10 Facts about Oman
Oman, officially known as Sultanate of Oman, is an Arab country in the Middle-East on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula.
10. One of the safest place on Earth
- Oman is one of the safest place on Earth! The crime rate is very low and the Omani police is noted to be truthful, helping and concerned. Though, no place on the Earth can be crime-free. There are reports of different crimes like check bouncing, violation of labour law, theft of foreigner’s assets and so on.
9. More than 48% of the Omanis are young!
- According to National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), more than 48% of the Omani population is in the age group of 18 year old to 29 year old.
8. First independent Arab country.
- This country is the first Arab country to be independent and form one as other countries were not formed or were not independent.
7. License for alcohol.
- People living in the country require license to buy alcohol, which is difficult to get, especially for Omanis. Omanis are not allowed to expense more than 10% of their income on alcohol a month. There are even heavy taxes applied on it.
6. Country with one of the oldest marketplace!
- Mutrah Souq is one of the oldest marketplaces in the world located in Oman. There are a lot of colourful shops where we can buy bukhoor, frankincense (an aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes), khanjars, jewelry and so on.
5. The first university of Oman opened in 1986.
- Oman’s first university, Sultan Qaboos University was opened in 1986. This is very late, where there are universities running from thousands of years before.
4. Contributor of world’s most valuable perfume!
- The world’s most valuable perfume, Amouage, is produced and traded in Oman. It is known as Frankincense, and is available in its purest form for purchase for 50 Omani Rial per bag which is around ₹181.3.
3. The longest-serving ruler of Middle-East.
- The Sultan of Oman, Qaboos Bin Said Al Said is the longest serving ruler in the entire Middle-East. He was born in 1940 and took his position in 1970.
2. Had a telegraph island (for Britishers).
- The Telegraph Island (now known as Jazirat Al Maqlab in Oman is an island which was used by Britishers for making communications between their country, United Kingdom and India (included Pakistan in that period). This communication port was established in 1864 and continued till 1869, which is only for four years due to extremely hot climate and loneliness in the island. This was abandoned in 1870.
1. Migration of thousands of turtles.
- Thousands of turtles migrated to the Omani coastline every year/ Ras Al Jinz is one of the prime locations of the country to spot them. There are many turtles found laying eggs on the beaches where foxes try to have those eggs. A turtle lays around 90 to 100 eggs on a time! Green turtles, loggerhead turtles and leather-back turtles can be found here.
