Bradt`s is the most up-to-date & informative guide to Oman, the Arabian peninsula`s most welcoming destination, fully revised & updated by an author who has been living in Oman & Arabia since 1986. Oman is finally reaping the economic benefit of its location between Europe, Africa & Asia with substantial investment in major shipping ports & significant expansion of the national airline with new routes to Western Europe & East Asia. Despite being at the crossroads of great trade routes & empires, Oman has remained an independent country through much of its long history, & today tourism & travel are a major focus for Oman`s government. This new edition covers the recent substantial investment in new airport facilities & upmarket accommodation & also features the historic UNESCO towns of Samharam & Al Balid. If you want to live like a local, the guide also tells you how to slow cook the traditional spiced meat shuwa & how to be a perfect guest if invited into an Omani home. Oman is not merely a desert. While it has the classic sand seas
- Wihibah Sands
- home to the nomadic Bedouin & their camels, this sultanate also boasts lush monsoon-soaked valleys near Salalah, mountain villages surrounded by green terraced fields of fruit trees & rose bushes, & the reef-fringed Ad Dimaniyyat Islands. With such a varied wilderness there is huge scope for adventure. Oman is increasingly perceived as a high-end cultural destination. The new Opera House has opened, directly supported by the Sultan, with top-notch international performers like Placido Domingo. The guide
Includes:: advice on property buying, since Omani law changed to allow expatriates to buy, explaining the rules & regulations. There is also a detailed overview of language schools teaching Arabic, not found in other guides. With advice on cultural etiquette, basic Arabic phrases & political history
- as well as full practical information on where to stay & eat, & what to see & do
- this fully updated edition remains the essential guide for travellers looking to discover the real Oman.