Muscat

Muscat (Arabic: مسقط) is the capital and largest city of The Sultanate of Oman. It is the largest city in the mintaqah (governorate) of Muscat. The city of Muscat has a population of 1.28 million people (2015). The official language is Arabic and English is used as an additional language for many purposes, including business and tourism purposes. Muscat is located on the north east coast of Oman. The city is 3,500 km² in size.

Harbor in Muscat, Oman

History

People started living in the Muscat area about 2300 years ago but the first writings of the city are about 1900 years old in the 1st century CE. Muscat developed into an important city in the 9th century CE because of business and trade at the port. Portugal, Persian (Iran) and Turkey had many wars for control over Muscat from the 1500s to the 1700s. The Al Bu Sa 'id tribe has ruled Muscat since then.

Climate and weather

Muscat is a hot and dry city. The average daytime temperature in summer can be as high as 40 °C. The winter is cooler and the average daytime temperature is between 19 °C and 22 °C. There is very little rain with only 10 cm per year.

Tourism

Muscat has several tourist sites including seven museums, a fort, an old palace and a new opera house. The city has beaches with hotel resorts. People can do many water-sports including dolphin tours in the city's harbour. In 2016, 2.5 million tourists visited Muscat. According to an article in Times Of Oman, almost 500,000 people visited in February alone for the popular Muscat Festival.