How female / tourist friendly is Oman really ??

Hello Rammy , I have just moved to Muscat with my Egyptian husband we make an odd looking couple I am as blonde and fair as many northern Europeans are  and he is typically Egyptian with lovely darkish skin . I have had no problems at all when we are out and about but as soon as i wander away from him i get silly offers from men to do naughty things ! I think as a couple people are curious as to where we are from , how we meet etc but as a European woman alone its annoying rather then threatening to be approached by men and of course insulting to me . The Omani men have never done this i find them very respectful even a little shy and of course what clothing as a woman that you wear affects how others see and treat you ( i just wear modest skin covering loose but colourful clothes from Europe) . I feel very safe here as a woman alone during the daytime doing my chores etc but then i am used to living in Egypt and India so cat calls and stares are like water off a ducks back

Hey Deborah,

Thanks on your views..... Even though I've been here for most of my life, this is the first time for her. We were off to Dubai before heading down to Muscat.... now both these countries are projected as tourist destinations, though I understand Dubai is leap years ahead of Oman in that sector. Oman is still in its infancy... but, I wish they propped up the infrastructure a little better. The places in Muscat are spaced wide apart and getting to them needs some means of transport.

Cat calls are OK.... but actually following a girl by car and asking for her number, would definitely scare the wits out of her..... also she gets quite a few greetings when she is out... She dresses quite modestly (even insists on wearing a scarf outdoors) and even knows a bit of Arabic to get her around.

She is trying her best to be independent and is coming back with more and more setbacks..... Although I must admit that things are settling down a bit..... but the scars still remain

Hi again , I am not sure as a tourist i would visit Oman its nice to come here to live to work but there is not much to see here that cant be found in more exciting places  the beaches are ok the snorkellling etc but i prefer Greece , yes the culture may draw people here but the lack of public transport and even readily avaliable taxis makes it a difficult place for a tourist . I also lived in Dubai and yes its an exciting city but is very artifical and not somewhere i would choose to live again, but Muscat is friendly easy going minus the small problems we discussed earlier . Has your girlfriend ever visited India ? the problems she encounters here are nothing compared to there the men will openly take photo of you using their iphones, i have had they come knocking on my door at the hotel making rude offers and been touched in crowds many many times so for me i find Oman very easy to cope with . I find if i wear a headscarf which you would think would make things easier but its draws more attention when its still obvious your European sometimes the attention is nice people are curious if you are a Muslima but strangely it often draws more unwanted attention i find the arabic phrase "ihitrim nafsak " works well if i have been physically touched .

Well its more of visiting me, than for tourism purposes. She has done some voluntary in India, which lasted for well over a year and a bit in Laos and Cambodia (well we were doing a SE Asia trip actually).

She is well into her Arabic lessons, will teach her this phrase