Habitats have been degraded by the grazing of livestock, especially camels and goats. The Al Batinah coastal strip of Oman is the country's most densely populated area and is intensively farmed, partly by Oman's large community of Baloch people of Pakistani origin. Urban areas in this ecoregion in Oman include the country's capital and largest city, the historical port of Muscat, and the fishing towns of Barka, famous for its bull-butting, and Sohar, legendarily the home of Sindbad the Sailor, and the resort of Al Sawadi. Other tourist attractions along this coast include the historic castles of Nakhal Fort and Rustaq, the Wahiba Sands and the turtle beaches at Ras Al Hadd and Ras al-Jinz. Cities of the UAE in this ecoregion include the huge commercial centre of Dubai and the nearby city of Sharjah. A popular excursion from Dubai is to the Hajar Mountains enclave of Hatta.
