Snow Oman will open in Muscat on Christmas Eve. Photo: Snow Oman
Snow Oman will open in Muscat on Christmas Eve. Photo: Snow Oman
Snow Oman will open in Muscat on Christmas Eve. Photo: Snow Oman
Snow Oman will open in Muscat on Christmas Eve. Photo: Snow Oman

Snow Oman, Mena's largest sub-zero park, to open this weekend


Farah Andrews
  • English
  • Arabic

It's going to be a white Christmas in Muscat.

Snow Oman is set to open at the Mall of Oman on Christmas Eve, becoming the largest indoor snow park in the Mena region.

The attraction spans almost 1.5 hectares and has a Desert Blizzard theme, which operator Majid Al Futtaim describes as "a reimagined world where Oman’s cityscapes and sand dunes are covered in real snow".

Snow Oman features a frozen shipwreck. Photo: Snow Oman
Snow Oman features a frozen shipwreck. Photo: Snow Oman

Inside there will be a selection of family-friendly rides, including the Mountain Thriller, Snow Bullet, Slide Winder, Cloud Climber and Zorb Ball, as well as Cold Town Muscat and a frozen shipwreck and lighthouse. There will also be a 475-square-metre ice rink.

Snow Oman is a sister brand to Ski Dubai and Ski Egypt and, like those two, it will house colonies of king and gentoo penguins in a custom-built penguinarium.

Majid Al Futtaim opened Ski Dubai at Mall of the Emirates in 2005, and Ski Egypt followed in 2017 at Mall of Egypt in Cairo.

In January, Ski Dubai was named the World’s Best Indoor Ski Resort for a record-breaking seventh year in a row at the World Ski Awards, beating other indoor ski centres from around the world, including Germany, Spain, Scotland and New Zealand.

A family skiing at Ski Dubai, Mall of the Emirates. Photo: Ski Dubai
A family skiing at Ski Dubai, Mall of the Emirates. Photo: Ski Dubai

Featuring five ski slopes, a family-friendly snow park and a waddle of resident penguins, Ski Dubai is responsible for introducing more than 80,000 people to skiing and snowboarding each year. It is also a hub for international competitions and races, such as the Para Snowboard World Cup.

“I am incredibly proud that Ski Dubai has won the World’s Best Indoor Ski Resort, particularly given the high calibre of ski resorts nominated, including our sister brand, Ski Egypt,” Mohammad El Etri, vice president of global snow operations and projects, Majid Al Futtaim Leisure, Entertainment & Cinemas, said at the time.

“The World Ski Awards are the ultimate honours in global ski tourism and the fact that they are voted for by the public makes this award win even more special.”

Snow Oman; opening December 24; snowoman.com

How to donate

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Red flags
  • Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
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Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

Conflict, drought, famine

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Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
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Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
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The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

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UAE FIXTURES

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October 19 – 7.30pm, UAE v Ireland, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 21 – 2.10pm, UAE v Hong Kong, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 22 – 2.10pm, UAE v Jersey, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 24 – 10am, UAE v Nigeria, Abu Dhabi Cricket Oval 1
October 27 – 7.30pm, UAE v Canada, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi

October 29 – 2.10pm, Playoff 1 – A2 v B3; 7.30pm, Playoff 2 – A3 v B2, at Dubai International Stadium.
October 30 – 2.10pm, Playoff 3 – A4 v Loser of Play-off 1; 7.30pm, Playoff 4 – B4 v Loser of Play-off 2 at Dubai International Stadium

November 1 – 2.10pm, Semifinal 1 – B1 v Winner of Play-off 1; 7.30pm, Semifinal 2 – A1 v Winner of Play-off 2 at Dubai International Stadium
November 2 – 2.10pm, Third place Playoff – B1 v Winner of Play-off 1; 7.30pm, Final, at Dubai International Stadium

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The five pillars of Islam
BMW M5 specs

Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

Torque: 1,000Nm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh650,000

Results

5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,600m, Winner: Panadol, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)

6.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m, Winner: Mayehaab, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass

6.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh85,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Monoski, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer

7.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Eastern World, Royston Ffrench, Charlie Appleby

7.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Madkal, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass

8.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (T) 1,200m, Winner: Taneen, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

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On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000

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AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street

The seven points are:

Shakhbout bin Sultan Street

Dhafeer Street

Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)

Salama bint Butti Street

Al Dhafra Street

Rabdan Street

Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)

How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Updated: December 23, 2022, 10:40 AM`