Oman, a tourist treasure trove - history and nature in splendid harmony
For nature lovers worldwide, Oman offers plenty to enjoy amid new international attention.
By Dr. Hussein Shehadeh - MUSCAT
The mountain on the far side of the ravine is speckled with patches of gold. It is the annual crop of lime fruits laid out to dry, so that they can be saved for the winter’s cooking.
The people of Misfah in Oman carry with them over the ravine in sacks which are then refilled when the drying process is completed. They are loaded into the back of 4x4 off-road vehicles – one of the first signs that this small mountain village finally emerged from the Middle Ages a few years ago – and taken home.
The palace is known as Green Mountains. When your car swerves around the bend up to a height of nearly two kilometres, its name becomes understandable and it becomes clear why the mountain peasants have stayed there for centuries – beautiful mountain ranges surround their homes and provide a scenic backdrop.
For the nature lover, Oman – a sultanate that was hermetically sealed until just a few years back – offers plenty to see and enjoy. In addition to virgin beaches, magnificent mountain ranges and ancient splendours, its 1,700 kilometres display enormous deserts of stone and shimmering sand in hues of red, yellow, brown and black.
Oman is international tourism’s best kept secret. The spectacular landscape that dominates the country’s skyline sets it apart from the other Gulf States. Its incredibly beautiful landscape and historical sites – many of which are an artists’ dream – have until recently been seen by only a few privileged visitors.
This situation is set to change, however. Its government is confident that its infrastructural development is at the stage when it can play host to an increasing number of visitors.
The government’s attitude to tourism is selective, however. It encourages visitors as a way of diversifying its income which is largely dependent upon oil. But it is aware of the dangers that have been faced by other countries that have admitted package holiday makers.
The Omanis want people to respect their way of life, appreciate their heritage and culture and to enjoy their hospitality. The emphasis is on quality tourism rather than trying to cater to the masses.
“Our primary objective is to preserve our traditions and to generate new employment opportunities for our youth”, said a tourism official.”
There was no tourist industry to speak of until 1987. The government, aware of the devastating effects of a mass influx of beer-drinking and bikini-clad Westerners on a traditional Arab-Muslim society, allowed only a selected few to peruse its landscape.
The government therefore decided to introduce tourism in stages. Preference is given to organized groups interested in Omani culture and natural beauty rather than those simply seeking sea and sand. In other words, people who want to increase their knowledge of geography, history and culture.
“Anyone can go anywhere in Oman, for instance, to visit the Bedouins or the Jabbalis (the mountain people). As soon as you pass through the airport you are welcome anywhere, provided you don’t abuse the peoples’ hospitality or culture”, said a tourism spokesman.
Each Omani town has its own characteristic and historic buildings. There are scenic routes through the villages and mountain wadis and the government is developing nature reserves.
The Empty Quarter is an oasis inhabited by Bedouins. They withstand the extremes conditions where daytime summer’s sun heats the air to between 55 and 70 C, while at night the mercury drops to around 10 C - a contrast that makes it feel much colder.
Until the 20th century, the Empty Quarter Bedouin’s diet consisted of milk, camel meat and vegetation, finding their way by the stars with the aid of a sextant made from a piece of string with knots. By following camel trails, they could see who had been before them and when.
Today, just like the mountain peasants of Misfah, they drive 4x4 off-roaders in the winter when they need to follow their camel herds on the hunt for sparse vegetation in the sand. Saddled camels are otherwise found only in the other big desert, Wahiba Sands, where tourists are allowed to nose about its specially selected Bedouin settlements from completely different world.
During the summer, the Bedouins of the Empty Quarter live in houses provided for them by the sultanate. Twelve of these houses lie out in the desert at a place called Shisr, where 2008 years ago, the Three Wise Men are said to have brought gold, frankincense and myrrh for the baby Jesus. At that time it was called Ubar, a city supposed to have been a replica of paradise and which, according to both the Koran and the Bible, collapsed because the inhabitants lived a life of sin.
Today we know better. The city fell into ruin when its weight caused it to collapse into an underground cavity. For generations, adventurers searched for the place, the most notable of these being Lawrence of Arabia. Finally, with the help of satellite photographs, success came 15 years ago and the excavations at Ubar made the tourist attractions hit-list.
Ubar owed its wealth to resin and frankincense, which was much sought after as the incense of emperors and kings. Even the Queen of Sheba was so impressed, that she made her historic journey to call on King Solomon to enter into an agreement with him, as Ubar was the trading centre through which every camel caravan had to pass to get sufficient water for the long trip to Babylon, Egypt and Mecca.
Today, coagulated droplets from the trees are still used to make incense but an extract of it is a vital ingredient of the scent which Parisian Guy Robert created for Oman 16 years ago. A mixture of incense, mountain grasses and 118 more of nature’s elements make the world’s most expensive perfume, Amouage, which is priced at $20,000 a set (for him and her).
One of the many successful restoration projects is the castle at Jabrin, built by Bilarun bin Sultan in the 17th century, as a residential palace. Forts at Nizwa, Bibid and Birka have also been restored and a project to explore the old silk-road from west to east was launched in the late 1980s.
Before 1970, when the then 31-year-old Crown Prince Qaboos succeeded his father, the country had no newspapers, only seven boys-only schools, a ban on radio and television and a city gate that closed off the capital, Muscat, from the rest of the world.
Today, Oman is well into the age of technology. The population seems to have managed the transition from the back of a camel to the seat of a jet plane extremely well. There are now over 8,000 kilometres of metalled roads, a well-organized air network, an ultra-modern hospital service and schools for girls as well as boys.
If you fly over Oman you are unlikely to appreciate the difference in lifestyle between the capital ad the surrounding countryside. But if you make the 1,000 kilometres’ journey from Muscat to Salalah by bus, you will be enlightened. And should you choose to take the night bus, you will need some really warm clothes for the trip.
It takes you through practically barren stony desert where only camels move about without paying much attention to the two-lane highway that links the north and south.
In the area of Nizwa, people gather for the weekly goat market or go to the souq or the bazaar. Alongside lies Oman’s largest fort, newly restored to show the storerooms where dates have been dried for centuries while the syrup runs out, gathering in small hollows in the floor. From here it was collected to provide a succulent cooking additive.
Not much has changed since then. Dates with the exception of oil, remain the nation’s most important product. These days, in the southern province of Dhofar, you can wash down the sweet flesh of dates with the milk from coconuts picked from a palm by an 86-year-old farmer. His vigour helps us to believe, that some Omanis really do live until the ripe old age of 120.
