The Sultanate of Oman is a country in Southwest Asia, on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates in the northwest, Yemen in the southwest and Saudi Arabia in the west. The coast is formed by the Gulf of Oman in the northeast and the Arabian Sea in the south and east. The country also has an enclave (Wadi-e-Madhah) enclosed by the United Arab Emirates.

Oman is slowly emerging from its reclusive shell, revealing a land of friendly people and dramatic landscapes scattered with forts. Although Oman remains, in many ways, the most traditional country in the region, it's often more outward looking than it may be given credit for.

It was once an imperial power that vied first with Portugal and later with Britain for colonial influence. Its development since 1970 is all the more striking because the country's oil reserves are so limited, and because it has been kept sealed away from the outside world.