The Sultanate of Oman has a unique natural landscape, and offers unspoiled shorelines, golden deserts, luxuriant green

oases and rugged mountains. It is also gifted with a rich biodiversity - especially in its marine life, due to the broad climatic spectrum and unique location in the Indian Ocean.

Oman has also a long tradition of arts and crafts that include shipbuilding, indigo dyeing, silverwork, pottery, weaving and textiles, fragrance manufacture, woodwork, copper work, beekeeping, horse-breeding, camel-rearing and saddle-crafting.

This rich cultural heritage and natural abundance makes Oman a unique ecotourism destination. There are 14 conservation areas in the Sultanate - including sanctuaries, nature reserves and natural parks - covering an approximate area of 29,844 km 2.

Ras nl-Jlnz, an exceptional site at the crossroads of life

Located at the headland of the Arabian Peninsula, where the Arabian Sea, Ras al-Jinz houses one of the largest nesting areas for Green Turtles in the Indian Ocean. An exceptionally high amount of turtles nest here each year, with an average of 30,000 only nesting on the beaches of Ras al-Jinz.

The Raz al-Jinz Sea Turtle and Nature Reserve was established in 1996, when the Ras al-Jinz National Nature Reserve and the Ras al-Hadd National Scenic Reserve were combined to better protect Oman's sea turtles and their natural environment.

The total protected area is 120 krn-wlth 45 km of coastline, extending for 1 km into the sea.

The reserve also contains some of the most important archaeological sites in Oman, featuring ancient fishermen's cottages and tools. The remains of the earliest known buildings and the oldest incense burner and wooden boat on the Peninsula were discovered here.

The Ras al-Jinz Scientific and Visitors Centre offers a unique Ecotourism experience - an unparallel encounter with sea turtles. It also houses a research library and research facilities for marine biology and archaeological, promoting social responsibility and sound environmental practices.

Phone: +968 96 55 06 06/07 07 lmail: reservations@rasaljinz.org/Website: www.rasaljinz.org

This state-of-the-art eco-tourism facility provides a unique learning and recreational experience for visitors. It offers everything from turtle watching to environmental and archaeological research facilities, contributing towards the conservation of Oman's natural and cultural heritage, as well as the economic wellbeing of the local community.

Features

Interactive Sea Turtle and Archaeology Museum & 3D Ocean Experience (launches Octobe r 2008)

The museum will provide visitors with a fun, interactive, educational journey through the entire life cycle of sea turtles. The archaeology section takes you on a historical journey of the area based on archaeological evidence that dates back to the 6th millennium BC.

"Carapace" Lodge: Luxury Accommodation

The centre offers the convenience of luxury accommodation within the turtle sanctuary, with a wide range of privileges and customized services.

The "Sambuk" Restaurant

The Sambuk restaurant offers fine international and oriental cuisine in a relaxing atmosphere. Guests can also unwind on our beautiful terrace enjoying the gentle ocean winds while savouring fresh fruit juice and snacks. Theme nights are proposed by our chef throughout the year.

"Nomadic Dining": Catering On Your Way To Ras al-Jinz

Corporate groups and tour operators can request outdoor catering or picnics, to best appreciate the scenic landscapes of al-Sharkiyah. Our Nomadic Dining Formula offers fine cuisine in a luxurious Bedouin setup.

Gift Shop: Roots of Oman

The Sharkiyah area is well known for it's traditional handcrafts, from carpet weaving to silver jewellery. The Ras al-Jinz scientific and Visitors Centre offers the opportunity to not only buy authentic handcrafts, but also to meet the craftsmen working on-site.

Phone: +968 96 55 06 06/07 07 lmail: reservations@rasaljinz.org/Website: www.rasaljinz.org

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Educatlonal Kids' Park

Our exciting educational park provides youngsters with the ideal opportunity to have fun and use up surplus energy in a safe environment.

Media Lounge

A facility for journalists, reporters, photographers and all personnel working for media agencies. We provide a Ras al-Jinz project press kit with all the relevant press releases and information.

Beach Access

Visitors have complimentary beach access where they can practice their water sports activities. Guest should bear in mind that the beach is unattended by life guards.

