Muscat Local Customs

Ladies can get their hands and feet decorated by Henna in most beauty salons for an average of 3 rials for hands, 5 for feet

Lots of newer designs decorate other parts of the body as a temporary tatoo

newer henna versions include the typical arabian red henna, sudanese black henna and even glitter nowadays

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The inhabitants in Oman are mostly Arabs with some minorities of Pakistanis, Indians and Africans.

If you approach the locals in a decent way you will see how friendly they are. Smile and say hello, and you will receive a hello and a smile back. Some of the arab women will smile or giggle. The locals tolerate more from a westerner than the guest workers from India and Pakistan. But be wise and don't exploit this. Don't say hello to a woman if she is together with a man. And don't take photos without asking for it.

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The Omanis are proud of their culture. I bought a Dishdasha, a kind of a suit for the "new generation" in Oman. And a cumma, which is a hat (see pictures). The locals gave me loudly credit for that. It was respectful to wear their clothes. Even though some Pakistani migrant workers didn't understand why I weared this unpractical suit. You can not run in a Dishdasha-suit, something I found out when I had to run across the street and stumbled.

Instead of Cumma you can also wear a Shimagh (Head Scarf) or a folded Musar (head turban). I liked the head turban, but it was too difficult to wrap around the head.

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Quite some people (mostly ex-pats with their children) gather at dusk on the beach of shatti al qurm, and go watch the fishermen unlead their boat with their catch of the day. Those caught fish do not travel long distances before they are loaded again onto a jeep... because the jeep drives right into the water, where the boats arrive. All around... crying seagulls wanting to get their fair share. And many fish are left to them for supper. Small fish by Omani standards I guess... huge fish for swiss standard... oh to be a bird.

When exploring the prayer halls of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, you will discover the Quran on the shelves along the halls. There is the main series of a few books of the Quran, and next to them is the summarised index version of the Quran.

Before going to the prayers, Muslims are supposed to wash themselves up at this nice washing area of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. Different areas of the washing area are for cleaning different parts of the body.

In order to mark the direction of the Islamic prayer (facing the holy city of Mecca) at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, there is an interesting structure (see photograph) which will serve as the guide during the praying ritual.

The chandeliers of the male prayer's hall of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque are simply amazing and could rival others in the world, especially the main chandelier on top of the middle of the hall (see photograph).