Oman: Oh Man!

I got to visit Oman on two different occasions recently, the first time going to Muscat in April as part of a Pittsburgh-based trade delegation representing the Pittsburgh Middle East Institute, and the second time driving to Musandum on Saturday with my husband on a day trip from Dubai. Both times I was impressed by the dramatic scenery and friendliness of the local people, particularly in contrast to Dubai and the UAE.

A short geography lesson may be in order. Oman is a separate country from the United Arab Emirates, and much larger in area, located on the northeast corner of the Arabian peninsula, with the UAE to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. Unlike Dubai, it has lots of coastland, with the Arabian Sea to the south and east and the Gulf of Oman to the northeast. The part of Oman known as Musandum is a peninsula that points northward to Iran and is separated from the rest of the country by the UAE. Musandum, about 180 kilometers from Dubai, is strategically located on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow shipping channel which leads from the Gulf of Oman into the Persian/Arabian Gulf. The capital of Muscat is on the Gulf of Oman side and a much longer drive/short flight from Dubai. You make a border crossing from the UAE to go into Oman and need to clear customs and obtain a visa, but this is easy and fairly quick assuming you can pay the fees and the line is not too long.

The Sultanate of Oman became a unified nation in 1970 under His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who is responsible for the modernization of the country and who continues to rule to this day. He is not married and has no children (and is said to be gay!). Several women hold high offices in government, unlike in Dubai. Also, the outside influence seems much more limited in Oman, and the Omani people are much more visible and easy to meet than Emiratis in the UAE. The staff working on the conference for the Pittsburgh trade delegation were Omani men and women, and as a group they impressed us as very hard-working, friendly and gracious.

The people of Oman have had to work harder to get to where they are today because they do not have the abundance of oil enjoyed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. There is much more of a local lowkey feel to the place, which maintains its cultural traditions while seeming quite tolerant of outside customs. Tourists like us were made to feel welcome, with no concern about how we were dressed. I especially liked the more colorful attire in Oman. The turbans worn by the men were multicolored and unique, and both men and women wore different colors of robes instead of the stark black and white which is the custom in Dubai. To me, Oman looks like an excellent example how an Arab country can enjoy the benefits of outside influence without sacrificing national identity, as Dubai seems at times to have done in its infatuation with extravagance. Ah, the problems that come with having too much money!

The beauty of the surroundings also makes Oman an attractive destination, with coastline punctuated by mountains and interesting rock formations close by. It now seeks to promote sporting events as a spur to tourism, such as the inaugural Tour of Oman, a staged bike race run in February as a precursor to the Tour de France. The air seems brighter and clearer, free of the haze prevalent in the UAE due to endless construction. There is construction going on in Oman as well, but no crazy skyscrapers, rather more low flung buildings. We were told that an entire village had to be moved to make space for one of the new government projects, which I suppose is not too hard to make happen when you're the Sultan.

In Muscat the PMEI trade delegation enjoyed staying in the lap of luxury at the Al Bustan Palace Hotel (pictured), with fabulous pools, gardens, water sports, tennis, restaurants, shopping and conference areas. Many of the guests we met there were European (especially British and German) and had been coming for years. It seemed like a fun place for families since there was plenty to do. It is definitely the conference center of choice, as shortly after our arrival the hotel was also host to the President of Turkey, who met with the Sultan and various government agencies at the hotel. Needless to say, the security was top notch.

Why would Oman be interested in Pittsburgh, you may wonder? Well, the PMEI had sponsored a large trade group from Oman at its last conference in Pittsburgh, and they were returning the favor. Both of us could stand to develop partnerships in areas of mutual interest. At the conference among the topics explored were solar energy, new oil and gas technologies, wireless technologies, and educational programs and exchanges.

One must-see spot in Muscat that we visited was the Mutrah Souk, a veritable maze of shops selling everything imaginable. Whatever you are looking for, you are likely to buy something else first as you get lost in the maze. This is the place to buy frankincense and the ceremonial daggers called khanjars. I liked the men's Omani costume so much that I bought one for my husband, robe, hat, and khanjar included.

The highlight of the visit was dinner at the home of one of the Omani government ministers who spoke at the conference. We got to enjoy a traditional meal with coffee and sweets served afterwards in a special room in the traditional manner. Our group of seven from Pittsburgh was joined by a high-ranking Omani woman who had served as the ambassador from Oman to the USA and her daughter, who was home from studies in London. Our host even served wine at dinner, which impressed us all as extremely gracious and tolerant!

Our trip to Musandum on Saturday gave us more appreciation for Oman's dramatic scenery. We drove north from Dubai, taking us past the neighboring emirates of Sharjah, Arjan, Umm al Quwain, and Ras al Khaimah. Having already visited Fujairah and Abu Dhabi, we can now say we have been to all seven emirates. The new coastline road was blasted out of the mountainside and weaves and winds its way around the coastal area. Evidence of recent rock slides was apparent so we kept our eyes peeled for a wayward boulder. Traffic was light and the area seemed to be sparsely populated as we made our way to Khasab, the capital of the province. The harbor there is where you can hire a boat to explore the winding coastline with the Middle Eastern version of fjords, and remote islands and villages where the inhabitants still speak their own language. It is said to be only 45 kilometers from Iran, with regular and irregular trade of all kinds going back and forth. It's also a fabulous area for scuba diving with many coral reef sites an hour away by boat, but probably out of our league as novices.

We started up the unpaved steep mountain road which would take us to the highest point in the area, but chickened out after about 8 kilometers knowing we had 22 to go. I was glad we did, as the ride down the rocky road was even scarier than going up. Sanity prevailed as we had lunch at the best (and one of the only) hotels in the area, the Golden Tulip. This would be a good jumping off point for a future boat trip. We wandered on the beach for a while and found the shell collecting to be fantastic. As we backtracked to drive home, we saw massive flocks of cormorants flying by, floating in the water, and standing on the beach. Having noticed just one bird on the way out, the difference was stunning.