Scuba diving in Oman

Oman is a country in Southwest Asia, which is located on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. The capital and largest city is Muscat. Oman shares border with the UAE to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west and Yemen to the southwest. Oman also shares marine borders with Iran and Pakistan. It has two enclaves separated from it by the UAE, the Musandam Peninsula and Madha. Until the 1970s, the country was almost completely closed to outside visitors. Muscat Airport (MCT), located in Wilayt As Seeb, is the primary airport of Oman. Salalah Airport (SLL) is another smaller airport, though it still accepts international flights. Oman is known for its beaches with white sand, turquoise waters and year-round warm ocean temperatures. Its beaches are some of the most important turtle nesting sites in the world. The government implemented conservation policies to protect them. The Daymaniat Islands are one of the most popular places to see Hawksbill and Green turtles and the first Marine Reserve. These Islands are a group of nine small islands in the Gulf of Oman. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the southeast and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. There is a variety of diving along Oman's more than 2000km/1200mi of coastline. The popular diving areas are Muscat, Musandam and Salalah. Typical depths of the local dives range from 20m/66ft to 28m/92ft. There are many wrecks and opportunities for drift and other specialized dives. Interesting dive sites are Leema Rock, Eagle Bay, Garden of Eden, Leopard Alley, Aquarium, Octopus Rock, Al Munassir wreck and quite a few others. There are hard and soft corals, with very little damage, boulder coral, whip coral, staghorn coral, orange cup coral and cabbage coral. Divers can observe lots of shoaling fish, moray eels, stone fish and cuttlefish. Swimming in local waters divers have a chance to spot crayfish, small crabs, sting, eagle and torpedo rays, spiny lobster, snake eels, nudibranchs, squid, porcupine, lion fish, scorpion fish, batfish, parrot fish, angel fish, trevally, snapper, dolphins and barracudas. From July to September blooming plankton attracts whale sharks, though water visibility may be significantly decreased because of it.