Scuba diving in the land of the historic sultans

By Sukanya bora

Oman is the land of the ancient sultans and scimitars located in the southeast corner of the Arabian Peninsula.
Historically the empire of Oman stretched down the East African coast  and competed with the British and the Portuguese for the control of the Persian gulf and the Indian ocean.

Until the 1970s, Oman was completely closed to the outside visitors but since then is has opened its doors for visitors and the scuba diving underwater world is richer because of it.

The capital city is Muscat, which is also known as the Walled City. It has some of the very famous and attractive PADI dive centres. These centres stay open year around, but you have to check during the beautiful ‘off’ season if scuba-diving is still possible for divers.
If you want to explore the underwater world of Oman, you can take training in the Oman dive centre which is the best diving academy in the land because of the presence of well trained professional scuba diving experts. Oman dive centre is located just 15 Kms from Muscat.

Dive sites in Oman.

1. Daymaniyat islands

These are small and rocky islands which are encircled by coral reef.  You can spot many turtles here and also fishes including pelagic and lush coral reefs.  This site is considered to be the best scuba diving site in Oman as it suits scuba divers of all levels.  You can visit this site only from the month of May to October.

2. Bander Khayran

Scuba diving here is on shallow coral reefs. It has the best wreck dives in Oman known as the Al Munnassir. Here you can spot the giant morays, snappers, goatfishes, turtles and rays.

3. Fahal Island

This island is 30 minutes from the capital city. This site is famous for the deadly sharks!

4. The Caves

While diving in the caves, you can spot the spiny lobsters, cleaner shrimps, and other creatures from the turtles cruising by. When diving in the caves, do not forget to bring your torch light!

5. Lima rock.

Here scuba divers can spot the whale sharks during cooler season over here and also you can spot the jack and the tuna prowl. Do not forget to see the ospreys and sooty falcons here. These are beautiful creatures underwater.

6. Mirbat.

In this dive site, you can spot the morays, the sharks, octopuses, snappers, turtles, dolphins and the occasional whale. Very beautiful!

The water temperature in these scuba diving sites are 19-28 degree Celsius and 66-82 Fahrenheit.

The next time, you visit the land of the historic sultans, do explore the underwater world of Oman by taking a scuba diving course at the Oman dive centre and experience the beautiful creatures hiding underwater.

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