Utilizing Henri Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space as a framework for exploration, this research is concerned with the social and cultural impacts of modernization and international migration to Muscat, Oman focusing on the production of space and its role in the modification and (re)construction of culture and identity in the everyday. While the Omani state is promoting a unifying national identity, Muscat residents are reconstructing and renegotiating culture and identity in the capital city. Individuals are adapting and conforming to, mediating, and contesting both the state’s identity project as well as to the equally, if not more, influential social control that is the culture of gossip and reputation. What’s emerging is a distinctly Muscati culture.

Utilizing Henri Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space as a framework for exploration, this research is concerned with the social and cultural impacts of modernization and international migration to Muscat, Oman focusing on the production of space and its role in the modification and (re)const...