Muscat

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Muscat
Muscat (Oman)
Muscat
Muscat
Coordinates 23 ° 37 ′  N , 58 ° 35 ′  E Coordinates: 23 ° 37 ′  N , 58 ° 35 ′  E
Basic data
Country Oman

Governorate

Muscat
height 20 m
surface 3500 km²
Residents 635.279
density 181.5  Ew. / km²
Website www.mm.gov.om (Arabic / English)
Central Business District, Muscat, Oman.jpg

Muscat ([ ˈmaskat ], Arabic مسقط, DMG Masqaṭ ; Alternative spelling from English: Muscat ) is the capital of Oman and is located in the Muscat governorate of the same name .

The name means place of falling , which can be derived from the use as an anchorage or from the steep mountains. The actual city has only about 30,000 inhabitants, together with its suburbs Matrah , Ruwi , Qurum and Sib it forms the Muscat Capital Area .

history

As early as the second millennium BC there were branches of the Magan Empire in what is now Muscat , the wealth of which resulted from the trade in copper from the northern Hajar Mountains and pearls dipped from the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf . This period of bloom went around 500 BC. End with the invasion of the Persians under Cyrus II . For the next thousand years, the Nordoman coast would be under the rule of Persian dynasties such as the Achaemenids , Parthians, and Sassanids .

The expansion of Islam in Oman in 630 was accompanied by the expulsion of the Persian occupiers, which ushered in an era of relative independence that lasted with short interruptions from the 7th to the 16th century. During this time, many Omani coastal cities developed into important trading centers. Suhar, north of Muscat, and Qalhat in the south gained wealth and influence through maritime trade with China, India and East Africa. But today's capital has hardly played a role in this development. Nevertheless, the trade relations in the distance inevitably influenced the city and its society.

However, the importance of the Omani coastal centers to the local economy was destroyed by the appearance of Portuguese seafarers in the Gulf of Oman. In 1507 Muscat fell into their hands and was partially destroyed, as was Suhar and Qalhat, which were particularly hard hit. The Omani coast moved into the focus of the Europeans, the Omanis themselves increasingly withdrew to the mountains with their sultan, which is why the political, economic and social weight of the sultanate shifted to the hinterland. As a result, Muscat and the entire coast lost their importance for the next hundred years. Instead, cities like Nizwa , Bahla , Jabrin or Rustaq flourished in the Hajjar region .

In 1650 Sultan ibn Saif I succeeded in driving the Portuguese out of Muscat and other places on the coast and in reviving the old trading ports under the local government. However, Persian invasions soon followed, which in turn disrupted development. In 1779 Hamad ibn Said moved the capital from Rustaq to Muscat. After his death in 1792 there were regroupings, but from 1808 Muscat was able to assert itself as the seat of government, was expanded into an important seaport and fortified with a 4.5 meter high wall and forts towards the end of the 19th century. Regardless of this, his supremacy did not go unchallenged, because under Hamad bin Said political quarrels broke out in 1784, which resulted in the division of the country into a sultanate on the coast and an imamate in the hinterland. Thus Muscat was only part of Oman. Even in the 20th century it was unable to fully defend its position, as the imamate was ended with the de facto civil war in 1959, but the conservative Sultan Said ibn Taimur preferred to rule from Salala in the south. It was not until his son Sultan Qaboos took office in 1971 that Muscat became the absolute capital.

The cautious but steady modernization of the country began since 1970 when the young Qaboos peacefully overthrew his father and went into exile in London. This is referred to as the beginning of the so-called Omani Renaissance, in the course of which the capital was also greatly expanded and developed into today's center.

Today the metropolitan area is a modern and dynamic city. Modern hospitals, many secondary schools, large commercial and transport facilities, a radio and television station and the stock exchange ( Muscat Security Market ) are located here.

geography

The city is located on the coast in the northeast of the country on the Gulf of Oman , on a bay enclosed by rock walls. Here the Hajjar Mountains reach as far as the sea and only allow small settlements that are connected by mountain passes. About four kilometers from the city's beach is the uninhabited island of Al Fahal . For practical reasons, the capital has expanded into the southern area of ​​the Batinah coastal plain in recent decades . In this way the so-called Muscat Capital Area was created , an extensive urban zone consisting of various smaller and larger towns that have grown together.

