World at Glance Oman

Oman – History and Modern Challenges

by Piotr Wesolowski

“… Our country in the past was famous and strong. If we work in unity and co-operation, we will regenerate that glorious past …”

H.M. Sultan Quaboos bin Said, on his accession day in 1970

As the wave of popular unrest continues to ebb on the coastal regions of the Persian Gulf, I’ve been invited on a tour of Oman. I flew to Dubai where I boarded a ship and went on to Muscat, Oman’s capital, and once an important commercial centre. Muscat built its prestige trading mainly in frankincense obtained by collecting locally cultivated sap from the boswelliatrees, trees which are virtually exclusive to Oman.This rare natural product was once valued as highly as gold. It was, it is said, offered by the Kings Magi to the newly born King of Jews, and its burning, along with burning of myrrh, had become an indispensable element in liturgy across Christendom. There is, however, plenty of evidence of its high value that goes as far as several thousand years back. Frankincense had been renowned for its medicinal properties; it was also said to repel bad spirits. The Nabatean empire that stretched once from the river Euphrates through the Arabian Peninsula to the Red Sea thrived for several centuries on its trade; Muscat, which ensured access to the sea, and through the Gulf of Oman onto the Indian Ocean, was of outmost strategic importance in its commerce. Equally precious spices – pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, to mention just e few - reached Muscat from India and the Far East; caravans loaded with the rich merchandise would leave then the Omani port, cross the deserts of Arabia, reach the Mediterranean and be shipped to ports in Piraeus, Genoa and Cadiz.

We reached Muscat at sunrise. In contrast to Dubai, enveloped in a grim cloud of dust carried by the winter winds from Abu Dhabi, the sky here soon became celestially clear. Tucked in a nest of dark rocky cliffs, the harbor was once guarded by a chain of fortified towers built in the 16th century by the Portuguese. These towers are still perched menacingly on the highest peaks at the port’s entry.

Muscat’s strategic position linking the African ports of Zanzibar, Mombasa, and Mogadishu with ports in Persia and India ensued in the formation and expansion of the Omani naval force which proved nearly invincible throughout the country’s long history. As early as 116 A.D. Rome attempted unsuccessfully to secure the Empire’s position in the Indian Ocean. In the battle off the coast of Muscat, the Romans succumbed to the militarily inferior but highly skilled Omani navy.

Oman is considered as one of the seafaring nations. Recent archeological findings – skeletal remains of 4500 years old reed boats - suggest the existence of maritime routes connecting the cities of Ur and Sumar in ancient Mesopotamia with the Indus Valley in Gujarat. It is said that the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovered the route to India thanks only to the Omani navigator Ahmed Ibn Majid.

The Portuguese did succeed in conquering Oman, at least the coastal area with its principal port of Muscat. They invaded and occupied the city in 1507. The reign of the Iberian terror lasted till 1650 with Muscat being recaptured. Soon however the country slid into turmoil of several successive civil wars which led finally to the Persian occupation of the country.

In 1744, Ahmed bin Said Al Bu Saidi, united the Omani population and fought off the occupying forces. He soon was elected ‘Imam’ of Oman and while the country regained its glory, Muscat became again the principal trading centre in the Indian Ocean.

Many new empires, the British and the French, sought in vain to gain control of the ‘Hidden Harbour’ whence the Omani kept a tight grip on the maritime Spice Route. However, with the decline in the frankincense trade, the prestige of Muscat as an essential berth on the international trade routes began to fade.

The modern Sultanate of Oman, much as other countries in the Gulf, bases its economy on rich supplies of petroleum, and as of recently gas as well, but some efforts of diversification are being made. Tourism may be one of the alternatives; first human settlements in the area of Oman date back 5,000 years when Oman was one of the primary sources of copper sought after by the Sumerians. The country is likely the oldest inhabited area in the region. It is thus rich in culture and history. Nevertheless, today, the old port of Muscat which is visited only occasionally and mainly by tourists on a cruise on the Red Sea, is plagued by squalor and gradual effacement. In contrast, the new part of the city develops at an unprecedented and enviable rate; there are universities, conference halls, a state-of-the-art airport.

The principal religion of Oman is Islam. The country adopted it in 630 A.D. However, owing to its history as a place where many land and maritime routs crossed, the Omani developed certain tolerance toward other creeds. In Muscat, for instance, one can see a Hindu temple side by side to a mosque, while the local Muslim population lives seemingly undisturbed by the presence of a very large Indian migrant community of merchants and laborers.