Tourist Activities At The Reserve Include Turtle Watching

Guided environmental and archeological tours Stargazing

Bird watching

Special Events And Programs

The Scientific and Visitors Centre provides an educational, scientific and awareness forum for the general public, natural resources users, students and scientists. The centre also caters for corporate events and incentive groups.

Phone: +968 96 55 06 06/07 07 /mall: reservatlons@rasaljlnz.org/Webslte: www.rasaIJlnz.org

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The Ras al-Jlnz Scientific and Visitors Centre alms to offer a high quality tourism service for its distinguished guests - with everything from turtle watching and archaeological guided tours to elegant accommodation and a themed restaurant. For quick booking references. a product reference Is assigned for each type of package:

Product- Code

P 8. Incentive

Corporate events and Incentives are available upon request

Best time to visit:

The Ras al-Jinz reserve is intemationally renowned for being one of the largest nesting sites in the Indian Ocean (especially for the giant Green Turtle). You can see turtle nesting all year round. although the best season is June-September.

Opening 24 hours:

Kindly remember that guided tours are restricted to a limited number of guests per day. Please arrange for advanced bookings.

Phone: +968 96 55 06 06/07 07 lmall: reservalfons@rasaIJlnz.org/Webslte: www.rasaIJlnz.org

Temperature:

The weather is pleasantly warm in the day and windy and cool in the evening. The summer monsoon that passes by the headland coast of Ras al-Jinz reduces temperatures.

Dress code:

Wear shoes suitable for walking on the sand and comfortable cloth. Remember to bring a light pullover as nights by the seaside can be cool.

Reservation, Tariff and Payment Policy

For reservations and bookings:

Phone: +968 96 55 06 06 +968 96 55 0707 Email: reservations@rasaljinz.org

Online services, Reservation Request form Website: www.rasaljinz.org

Payment methods:

Cash

Wire transfer Company check

Credit cards: Visa/ Amex/MasterCard

Cancelation charges and refunds apply as follows:

One month in advance: No charges/total refund Two weeks in advance: 25 % charges

One Week in advance: 50 % charges

Less than 1 week in advance: No refund

Special discounted rates

Tour Operators* may benefit from special discounted rates and payment procedures by completing the online form at www.rasaljinz.org. Special interest groups may benefit from special rates*. Requests should be addressed in advance by email or by completing the dedicated online form at http://www.rasaljinz.org

* Subject to prior approval

How to get there:

The project is located in the al-Sharqiyah Region, at a distance of about 389 km from Muscat. The internal desert road from Muscat to Sur passing by the Wahiba Sands with an average distance of 390 km. The coastal road (opening soon- end of 2008) from Muscat to Sur passing at the foot of al-Hajar al-Sharqi Mountains with an average distance of 250km

GPS Ras al-Jinz Center: 0 N 22 25' 528 0 E 059 49' 656

Phone: +968 96 55 06 06/07 07 lmail: reservations@rasaljinz.org/Website: www.rasaljinz.org

Pease refrain from the following activities, as they could harm the turtles or cause them to stop laying their eggs and return to the ocean:

Shining flashlights on the turtles or taking photographs with a flash or other unnatural light

Standing in front of the turtles - Please always watch them from behind Handling eggs or putting foreign objects into the nest - you could introduce bacteria or harm the eggs

Touching or riding the turtles

Disturbing turtle tracks - researchers use these to identify the type of turtle and locate and mark their nest

Making loud noises and moving around while turtles are laying their eggs - Please remain very quiet; sit back, relax and enjoy this natural miracle

Forming a circle around a turtle - This can be very distressing. Please step away immediately once the turtle finishes laying her eggs so she has space to return to the ocean

Touching hatchlings

Helping a turtle or hatchling reach the ocean - If a hatchling is trapped, inform your guide or reserve ranger

Sea Turtles Need Our Help: You Can Make A Difference

There were once tens of millions of green turtles in the world. As a result of nesting habitat destruction, hunting, pollution and other human activities, the green turtle population is now a mere fraction of its once robust size (many experts estimate the current population to be just 6% of what it once had been).