The metropolitan area is the aorta of the country in which economic and financial strength as well as the population are concentrated. However, around half of the population are migrant workers v. a. from Iran, Pakistan, India and the Philippines. Here (as in other parts of the country), their cheap labor enables extensive construction activity. In a short time, shopping malls and hotels were built according to western standards. In addition, the area developed quickly with residential areas planned on the drawing board and new industrial facilities. The corresponding traffic routes are mostly extensive and - despite the chronic water shortage - landscaped.

In the old center of the capital, Old Muscat , which is at the southern end of the metropolitan area, there is the Qasr al-Alam palace of Sultan Qabus ibn Said , which is mainly used for representative purposes, and other government buildings. The original character of the old core has been found there, located on a small bay with a natural harbor (which is now partly claimed by the Sultan's palace area for itself), flanked by the two forts Jalali and Mirani from the time of Portuguese rule (1507-1650) , largely preserved.

Since the high mountains prevented an expansion of the development, the financial and business district Ruwi , the business center Matrah or the infrastructure center Sib have now outstripped the actual capital , starting in the 1970s .

climate

The climate of Muscat is semi-arid tropical, i. This means that it is warm to hot all year round with little precipitation (an average of 8 rainy days a year), but high humidity (constantly between 60% and 80%). With 19–26 ° C, the winters are as warm as the Central European summers. This is also the only time of the year when there can be short but heavy rainfall. From April the temperatures in the city are very high. The effect is further enhanced by high humidity.

The hottest time of the year extends from May to October, when peak temperatures of up to 46 ° C are reached and the thermometer often does not drop below 30 ° C at night. Combined with the high humidity in the air, which is particularly noticeable in July, August and September through the foothills of the Southeast Asian monsoons and which sometimes causes coastal fog, this often results in temperatures of over 50 ° C. Due to its basin location, Old Muscat is predestined for high nighttime values, as the air does not circulate and covers the city like a hot veil. Occasionally up to 36 ° C are measured at night. Another meteorological phenomenon is that the hottest hours of the day are often not around noon and early afternoon, as usual, but often in the morning and morning. It is not uncommon for 40 ° C to be measured at 8 or 9 a.m., but the thermometer remains at 36 ° C from midday.

Muscat
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
13
 
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17th
 
 
14th
 
26th
18th
 
 
16
 
30th
20th
 
 
11
 
35
24
 
 
0
 
40
29
 
 
11
 
40
30th
 
 
3.4
 
38
30th
 
 
1.6
 
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18th
Temperature in ° Cprecipitation in mm
Source: Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Meteorology Oman
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Muscat
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 25.1 26.4 29.5 34.7 39.6 40.0 38.0 35.6 35.6 34.6 30.3 26.8 O 33
Min. Temperature (° C) 16.7 17.8 20.3 24.2 28.7 30.3 30.1 28.2 26.8 24.2 20.8 18.3 O 23.9
Precipitation ( mm ) 13.2 14.0 16.4 11.3 0.0 10.9 3.4 1.6 0.0 0.8 1.6 16.5 Σ 89.7
Rainy days ( d ) 3.2 2.7 1.9 1.4 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.6 0.0 0.2 0.7 1.4 Σ 12.6
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
25.1
16.7
26.4
17.8
29.5
20.3
34.7
24.2
39.6
28.7
40.0
30.3
38.0
30.1
35.6
28.2
35.6
26.8
34.6
24.2
30.3
20.8
26.8
18.3
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g
13.2
14.0
16.4
11.3
0.0
10.9
3.4
1.6
0.0
0.8
1.6
16.5
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

economy

The Muscat region is the economic heart of the country. The port of Mina Sultan Qabus in the Matrah district is of great importance here for the export of oil , which has been pipelined here from the entire hinterland since 1967 and then shipped, as the Sultanate's only refinery and oil loading station is located here . The "black gold" is the mainstay of the Omani economy and accounts for more than 50% of the total state revenue. Although the vast surplus of petrodollars is fairly evenly distributed across the country, its influence is most evident and felt in the capital region.

