Oman

march 7th 2008

The first time I set foot in Oman was in Musandam. Beautiful fjords but the town itself is very basic. It’s good for one-day visits only.

The Omanis are said to be the friendliest Gulf people. I must say their men are also the handsomest :)

I will definitely visit Oman again when I get myself a new 4×4!

but I was in port here (I just never made it to land)...

I saw an episode of Globe Trekker, and I was just intrigued. It looks like such a beautiful place, completly different than any other I want to visit

This place was definitely an adventure and my first big trip away from home. But the countryside is beautiful and the cities are too. Been to Muscat and loved it!

Summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in the interior during periodic droughts. Following rain, Wadis can fill with rainwater water and vast tracts of land can be flooded. Soil salinity is rising. There is beach pollution from oil spills. There are very limited natural fresh water resources. Omen is in a strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil.
       

A vast desert plain covers most of central Oman, with mountain ranges along the north (Jebel Akhdar) and southeast coast, where the country’s main cities are also located: the capital city Muscat, Matrah and Sur in the north, and Salalah in the south. Oman’s climate is hot and dry in the interior and humid along the coast. During past millennia Oman was covered by ocean. Fossilized shells exist in great numbers in areas of the desert up to 50 miles from the modern coastline.

Oman is considered to be one of the fifteen states that make up the so-called “Cradle of Humanity”.

Oman is located in the southeastern quarter of the Arabian Peninsula and, according to official estimates, covers a total land area of approximately 300,000 square kilometers; foreign observer estimates, however, are about 212,000 square kilometers. The land area is composed of varying topographic features: valleys and desert account for 82 percent of the land mass; mountain ranges, 15 percent; and the coastal plain, 3 percent.
       

I lived in Salalah for a year. I had never been anywhere in the world so beautiful and unspoilt – the beaches, the mountains and the people. It is them who were the most incredible aspect though – warm, contented and incredibly friendly and generous. They still seemed to be connected to life as it meant to be lived – with a sense of abundance and connection to each other and a very healthy attitude to whatever problems came their way. Any visitor was treated like a king. It’s also very exotic and an exciting place to be. I couldn’t go back to being a selfish westerner after that. I’d encourage anyone to go there providing they go with respect and leave it as they found it.

Few countries in the world have accomplished what The Sultanate of Oman has in such a short time. On one hand, the global leaders and economic experts have paid glowing tributes to the country by describing as an “economic marvel”. On the other hand, UNICEF has been consistently commending The Sultanate’s efforts at improving the living standards of its people and has signled out Oman as a “global pace setter in human development”.

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the arhitect of modern Oman, has always accorded top priority to human development. Every activity planned or implemented since the new dawn of 36 years ago has been aimed at the welfare of the Omani people.

I am living in this country since my birth and studying in this country. Our leader His Majesty wants the country to move ahead progressively and that every citizen to become part of the progress and development taking place in the world.

I went to the UAE several times and nearly had the opportunity to go to Oman a few times but the closest I ever came to it was spending 2 hours in Muscat airport on my way between Dubai and Bangalore. So I want to go back to Muscat airport but this time come out of the airport and see the Sultanate. All the stories I’ve heard of this country tell a tale of a beautiful place. And who wouldn’t want to visit the home country of one of the most elegant tall ships in the world?