You can help sea turtles by:

Learning more about sea turtles and their habitats Adopting a turtle

Sponsoring a turtle

Joining Turtles Club and becoming an active member Donating to the conservation fund

For more Info, please contact us: Info@rasalJlnz.org

Adopt a Turtle

The earliest known sea turtle fossils are about 110 million years old. Sea turtles once swam through all the world's oceans in groups too numerous to count. But over the past 100 years. hunting for their meat and demands for their eggs. skin and shells has reduced their numbers drastically.

Today. six of seven species of sea turHes are in danger of extinction. Five of these turHe species are found in the Sultanate of Oman. Ras al-Jinz is the largest nesting beach for Green Turtles on the Indian Ocean.

Interesting Facts About Green Turtles

An exceptionally high and rare phenomena is the amount of turtle nesting in the reserve per year: an average of 30.000 turtles nesting only on the beaches of Ras al-Jinz.

Green Turtles are the largest of the hard-shelled sea turtles (the average adult is 1.2m long and weighs over 200 kg)

They are easily distinguished by the one pair of scales they have in front of their eyes (all other sea turtles have two)

They breathe air. swimming to the surface every few minutes to breathe. When sleeping or resting, adult turtles can stay underwater for more than two hours without breathing

The diets of Green Turtles change significantly during their lives: as juveniles, they eat plants and other organisms such as jellyfish, crabs, sponges. snails, and worms. As adults, they are strictly herbivores (eating mostly sea grass and algae) Green Turtles nest at Raz al-Jinz throughout the year with peak seasons being June-September

Females return to the place where they were born to nest, crawling up to a dry part of the beach to dig a body pit and lay their eggs.

This takes place up to five times per season. Although females lay thousands of eggs each summer, very few hatchlings survive to adulthood (less than 1 in 1000)

To protect their nests, females dig up sand to cover their eggs and camouflage the nest, creating a fake body pit next to the real one to fool predators The eggs must remain undisturbed in the warm sand for around 55 days before hatching

Temperature dictates the amount of incubation time and sex of the hatchlings (high temperatures produce more females)

Hatchlings ready to emerge wait just beneath the sand surface until conditions become cool- emerging primarily at night

Hatching is a collaborative group effort, taking about 3 to 5 days for all the hatchlings to emerge from the nest

For roughly 72 hours, hatchlings swim directly out to sea to escape shore-based predators, and then begin to feed on passing morsels of food. It is believed that they drift with the currents

In between nesting seasons, the Green Turtles of Ras al-Jinz migrate great distances, reaching as far as the Arabian Gulf, the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea.

Eating turtle eggs and meat can have major health impacts that may lead to hospitalization and even death due to high heavy metals, organochlorines, bacteria and parasites

The Ras al-Jinz Scientific and Visitors Centre was made possible thanks to the joined efforts and close collaboration between the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Environment and the Oman Liquefied Gas Company (Oman-LNG).

This Public-Private Partnership Is a milestone for nature conservation and socio-economic development in the region and considered as a best practice of corporate social responsibility.

Site Management

Expeditions International-EMC is a strategic alliance dedicated to socio-economic development in the MENA Region and GCC Countries. EI-EMC International is mandated by the Omani Government to ensure an integrated management for this world-class eco-tourism project.

Ras al-Jinz Main Objectives:

The Ras al-Jinz project was conceived to ensure proper and sustainable management of the natural and cultural resources in the area, while ensuring socio-economic development of the local communities.

Conservation and sustainable use of natural and cultural resources:

The management of Ras al-Jinz site includes the introduction of new practices for the conservation of the existing ecosystem and cultural heritage.

Socio-economic development:

In addition to creating new jobs for local communities, the project will increase economic activity within the Ras al-Hadd I Ras al-Jinz area and provide a welldefined capacity-building program to increase the local community's skills and consequently its wellbeing.

Project sustainability:

The management of Ras al-Jinz will also work closely with direct beneficiaries to create a proper legal and institutional framework to transfer the management of the project to a and to diversify the sources of revenues to ensure financial viability.

r·r,.;~I(#WJ;UI[~I~ Oman LNG LLC.

Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs

Ministry of Tourism

Phone: +968965506 06/07 07 lmall: reservatlons@rasaIJlnz.org/Webslte: www.rasaljlnz.org