In addition, the country's large industrial companies specializing in aluminum processing, petrochemicals and fertilizers are concentrated in the capital region. There are several important farms in the vicinity, as well as power stations and seawater desalination plants. Private consumption, which has increased enormously and takes place in the large souq of Matrah, but increasingly in modern shopping malls, is also strengthening the development. Muscat is also the seat of Oman's most important bank , BankMuscat .

The Muscat airport , which is located about 30 km from Old Muscat in Sib and is currently undergoing extensive expansion, is decisive for the region's economy . The expansion is intended to increase the number of arriving and (especially on the way to Asia and Africa) transferring passengers from approx. 4 million (2008) to 12 million (2011) and in the more distant future to 48 million and to compete with, for example, Dubai and Doha to be built. Tourism, which is concentrated in the north of the Sultanate and originates from Muscat, is directly related to the airport. The tourism industry is to be expanded gently, whereby individual tourism , exclusivity and comfort are clearly given priority over mass tourism .

Obviously, by promoting new industries (and with it the whole country), the city is preparing for the post-oil era. Without a significant increase in production, the oil reserves estimated at five billion barrels should last until 2020. By then one hopes to have become independent of oil and 80% of the gross domestic product u. a. in the areas of infrastructure, finance, investment and tourism. But one raw material will continue to be of great importance in the future, namely the extensive natural gas reserves (more than 620 km³, undeveloped deposits not taken into account), the export of which can probably only be carried out via Muscat.

In a ranking of cities according to their quality of life, Muscat ranked 105th out of 231 cities worldwide in 2018.

Culture and sights

Muscat has a number of beaches: Qurum Beach, Bandar al-Jissa and Yati Beach. Popular public green spaces are the Qurum Natural Park, Riyam and Kalbuh. You can do sports in the Sultan Qaboos Sports Center .

To the southeast of Muscat, the mountain range extends to the Gulf of Oman . There are some marinas in small bays , from which excursions to dolphin watching tours are offered. There are many dive sites in this region and on the offshore island of Fahal. The Al Munassir landing craft, sunk in 2003, is another well-known diving spot in the region.

A moat (in Arabic al-Husn) has been preserved from the former city fortifications. In addition, the four city gates have been preserved: al-Bab al-Kabir (the "Great Gate"), Bab al-Matha'ib , al-Bab as-Saghir (the "Small Gate") and Bab al-Waldschat . In addition, great efforts are being made to restore old merchants' houses and a lot of money is being invested in the development of state-of-the-art museums that preserve Oman's cultural heritage.

Sights include the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque , the Muscat Royal Opera House , the Souq of Matrah, the castles of al-Jalali and al-Mirani, which flank the Al Alam Sultan's Palace. The Burj as-Sahwa and the Clock Tower Square should also be mentioned.

Every year the Muscat Festival attracts large numbers of visitors.

photos

University institutions

As the capital, Muscat has a considerable number of university institutions:

Personalities

The list contains an alphabetical overview of important personalities born in Muscat today. It does not take into account whether or not the people later had their sphere of activity in Muscat.

literature

  • Fred Scholz: Muscat - Sultanate of Oman: Geographical sketch of a unique city. The Arab Book, Berlin 1990 (Volume 1: Text, illustrations, photos ; Volume 2: Tables )
  • Fred Scholz: Muscat - capital of the Sultanate of Oman. In: Günter Meyer (Hrsg.): The Arab world in the mirror of cultural geography. Publications of the Center for Research on the Arab World (ZEFAW) Volume 1, Mainz 2004, pp. 70–79.
  • Michael Teupel: Oman - Muscat. Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2007, ISBN 978-3-8334-7948-9 .
  • Michael Teupel: Oman - The Sultanate. Reiseliteratur-Verlag, Hamburg 2006, ISBN = 3-937274-26-X.

Web links

Commons : Muscat  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Muscat  - Explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. Mercer's 2018 Quality of Living Rankings. Retrieved August 18, 2018 .