Omani are one of the kindest, humble, and down to earth people. However general rules of respect while traveling in Muslim countries should be followed. Omani people loves greeting each other, and sometimes greetings can seems bit longer. However, interaction between opposite gender is limited. Do not shake hands with female unless it offered first by female. Do not smile at the opposite gender, as any interaction between opposite gender can be considered flirting. However greetings between same gender is very common, and is appreciated. Especially if you are outside of Muscat, waving or sign of hello is normal greeting.

Common phrase used to greet is ‘As-Salam Alaykum‘ which means ‘Hello’, and response to it is ‘Alaykum As-Salam‘. So person who greets first will use ‘As-Salam Alaykum‘ and person will respond with ‘Alaykum As-Salam‘. It is very polite and almost everybody starts the conversation with this greeting. It is considered to be rude if conversation is happening and one person is sitting and another person is standing since it may reflect hierarchy. For example if you are looking for direction while driving, it is considered to be polite to get out of the car, greet first and then ask for the direction. General way to say ‘Thank You’ is ‘Shukran‘.

It must be understood that under Omani Law, it is considered an offense if you are aggressive or insulting towards another person including offensive gestures. It is very rare for you to find any Omani person angry, even in difficult situations. One such example would be, in case of vehicle accidents, you will find that rather than being aggressive towards each other, it is common that person will get out of their vehicle, greet each other, check if other person is okay, and wait for police to arrive for formal procedure. All this happens without being hostile towards each other. Being polite and avoiding confrontation is in DNA of Oman.

Omani people (and other residents as well) considers Sultan of Oman in very high regard. Specially His Majesty late Sultan Qaboos who is considered to be father of modern nation is dear to whole nation. Sultan of Oman who has done more to develop the nation into modern prosperous state, it is expected to held him in extreme respect.

It is considered to be impolite to use your left hand for transactions. While exchanging goods or cash, it is preferred to use right hand. Also, it is impolite to leave cash at the counter but rather should be handed over to the person. Drinking alcohol in public in an offense and should be avoided.

Omani people are very hospitable. Especially if you venture outside of Muscat, you might get invited by local family to eat or drink coffee. It is considered to be polite to accept the invitation, even if it is for small duration. If you get invited to someone’s house, usually female seating area is separate from male seating area, and you will be escorted to these specific sitting area. Leaving your footwear at the door is a custom. Sometimes in exchange of help, they may offer you dates or sweet. Please do accept such since it is given in good faith.

Wearing swimwear at beaches, hotel pools is quite common, however less so common in public beaches in Muscat. However, outside of Muscat, wearing swimwear most of the beaches is quite common. However public nudity is not allowed. It is common courtesy or practice to keep enough distance between fellow beachgoers. But it is expected to wear modest clothing in public places such as souq, markets or shopping malls where covering shoulders and knee length cloths are appreciated. You may not be confornted by fellow person but it will draw upon not-so-friendly stare.