom, a way of watering the land that is many centuries old and still in use, and itself honoured as world heritage. The oasis towns it waters, with their date palms and old quarters, are among the loveliest places in Oman.
The greatest of Omani symbols is the khanjar, the curved dagger with its ornate silver sheath, worn by men tucked into the waistband on formal occasions, a treasured emblem of Omani identity and male dignity that appears on the national flag itself. It belongs to a rich heritage of craft, in silver and gold jewellery, weaving, and pottery, and goes with the distinctive Omani dress: for men the long robe, the dishdasha, with an embroidered cap, the kummah, or a turban, and for women bright, colourful dresses that vary from region to region. These forts, channels, crafts, and the dagger are the proud material heritage of Oman.
Shuwa and the Omani table
Omani food is the rich and gently spiced cooking of a land at the meeting of Arabia, Africa, India, and Persia, built on rice, meat, fish, and dates, and flavoured with the warm spices, dried limes, and aromas carried home by centuries of sea trade. The most celebrated dish is shuwa, a great festive treat made for Eid and special occasions, in which marinated meat is wrapped, placed in a pit oven dug in the ground, and slow-cooked underground for a day or more until meltingly tender, a dish that brings whole families and communities together.
Everyday meals are built around rice and meat or fish, in dishes such as the spiced rice majboos, close kin to the rice dishes of the wider Gulf, and the comforting wheat-and-meat porridge harees, while the long coast provides an abundance of fish, a staple of the Omani table. Dates, of which Oman grows many fine kinds, are eaten daily and offered to every guest, and meals end with the burning of frankincense.
Oman is famous above all for its halwa, a rich, sticky, fragrant sweet of sugar, ghee, rosewater, saffron, and nuts, cooked slowly to a glistening paste and served to guests with the cardamom-scented Arabic coffee, the kahwa, in a ritual of welcome repeated countless times a day across the country. Sweet, fragrant, and generous, Omani food reflects the country's place at the crossroads of land and sea.
Hospitality and the festival year
Hospitality is the heart of Omani life, a sacred duty and a deep pleasure, and a guest, whether known or a stranger, is received with warmth, seated, and offered the kahwa coffee, dates, fruit, and halwa, with the burning of frankincense to perfume the welcome, all given with a quiet, dignified grace that is much remarked upon. Omanis are known across the region for their gentleness, courtesy, and calm good manners, valuing modesty and dignity over show.
Family and community lie at the centre of life, with strong extended-family ties, deep respect for elders, and a tradition of gathering in the men's reception room or the village meeting place, the sablah, to talk, settle matters, and keep the bonds of kin and neighbour. Across Oman's regions, from the coast to the mountains to Dhofar, customs vary, yet the values of hospitality, faith, and family are shared by all.
The year is marked by the festivals of Islam, above all Ramadan and the two Eids, kept with prayer, feasting, new clothes, and visiting, and by the National Day in November, a great celebration of the country and its long ruler. In the green southern summer, the monsoon season at Salalah is celebrated with a lively festival, and weddings and family occasions are great events of feasting and of old music and dance, including the stirring sword dances and drumming of the men. For a visitor, the keys to Oman are modesty, courtesy, respect for the faith, and a gracious acceptance of its warm hospitality. These customs and festivals are the warm heart of Omani life.
The nation today
Oman today is a stable, peaceable nation that owes its modern shape above all to one man, Sultan Qaboos, who took power in 1970 and over fifty years transformed a poor, isolated country with almost no roads, schools, or hospitals into a modern state, using the new wealth of oil with rare care to build a country that embraced the modern world while holding fast to its heritage and traditions. On his death in 2020 he was succeeded by his cousin, the present sultan, Haitham bin Tariq, who has continued the same measured path of careful reform.
The economy rests on oil and gas, and the country works to broaden it through tourism, fishing, mining, and trade, and to create work for its young people, even as, like its Gulf neighbours, it depends heavily on a large foreign workforce. In its foreign affairs Oman has long followed a distinctive course, staying friendly with all sides and serving as a quiet, trusted go-between in a divided region, a role that flows naturally from the tolerant Ibadi spirit. Its position by the Strait of Hormuz, the vital channel for the world's oil, gives it both importance and a close concern for the peace of the Gulf, which recent conflict in the region has tested.
Through it all, Oman holds firmly to the identity built over its long history. The dramatic land of mountains, desert, and monsoon coast still shapes its life; the heritage of the sea and its empire remains a deep pride; the gentle Ibadi faith still gives the country its tolerant character; and the frankincense, the forts, the crafts, and above all the deep tradition of hospitality still order Omani life. Ancient, dignified, and at peace, Oman carries its traditions into the modern world.