Destination : OMAN

The Sultanate of Oman occupies the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula with 1700km (1062 miles) of coastline stretching along the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Gulf. It is bordered by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the west and the Republic of Yemen to the south. The United Arab Emirates lies to the northwest of Oman and to the east lies the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman.

There are many different opinions as to how Oman gained its name. Various sources link it to the Qahtani tribe of Oman, others to the Arabic adjective, 'aamen', which means 'a settled man'. The early Roman historian, Yalainous (23 - 79AD) was one of the first to acknowledge a city named Omana, which is also mentioned in the writings of Ptolemy.

Oman has also been referred to as Mazoun and Magan, perhaps a direct reference to Oman's history of shipbuilding (a magan is a type of ship's chassis). Indeed, Oman was renowned for its role in ocean navigation by the magnitude of its ships and also by its prolific trade in copper, stone and timber to the Mesopotamian cities. Due to its strategic position lying on some of the world's most important trade routes, the ports of Sohar and Muttrah have held great prominence among spice, edible oil and textile trading merchants. By around 300AD, Oman was considered one of the world's wealthiest countries due to its abundance of frankincense, which, at one time, was more valuable than gold.

Muscat has been the capital of Oman for the past two centuries, since the third Al Bu Said ruler established his residence there in the 1780s. Until 1970 its name was woven into that of the country, "Muscat and Oman". A name with so much fame, one feels, should belong to a sizable place. Yet in the case of Muscat this is not so; the old town is less than a kilometre long by half a kilometre wide.

It is no less impressive for all that: an unforgettable little gem of a place tightly enclosed in its rocky bay by barren brown-black mountains. And the bay itself is as picturesque as the town, a horseshoe of deep blue water surrounded by rocky promontories and islets, all but hidden from the open sea. "There was something soothing and magical about that old city at night", wrote James Morris 30 years ago.

Al-Qurum in Muscat is thought to be one of the oldest inhabited regions in the Arabian Peninsula. Archaeological digs have found evidence of villages which have been dated at around 6000BC, indicating the existence of communities since the Stone Age. Other excavations have unearthed dwelling sites, tombs and kilns for firing pottery, the remains of which date back to 3400-3000BC.

 

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