Muscat, Umman Güncel Saati — GST.

Muscat is the capital and most populous city of Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. The metropolitan area includes six provinces, called wilayat, and spans approximately 6,500 km2 (2,500 sq mi). Known since the early 1st century CE as a leading port for trade between the west and the east, Muscat was ruled successively by various indigenous tribes, as well as by foreign powers such as the Persians, the Portuguese Empire and the Ottoman Empire. In the 18th century, Muscat was a regional military power: its influence extended as far as East Africa and Zanzibar. As an important port town in the Gulf of Oman, Muscat attracted foreign traders and settlers such as the Persians, the Balochs and the Sindhis. Beginning in 1970, after the accession of Qaboos bin Said as the Sultan of Oman, Muscat experienced rapid infrastructural development; it developed a vibrant economy and became a multi-ethnic society. The Globalization and World Cities Research Network classifies Muscat as a Beta-level Global City.

Distance-wise, Muscat is closest to Dubai (~365 km), Singapore (~5,477 km), London (~5,821 km); Los Angeles is the far end at roughly 13,596 km. That ordering matters more than the timezone label for travel planning.

Muscat sits inside Umman — the Western Asia subregion, capital Muscat, languages Arabic, currency OMR (ر.ع.).

Around Muscat, the nearest mapped reference cities are Bawshar (1 km), Seeb (24 km), Bidbid (35 km), Sufālat Samā’il (50 km); treat them as the de-facto regional cluster for GST planning.

In 2021, Forty-five men and boys are killed in the Meron stampede in Israel.