The states on the Persian Gulf have become increasingly popular in recent years. While Qatar and the United Arab Emirates shine with pomp and showmanship and the former is heavily criticized because of the World Cup, visitors to Oman can still breathe a sniff of the fairy tale of “One Thousand and One Nights”.
The numbers speak for themselves: According to the Federal Statistical Office, 141,000 passengers traveled from the 24 largest commercial airports in Germany to Oman by direct flight in 2019, even before the corona pandemic. The number of passengers flying to the Sultanate has roughly doubled since 2010 (69,000 passengers). There really are many reasons to visit. We have summarized a few highlights.
Let’s start in the heart of Oman. In the capital Muscat you can’t help but be amazed. Why? Here you can feel how tradition meets modernity and becomes a wonderful work of art. The roots of the lively metropolis go back to the second millennium BC. Persians, Achaemenids, Parthians and Sassanids – they all left their mark on the city.
A must is the Sultan Qaboos Mosque. It is considered one of the most important buildings in the country and one of the world’s largest places of worship. It offers space for 20,000 believers. As a gift to the nation, Sultan Qaboos opened the mosque to the public in 2001. Non-Muslims can look around every day except Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Continue to the Royal Opera House Muscat and the Souk of Matrah. Important: The sights are not exactly close together. If you don’t want to afford a driver service, you should be able to walk well and have a good sense of direction.
Beach lizards and nature lovers should feel right at home with around 1,500 kilometers of coastline. Paradisiacal beaches are located near the city of Salalah, capital of the Dhofar region. It is not for nothing that the area is nicknamed the “Caribbean of the Orient”. The ideal travel time for a beach holiday in Salalah is from October to March. Then it’s not too hot – during the day temperatures are between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius and the water has an average of 25 degrees.
Inland Oman, on the other hand, is almost Norwegian. Here, fjords carve deep into the mountain ranges. If you like: Cruises with the traditional dhows are offered from Musandam. In the Hajar Mountains, on the other hand, you want to go high, 3,000 meters to be precise, if you want to climb Jebel Shams, Oman’s highest mountain. A little lower is Wadi Nakhar, a grand canyon with a 20-kilometer-long gorge. Although it is not as long as the American counterpart in the US state of Arizona (446 kilometers), hikers’ hearts beat faster here too.
