Capital: Muscat

 Government: Monarchy with  a provisional legislature  (the Majlis Ash Shura)

 Head of State: His Majesty  Sultan Qaboos bin Said

 Major industries: Oil, natural gas, agriculture, and  fishing

 Ruling body: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said is  Head of State and rules by decree. He is assisted by  a cabinet of ministers, Diwan of the Royal Court (the  central body of bureaucratic affairs), and the Majlis  Ash Shura, a body of representatives elected by the  populace.

 Population: Approximately 2 million. Around 1.5  million are Omani nationals.  The remaining are  expatriates from India,  Asia, other Arab countries,  Europe and USA.

 Area: The Sultanate  encompasses an area of  300,000 sq kms.

 Airport: Muscat International Airport, 40 km from  Muscat city centre.

 Muscat International Airport, located in Muscat,  serves many international airlines such as British  Airways, KLM, Kuwait Airways, Swiss Air and  Emirates. The national carrier is Oman Air, which flies  to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, Pakistan,  Qatar, Egypt, and Sri Lanka as well as performing  domestic flights to Salalah, Masirah Island and  Musandam.

 Climate: The country's climate is predominantly arid  and varies slightly from one region to another. In the  coastal areas, the weather is hot and humid during  the summer months, while it is dry elsewhere in the  interior. Milder weather dominates the mountains and  Dhofar region all the year round. Winter  temperatures can be as low as 15°Celsius and  summer temperatures can be as high as 48° Celsius  in Muscat and as high as 54° in the desert.
 Dhofar, located in the southernv region of the  country however, enjoys a regular monsoon between  June and October, every year.

 Best Time to visit : The  best time of the year to  visit  Oman is between  October  and April, when  the weather  is pleasantly  warm in the  day and cool in  the evening.  Temperature  averages at  25-35 degrees  centigrade  during the day  and dips to 17-19 degrees  centigrade  at night.

 Religion: Islam, predominantly Ibadhi sect.

 Language: Official language is Arabic. Other  languages spoken include Urdu, Swahili and Baluchi.  English is widely spoken and along with Arabic is the  common business language. Most Hotel staff speak  German and French as well.

 Culture: Like all the Arab countries, Arab Islamic  Culture dominates the life style in  the Sultanate. However, being an  international market, people of  various other nationalities are also  present.

 National Dress: Men - dishdasha  (robe),Kimah (cap),mussar  (turban).
 Women - jallabia (dress), sirwall  (trousers), thobe (overdress cloak,  lahaf (head shawl), abaya (black cloak). Women  generally leave their face and hands exposed, while  in the desert, women of the Bedouin tribes wear a  mask, called a "birqa."

 Working Hours:
 Ministries and government establishments - 7:30 am  to 2:30 pm (Sat-Wed, week-end is Thursday and  Friday)

 Private sector companies - 8:00am to 1:00pm;  4:00pm to 7:00pm (Saturday-Wednesday)
 8:00am to 1:00pm on Thursdays.

 Markets - 8:00am to 1:00pm, 4:00pm to 9:00pm.

 Banks- 8:00 am to 12 noon.

 Timings differ during Ramadan
 Ramadân, the holy month of fasting, is the ninth  month on the Arabic calendar which is a lunar  calendar. Every year Ramadân shifts back about ten  days on the western solar calendar. In the year 2001  Ramadân will begin in the third week of November.  Restaurants and other eateries are closed during  daylight hours during the Holy Ramadân period.

 Shopping hours:
 Shopping establishments are open from 9am to
 1 pm and 4pm to 9 pm.  Department stores,  supermarkets and shopping  complexes are open  throughout the day during  Ramadân from 9am to 10  pm, with a short lunch  break all through the week,  except Fridays. These timings could vary with  different shops.