By Dr. Hussein Shehadeh
The most important event in the modern history of the Sultanate of Oman was the take-over of power in a bloodless coup by the then 29 year-old Sultan Qaboos from his father On 23rd July 1970. That night is unforgettable to the Omanis, who danced joyfully in the streets, welcoming an era of vigour and vitality.
Until recently, not that many people in the Western world knew anything about the Sultanate of Oman, which lies on the south-east corner of the Arabian Peninsula. Its name did not appear in the press until the Iranians threatened to close the Straits of Hormuz, onto which Oman borders. This would have involved the flow of oil from the Arab oil states being cut off. Fortunately, nothing ever came of it. Apart from the fact that Oman occupies a strategically important position, it is a particularly interesting country which during the past 30 years has developed from the dark middle ages to a modern welfare society.
Sultan Qaboos bin Said meets you everywhere. His majesty waves and blinks in gold along the six-lane motorway from the airport to the capital, which just 37 years ago was trudged by camels and donkeys. In those days, Oman’s 300,000 square kilometres were served by less than 10 kilometres of asphalted roads. Today 5,600 kilometres of asphalt criss-cross the country.
Muscat looks to the sea at the foot of the cliffs reflected in the Gulf. Oman has clad in its best bib and tucker. Oman’s renaissance under Sultan Qaboos is to be celebrated for a whole week every November. On the hillsides, stylish modern houses have opened their jewel cases, gems cascade down the walls. Necklaces of emerald, scarlet and white adorn the skies in the country’s national colours.
Although Oman is not democratic in the European sense of the word, the Sultan is a mild and friendly monarch, who is aware of the hopes and aspirations of his subjects. He has also taken some steps towards introducing democracy. The Consultative Assembly, which also consists of eight women, has the authority to call upon ministers to explain their dispositions.
All that has been achieved since 1970 can be attributed to Sultan Qaboos: the roads, more than a thousand schools and the university with their 500,000 students, all the health centres, hospitals, telecommunications, radio and TV stations, the international hotels, the motorways, domestic flights, oil riches, tourism, social and environmental developments.
“Before 1970 there was one school in Salalah, where I live”, says a 42 year-old Omani. “We sat under a tree, just us boys, and read the Koran. Before 1970 we went to the mosque to pray for forgiveness for the ruler we had. Now we go there to bless the Sultan with good health and long life, God willing. Now I can send all my kids to schools, the girls included.”
When Sultan Qaboos wanted to set about building his nation he opened the doors to all his countrymen in exile, plus thousands of guest workers from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Africa. Together, Oman’s 2.1 million inhabitants, of whom some 400,000 are foreigners, have brought about developments which in many respects are unique.
The oil pumped out of the desert sand has been the motor of the Omani miracle. Growth in Oman’s economy until 1980 was the fastest in the world, growing by 12.5% a year
The Omanis rapidly acclimatised themselves to riches, and development continues unabated. This causes some concern so long as it remains uncertain where the next billions will come from. Experts predict that the oil reserves will last 2-3 decades or possibly for a longer period as oil explorations are being regularly conducted and new finds are possible. Sultan Qaboos has long been talking of the need to prepare other economic legs to stand on.
The encouragement of private initiative and “Omani-isation” are the slogan of these days. Omanis are already gradually taking over the jobs now held by foreigners. However, Western experts are still in a few areas responsible for technical developments, while Indians, Pakistanis, Africans and Philippinos sweep the streets, serve in the hotels and drive the limousines.
Omanis look to their past when they pluck up the courage for a future with no guaranteed oil riches. They have worked hard, and have conquered the world before.
In those days, the resin and incense from the trees on the plains around Salalah in the south of the country were the equivalent of today’s oil and the basis of power. Rare trees that only grow here and in parts of Somalia. Trees with precious perfume oozing from its bark. Here lived the Queen of Sheba, who took the incense of Salalah with her to King Solomon in Jerusalem. The Three Wise Men turned up in that part of the world with incense for the baby Jesus in his crib.
Sultan Qaboos is capable of deriving advantages of his country’s Strategic location in the Gulf at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz. His political wisdom and far-sightedness has enabled him to balance and mediate among the traditionally strategic Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the USA and the west.
What astonishes first time visitors to Oman even more than the spectacular beaches, alpine mountain valleys, the fjord-like sunken valleys of The Musandam Peninsula jutting into The Gulf, and the forbidding inland deserts of shifting sands, is the care with which the country’s natural wonders and man-made conveniences are maintained. Oman major highway and its side roads have been broadened and well maintained. Its village houses have been modernised within rules which requires owners to maintain the contours and colours of traditional exteriors. And. strict laws prohibit littering and regulate food preparation, water purity, and trash disposal to protect Oman’s residents and their tourist guests.
Most charming of all are Oman’s charming people. Their garb is unique, with Omani men wearing either the dashing turban called al-amaina, or the conical embroidered cap called kumma along with their traditional white, or more recently, light blue dishdashas, which the Egyptians called galabiyas.
For formal occasions Omani men also wear outer robes in a variety of colours and a silver khanjar, a curved ceremonial dagger that is the mark of adulthood for all Omani males.
Women’s clothing varies widely from place to place in Oman, a. fact not immediately apparent since Omani women generally wear a black abaya robe outside the house as in other Arabian peninsula countries. However, under the abayas, which are not worn inside the house and which are put aside outdoors for festive occasions, heavily embroidered Omani dresses are among the most colourful in the Arab world.
Unspoiled Oman is a tourist paradise. Oman’s leaders want to keep it That way and they will not be “stampeded into permitting a hedonistic Club Med atmosphere, although visitors who want a bottle of wine with their dinner or who enjoy a beer or a cocktail in their rooms or in a bar, will have no trouble in finding any of these things in Oman’s first class hotels.
The preservation of tradition is not always an easy task when there are so many tempting attractions in the modern world. The Omanis are a rationally minded people, and the fear of eroding deeply rooted traditions and values are, in reality, quite remote. Unlike its neighbours in the Gulf region, Oman is a sea-faring nation that
cultivated the land.
From the very start the young sultan tried to keep intact as much of Oman’s cultural inheritance as he could. He called upon the men to continue wearing their traditional dishdashas, their long white gowns. In their belts one still sees the symbol of masculinity, the khanjar, a curved Omani dagger in a richly decorated sheath.
Women in Oman now get an education and are actively urged by the Sultan to join the commercial community. Traditions are still honoured, and especially in Bedouin camps you will see many women wearing traditional masks, or burqas.
This respect for tradition is paired with a sense of pride about progress. Omanis actually talk of a renaissance, restoration of their country to its former greatness. This enabled Oman to forge a reputation as a trading and seafaring nation at an early stage by virtue of its position between Asia and Africa and the monsoon winds.
* Hussein Shehadeh is a Palestinian-born journalist and lecturer specialising in
Arab culture and society in the Scandinavian countries. Dr. Shehadeh has lived and worked in Denmark for more than 40 years.
