QUICK INDEX
|
|
SULTANATE OF OMAN (continued)
Shopping
Shopping Hours
What to Buy
Where to Shop
Best Shops
SHOPPING
Most quality shopping in Oman is centered in the capital city of Muscat. Shopping here is relatively laid back compared to other parts of the Gulf states. Indeed, you won't find shopping touts or encounter many hassles when shopping in Oman.
For the most part, you will find friendly merchants who will leave you alone so you can shop on your own. If you need help, you'll need to ask. The most aggressive merchants will be the very competitive Indians who operate shops and stalls in the Mutrah Souk and a few shopping centers of Muscat.
Many of the products you find in Muscat's shops are imported from other countries, including arts and crafts that appear to be local in origin. Indeed, you'll find lots of kitsch from India that you may think comes from Oman.
Shopping is spread out in a variety of places - traditional souks, shopping malls, street shops, hotels, galleries, and supermarkets. The best quality shopping will be found in hotel shops, galleries, and a few shopping malls. But the real fun shopping is found in Muscat's popular Mutrah Souk.
Since shopping is so spread out in Muscat, you’ll need local transportation to take you to the various shopping areas and neighborhood galleries.
While prices are generally fixed in shopping malls and hotel shops, you can bargain in the souks and street shops. However, don’t expect to receive very large discounts through your bargaining efforts.
Bargaining is not as widespread as often reported. Many prices are relatively fixed, with little room to negotiate. If you manage a 10- to 30-percent discount, consider yourself fortunate!
At the same time, a few Indian handicraft shops that primarily cater to tourists, especially cruise ship passengers, may have widely fluctuating prices that could result in 50- to 70-percent discounts.
Be sure to do comparative shopping for such items since prices can vary greatly from one shop to another. Keep in mind that both locals and tourists shop in the souk, and prices can fluctuate greatly for the tourist audience.
In Muscat you'll encounter a very diverse mix of expatriate merchants with different degrees of aggressiveness - Indians, Kashmiris, Pakistanis, Iranians, Lebanese, and British. Since many speak English, you should have little difficulty communicating when shopping.
The most aggressive merchants will be found in the souks where tourists tend to congregate and where prices are subject to negotiation. But even there the merchants are relatively friendly, relaxed, and accommodating.
The quality of shopping in Muscat is generally very good. You can usually trust what you are buying is genuine. Expect to encounter good quality gold and silver jewelry as well as some of the world's best quality frankincense and myrrh.
SHOPPING HOURS
Most shopping centers are open daily 8:30 AM to 12 noon and 4:30-9:30 or 10 PM. Many shops close in the afternoon between 1 and 4:30 PM, which makes shopping somewhat inconvenient for those who enjoy spending their afternoons shopping!
WHAT TO BUY
You'll find a large selection of attractive products in Muscat's many shops. Look for the following:
- Antiques: While some antiques come from Oman and neighboring Yemen, don't expect to find many quality antiques in Muscat. Very few antiques remain in the marketplace.
Look for the traditional khanjar (decorative curved dagger/knife worn by men in their waistband), swords, guns, bullets, incense burners, copper pots, boxes, chests, doors, silver jewelry, pottery, and oil lamps.
- Art: A few art galleries offer paintings and drawings by expatriates. Most of these galleries also offer a few antiques, handicrafts, and framing services. The Omani Fine Arts Society also promotes local painters and sculptors.
- Handicrafts: Look for Omani khanjars, coffee pots, incense burners, bags, leather goods, and lots of brass and bronze items from India.
- Pottery: Oman is famous for its pottery, which is produced in several regions throughout the country - Dhofar, Musandam, Bahla, Manah, Nakhl, Wadi Al Ma'awil, Fanja, Bilad bani bu Hassa, and Saham.
The town of Bahla, which is located just west of Nizwa, is Oman's largest and most popular center for pottery production.
- Clothes and accessories: You'll find lots of clothes for locals and South Asian expatriates. Look for dishdashah or thawb (men's traditional outerwear - an ankle-length shirt), kummas (caps), massar (turban), surwal (trousers for women), lihaff (shawl for women), and Indian saris and pashminas, along with handbags.
This is not a fashion center for tourists - few men and women wear Western trousers, dresses, or T-shirts.
- Foods and spices: Souks and supermarkets offer a good variety of Dhofar mountain honey, dates, nuts, and spices.
- Jewelry: Look for traditional 22-karat gold jewelry along with Bedouin silver jewelry (necklaces, bracelets, anklets, rings) in the souks.
Much of the silver comes from silversmiths in the towns of Nizwa and Rustaq as well as from neighboring Yemen. A great deal of the gold jewelry is imported from the UAE and India.
Shopping centers include several fine jewelry stores offering everything from exquisite diamond jewelry to Chopard and Rolex watches imported from Europe and Asia.
- Furniture: Shopping centers, galleries, and markets include everything from traditional antique Omani chests (hard to find good-quality ones these days) to reproduction furniture imported from India.
- Basketry: Look for woven baskets and mats produced in various villages throughout Oman.
- Textiles: You'll find lots of textiles imported from India, especially saris, pashminas, and fabrics sold by the meter. You also can find some Omani tribal woven goods as well as rugs and carpets from Iran and India.
- Frankincense and myrrh: Several merchants in the Mutrah Souk offer raw frankincense and myrrh in small bags as well as frankincense candles.
This is some of the best quality frankincense and myrrh you will find anywhere in the Middle East.
If you purchase frankincense, you'll want to make sure you have a frankincense burner. The best ones (copper or silver boxes) are found in the market in Nizwa.
- Perfumes, natural oils, and sandalwood: You can't miss the smells when you enter the Mutrah Souk. You'll find several small shops offering a good selection of perfumes, natural oils, and sandalwood.
- Imported items: It's often difficult to sort out what is locally produced from what is imported from India. Indeed, the souks, shopping malls, and hotel shops are jam-packed with products from India, especially handicrafts, textiles, carpets, and furniture.
If you're looking for something uniquely Omani, you'll need to ask about the country of origin before making purchases.
Better still, educate yourself by picking up the two-volume set of Omani craft books - The Craft Heritage of Oman (Neil Richardson and Marcia Door), which is readily available in many hotel and resort bookstores.
Click here to go to the next section of this page.
Go to Oman home page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15
|
|
|
