Oman/ The Beauty Within.

The Middle East is somewhere until 10 years ago I knew little or nothing about, my father had spent time out there during the war and was less than polite about it and my husband was born in Libya.

I had watched the Gulf War on TV when I was in hospital in 1990 in fact it was the only thing on for the whole of the two weeks that I lay in bed with a DVT and my left leg in a full plaster.

So to me the Middle East was dust and bombs, tension and religion, tribes of men with little or no regard for women.

The thought that I would be sitting at a computer 18 years later trying desperately to find the words to describe the beauty of Oman and its people would be a million light years from my mind.
That however is what I will try to do.

I think to understand Oman and its people we have to know just a bit about their history, the land they live in and the speed at which their Sultan and the discovery of "Black Gold" has whizzed them into the 21st Century.


The very earliest reference to Oman is as early as 3000BC, when the Omani's who at that point were know Magan's traded in copper.The name Oman, is believed to have originate from the Arab tribes who migrated there from the Uman region of Yemen.
Many tribes settled in Oman making a living by fishing, herding and the breeding of stock It is possible for many of the present day Omani families to trace their ancestral routes to other parts of Arabia.

The Portuguese pillaged the villages and its people in the early 1500's to gain access to the very lucrative spice trade, they held fast for 150 years until 1650, when they were defeated bySultan bin Saif Al Ya’rubi.

Oman entered an era of prosperity at home and abroad, and many of the Sultanate’s historic buildings and forts date from this time. This all came to an end when civil war broke out between rival Omani tribes over the election of a new Imam. Persian forces seized the opportunity to invade and some coastal areas found themselves under foreign occupation once again.

This would be the last time that Oman would be invaded and by the 19th century it would be a sovereign power in its own right. As a country it would grow and prosper forging world wide links, and increasing its territories.This however came to an end in the early 20th century when Oman entered a period that would see it decline and once again become isolated from the outside world.

The 20th century saw rapid changes for the world but not for Oman, until 1970 the country was ruled by a very feudal system, it is the oldest independent State in the Arabian Gulf,and cut off from the modern world.
The search for oil began in the 1920s when a geological survey was conducted and that proved unsuccessful.The Second World War and other events interrupted exploration until 1962 when the first successful well was drilled, followed by others .
Oil production on commercial scale began in 1967.


Then in1970 when Sultan Qaboos came to power, Oman was almost as far removed from the modern, prosperous 21st century state we know today, as it is possible to get.

The people of Oman were poor and disadvantage, there was little or no infrastructure, school numbered very few only the wealthy had medical care. The wealthy Omani's left in their droves, to seek their fortunes abroad, Oman was bleeding from its heart the new Sultan with a vision that had until now not existed in Oman for several hundred years set about reversing this process encouraging his people to return home, throwing his power leadership and money into creating a strong nation. His people responded with enthusiasm and the Oman I was about to visit was born.

Blossom

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