Muttrah

Muttrah, (Arabic: مطرح) administratively a wilayah (province), is located in the Muscat Governorate of Oman. Before the discovery of oil in Oman, Muttrah was the center of commerce in Oman (Muscat). It is still a center of commerce as one of the largest sea ports of the region is located there. Other landmarks include Souq Muttrah, a traditional bazaar and Sour Al-Lawatiah, a small community of houses surrounded by an old wall. To the south lies Muscat District. Muttrah had an estimated population of about 8,000 people when diplomat Edmund Roberts visited in the early 1830s.[1] The district population was 234,225 as of the 2016 Census, up from 200,578 in 2014, making it the most densely populated district in the nation.[2] The Sūr al-Luwātiyah neighborhood is home to the al-Luwātiyah tribe, which speaks the Indo-Aryan Luwati language.[3] The language and people were first mentioned historically by the Omani historian Ibn Ruzayq. The Luwātiyah appeared to have settled in Oman in waves of immigration from Sindh between 1780 and 1880, bringing the language with them.[4] They insularized themselves in Sūr al-Luwātiyah, preserving their language.[3] They have worked in the incense (بخور), jewelry and clothes business as well as in general trade. In the predominantly Ibadi Sunni arena of Oman, they make up the majority of the local Shia population.[5]