As of 1970 the 2,500 000 million population has been ruled by the modern and open-minded (His Majesty) Sultan Quaboos Bin Said. His rein is often defined as Oman’s renaissance. Under Sultan Quaboos rule, the number of schools, for instance, rose from 3 before the 1970s to more than 1, 300 today. Nor does his government spare any efforts in encouraging both young men and women to pursue higher education. It is said that at most universities in the country female students outnumber male students. Women in Oman are also allowed to vote and drive cars which are uncustomary in most courtiers in the Gulf and outlawed in the neighboring Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Allegedly, there were only 10 kilometers of paved roads before (His Majesty) Sultan Quaboos came to paver; now there more than 4, 000. The number of cars has also grown from less than a thousand to more than 30, 000 today; the figure is growing by the day.

In Salalah, a city that is located some thousand kilometers East along the coast of Oman, the climate allows for some agricultural development. It location affords also a steady growth of employment in fishing industry for the local population. Other than that, the views of the ocean ebbing onto the rocky cliffs of Dhofar Mountains are simply breathtaking. It is not a coincidence that the Sultan himself spends most of his time in the region, likely the coolest place on the Arabian Peninsula.

This area too has its terrific history. Centuries ago, it was in control of marine routes linking Arabia with Africa and India, and China in the Far East. Not far from Salalah, there are remains of the ancient port of Sumhuram , and possibly of a palace of the legendary Queen of Sheeba. The partly excavated ruins open onto the pristine waters of the Indian Ocean while unspoiled and incredibly white Mughsayl Beach stretches for miles as far as the foothills of pitch-black volcanic mountains of Quarra Mountains that separate Oman from Yemen. North of here begins the infamous Empty Quarter, Rub Al-Khali, a desert within a desert, a most hostile territory composed of massive sand dunes and patches of treacherous quicksands. Rub Al-Khali covers a vast segement of the Arabian Peninsula (Al-Jazeera) encompassing parts of Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Emirates.

Other than that, in the interior, the landscape changes but a little; sand, palm trees and camels. It is the same across rural Oman. In their defiance against the desert heat, the small towns and villages appear lethargic, if not abandoned. Although, an odd air-conditioning unit mounted on an outside wall of a shabby clay building is a doubtless sign of a life within. Yet, today, with the temperature reaching one hundred degrees only, most of those units seem idle, they are not working. No humming can be heard at all. In fact, save for the sound of your feet trudging against gravel, the sound of the scorching sun is a deafening silence.

People in the streets are few and far between. A man pops out from behind a corner. You exchange glances. You greet him:Salam alay kum. He nods only. Your camera is what likely betrays your true purpose as you roam these maze-like desolate streets. The man is gone behind another corner. Soon you’ll see another figure. He will cut in and walk ahead of you for a brief moment. He will veer into the next street. And will be out of sight the next minute. Men, and sometimes women, come and go their ways and vanish like ghosts in these seemingly lifeless villages; life, in fact, seems to be taking place here behind the many closed doors, and barricaded windows.

Traveling in Oman is comfortable. The roads are wide and safe. But you have to watch out for camels, my companion tells me pointing to the camel crossing sign by the side of the road. If you hit the animal in the day, you’ll have to pay the owner ….. lots of money. You’ll find out that you’ve just killed his best camel, the one that was very costly. If you kill the animal at night, I’m being told, the law is different. It works now in your favor. Animals are not allowed to roam alone at night unattended, and it is the camel’s owner that has to payyoufor all the sustained damage. Do not waste your time waiting. It’s no use, I’m advised. Nobody will claim the road kill. So much for the law, I think.

Oman is still going through important changes. There are plans to build hotels along the country’s unspoiled coast – seemingly endless white-sanded beaches. Five-stars hotels are to appear there soon and frequent flights are to be scheduled connecting the coastal town of Salalah and Stockholm in Sweden. And onaneveryday basis, I ‘m being told. For the time being, however, most of the Omani beaches appear empty, much as the rest of the country’s small towns and villages. And that is perhaps for the country’s own sake, as tourism seems to have done little for other Middle Eastern countries, Egypt or Tunisia. The former has also the Suez Canal which grosses five billion dollars in transit fees annually, yet the Egyptians are poor.

Tunisia is a different story. The country’s leader fled the scene of the popular revolt with a booty in excess of the country’s national debt. Oman, on the other hand, balances its low profile with the nation’s high hopes. The country’s at peace. And, importantly, the Omani embrace the bold vision of their leader, (His Majesty) Quaboos Bin Said, who in 1970, at his accession to the throne, promised Oman’s return to the past glory, and prosperity in exchange for his people’s hard work, and patience. Let’s then hope – God’s willing as they say it here -Inshallah.