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omanreference.com -> Sohar -> Transportation
Transportation
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The 3000-year old Maritime Route owed its special prominence to the 8th and 9th century technical revolution of the Arab Civilization. In this respect, Omanis had a major contribution in mastering the art of shipbuilding. Later it was the Portuguese who, in the sixteenth century, opened up a new age in the history of navigation.
The Sohar Ship is a traditional Arab ship built in Oman using ancient shipbuilding techniques, the ship was used for The Sindbad Voyage' from Oman to China in 1980. Oman has a comprehensive system of cheap but slow long-distance shared taxis (painted orange and white) and microbuses. Oman’s shared taxis and microbuses do not wait until they are full to leave. Instead, drivers pick up and drop off extra passengers along the way. To visit Sohar, you’ll often have to take an ‘engaged’ taxi (ie private, not shared) – generally four times the price of a shared taxi as you have to pay for all the seats. Bargain hard before you get in and try to avoid hailing a taxi from a hotel. Hitching is possible but inadvisable as most roads outside the capital area have low volumes of traffic. Bear in mind that you may often get left between towns while the driver turns off piste to his or her village. You therefore need to be self-sufficient enough to survive the hottest part of a day – even a night or more in some parts of the interior – without any prospect of an onward or return ride. Always carry water and avoiding hitching off-road. It is the custom to offer the driver some remuneration. |
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