The Sultans of Swing

A year ago I probably could not have identified Oman on a map.  Sad? Maybe. But true, yes.  And I know I’m not the only one.  When I mentioned to friends back home that we were planning a trip to Oman, I got a few of the following, “But I thought you lived in Oman” or “Is that a city in Amman?” or “Really!?! Where is that?”

Oman borders the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It’s kind of the wall flower at the party – nothing flashy like Dubai, and no international conflicts or humanitarian crises like in Saudi Arabia or Yemen.  Oman is a laid back, oil rich country with a striking geography, and really, if you’ve ever considered going to Dubai, you should cross that off and put Oman on your list.  If Dubai is Las Vegas, Oman is Santa Monica, the Grand Canyon and Palm Desert rolled into one. … and then some.

Oman is a Sultanate, ruled by...you guessed it, a Sultan, not a Sultan of Swing, just a Sultan. What is a Sultanate?  And how is it different from a Kingdom (Jordan and Saudi Arabia) or a Monarchy? I had to look it up -- the use of “sultan” is restricted to Muslim countries where the title implies a religious ruler. There’s an interesting story about the current Sultan of Oman, Sultan Qaboos, who is the longest ruling leader of any Arab country.  He came to power in 1970 by overthrowing HIS FATHER in a coup! The overthrow was actually planned by Britain’s MI6 with the support of the Prime Minister (Edward Heath) who was frustrated that all of Oman’s petrol profits were going to two places – to fight a Communist uprising of insurgents supported by the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China, or to fill the Sultan’s personal coffers -- with only minimal investment in developing the country. The British secretly contacted the son by sending him messages hidden in a music cassette tape delivered to the palace. The son agreed to support, and to be the face of, the coup. It met with little resistance, Sultan Qaboos took over, and the old Sultan was exiled to Great Britain. And by “exiled” I mean he went to live in a lavish suite at the Dorchester Hotel in London for the remaining two years of his life. Following the coup, Sultan Qaboos set about modernizing Oman, building schools, roads, hospitals and in the press the country was finally no longer called Medieval.

When you live in Amman, you hear about Oman a lot. Our dog sitter, an American now in Amman for a fellowship, spent a year of high school in Oman on a State Department study abroad program. We hosted two swimmers from the American school in Oman for a local swim competition here. One of those swimmers is the child of two teachers who went to Oman to teach for two years…six years ago. They love it and don’t want to leave yet. Our school superintendent used to live in Oman and loved it. The man who checked us in at the hotel moved to Oman for a year, ten years ago! We’ve met countless people who raved to us about how beautiful and peaceful and safe Oman is, so it quickly moved to the top of our list of places we’d like to visit.  

I had heard that Omanis were laid back, and one of the first ways you see that is in the fashion statements. The traditional style of dress for an Omani male is a long, white collarless gown called a dishdasha.  These are common throughout the Middle East, and each country typically puts their own personal touch on their outfit via their head covering. In Oman, you see more freedom in design and more personality in head coverings than you’ll see anywhere else in the Middle East. Some Omani men almost looked like the Middle Eastern version of surfer dudes.  The turbans, or sometimes Fez style caps called kuma, can be seen in paisley designs in a literal rainbow of colors. The more expensive turbans are hand-embroidered with intricate designs and made from soft pashmire.  They are really beautiful and stand out against the all white dishdasha.

So, why go to Oman?

I started calling Muscat, Oman’s capital, the Malibu of the Middle East because of the laid back beachy vibe and also because of the striking coastline with craggy mountains plunging into the sea. As you drive up the coast, in the valleys between these mountains are “Wadis.” I had never heard this term before moving to Amman, but they are mostly flat valleys you can hike into from the coast. We have them in Jordan as well, but they are much more dramatic in Oman. In our three day weekend we only had a chance to do one, Wadi Shab but we’ve since scoured YouTube for videos of the other wadis, and they all look pretty incredible.  The hikes lead to freshwater swimming lagoons with waterfalls or sloping sunbathing boulders or rock face walls perfect for cannon ball jumps. 

You can’t drive too far in Oman without seeing an ancient fort. These are mostly from the 16^th century when the Portugese ruled the Arabian coastline and built many fortresses to protect invaders coming from inland, and later on to protect the coast from invaders from the sea. We would love to go back and see more of the forts. Here’s a great article on them. 

Beyond forts, wadis and great beaches, Oman also has an extensive mountain range, the Hajar Mountains, the highest mountain range in the Arabian Peninsula. Jabal Shams is the highest peak at 9.872 feet and you can drive to what they call the Grand Canyon of the Middle East.  

We finished our trip with a visit to the Mutrah Souq, a traditional market with many vendors selling textiles, spices, jewelry, food, toys, hats, lanterns, pillows, you name it. We did a lot of Christmas shopping here.  I thought a three day weekend would be perfect to check out Oman and cross it off our list. But now I really hope we can squeeze in another week here during our time in the Middle East.