Shatti al-Qurum — "Qurum Beach" in Arabic — is a neighbourhood and beachfront area west of central Muscat, built around a long sandy beach that stretches for several kilometres along the Gulf of Oman. The beach is one of the better urban beaches in the Gulf: wide, clean, and accessible without a hotel. A walkway runs behind the beach through a park, and the neighbourhood behind it has a concentration of restaurants, cafes, and the kind of low-rise shopping strips that serve the expatriate and upper-middle-class Omani population that has settled in this part of the city.
In the evenings, especially after about 5pm when the heat drops, Shatti al-Qurum is busy with families walking the beachfront, joggers on the path, and people eating at the restaurants facing the water. It has a relaxed, non-touristic atmosphere — people using their neighbourhood rather than performing it for visitors. The embassies of several countries are in this area, which adds a quiet internationalism to the mix. It's a good place to base yourself if you want beaches and restaurants within walking distance rather than being in the heart of the tourist circuit.