[oman-l] Article on Tourism

[Rashid]

I thought this article might be of interest to some of you.. Rashid


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Monday, November 17, 1997


<underline>The Sweet Flesh Of Dates</underline>


 The following article is a reprint from this week's issue of the
Middle East

Times, a weekly online publication. Hussein Shehadah writes:


 OMAN- The mountain on the far side of the ravine is speckled with
patches of gold. It is

 the annual crop of lime fruits laid out to dry so that they can be
saved for the winter's

  cooking.


 The people of Misfah, Oman carry them over the ravine in sacks which
are then refilled

  when the drying process is completed. They are loaded into the back
of 4x4 off-road

  vehicles one of the first signs that this small mountain village
finally emerged from the

 Middle Ages a few years ago and taken home.


The place is known as Gabal al Akhdar - the Green Mountain. When your
car swerves

 around the bend up to a height of nearly two kilometers, its name
becomes understandable

 and it becomes clear why the mountain peasants have stayed there for
centuries - beautiful

 mountain ranges surround their homes and provide a scenic backdrop.


 For the nature lover, Oman a sultanate that was hermetically sealed
until just a few years

 back offers plenty to see and enjoy. In addition to virgin beaches,
magnificent mountain

 ranges and ancient splendors, its 1,700 kilometers display enormous
deserts of stone and

shimmering sand in hues of red, yellow, brown and black.


 Oman is international tourism's best kept secret. The spectacular
landscape that dominates

 the country's skyline sets it apart from the other Gulf states. Its
incredibly beautiful

  landscape and historical sites many of which are an artists dream
have until recently been

 seen by only a few privileged visitors.


 This situation is set to change, however. Its government is confident
that its infrastructural

development is at the stage when it can play host to an increasing


 The government's attitude to tourism is selective, however. It
encourages visitors as a way

of diversifying its income which is largely dependent upon oil. But it
is aware of the

dangers that have been faced by other countries that have admitted
package holiday makers.


 The Omanis want people to respect their way of life, appreciate their
heritage and culture

and to enjoy their hospitality. The emphasis is on quality tourism
rather than trying to cater

to the masses. 


 "Our primary objective is to preserve our traditions and to generate
new employment

 opportunities for our youth," said a tourism official.


There was no tourist industry to speak of until 1987. The government,
aware of the

 devastating effects of a mass influx of beer-drinking and bikini-clad
Westerners on a

traditional Arab-Muslim society, allowed only a selected few to peruse
its landscape.


 The government therefore decided to introduce tourism in stages.
Preference is given to

organized groups interested in Omani culture and natural beauty rather
than those simply

 seeking sea and sand. In other words, people who want to increase
their knowledge of

 geography, history and culture.


 "Anyone can go anywhere in Oman. For instance, to visit the Bedouins
or the Jabba

[mountain people]. As soon as you pass through the airport you are
welcome anywhere

provided you don't abuse the people's hospitality or culture," said a
tourism spokesman.


Each Omani town has its own characteristic and historic buildings.
There are scenic routes

 through the villages and mountain wadis and the government is
developing nature reserves.


The Empty Quarter is an oasis inhabited by Bedouins. They withstand the
extreme

 conditions where daytime summer sun heats the air to between 55 and
70C, while at night

the mercury drops to around 10C a contrast that makes it feel much
colder. 


Until the 20th century, the Empty Quarter Bedouin's diet consisted of
milk, camel meat and

 dates. They rode their camels in search of vegetation, finding their
way by the stars with the

 aid of a sextant made from a piece of string with knots. By following
camel trails they could

 see who had been before them and when.


 Today, just like the mountain peasants of Misfah, they drive 4x4
off-roaders in the winter

 when they need to follow their camel herds on the hunt for sparse
vegetation in the sand.

Saddled camels are otherwise found only in the other big desert, Wahiba
Sands, where

 tourists are allowed to nose about its specially selected Bedouin
settlements from a

 completely different world.


 During the summer, the Bedouins of the Empty Quarter live in houses
provided for them by

 the sultanate. Twelve of these houses lie out in the desert at a place
called Shisr, where

1,997 years ago the Three Wise Men are said to have brought gold,
frankincense and myrrh

for the baby Jesus. At that time it was called Ubar, a city supposed to
have been a replica of

  paradise and which, according to both the Koran and the Bible,
collapsed because the

 inhabitants lived a life of sin.


 Today we know better. The city fell into ruin when its weight caused
it to collapse into an

underground cavity. For generations, adventurers searched for the
place, the most notable

of these being Lawrence of Arabia. Finally, with the help of satellite
photographs, success

 came 15 years ago and the excavations at Ubar made the tourist
attraction hit-list.


 Ubar owed its wealth to resin and frankincense, which was much sought
after as the

 incense of emperors and kings. Even the Queen of Sheba was so
impressed that she made

 her historic journey to call on King Solomon to enter into an
agreement with him, as Ubar

 was the trading center through which every camel caravan had to pass
to get sufficient water

 for the long trip to Babylon, Egypt and Mecca.


Today, coagulated droplets from the trees are still used to make
incense but an extract of it

 is a vital ingredient of the scent which the Parisian Guy Robert
created for Oman 16 years

 ago. A mixture of incense, mountain grasses and 118 more of nature's
elements make the

world's most expensive perfume, Amouage, which is priced at $20,000 a
set (for him and

 her).


 One of the many successful restoration projects is the castle at
Jabrin, built by Bilarun bin

 Sultan in the 17th century as a residential palace. Forts at Nizwa,
Haxm, Bidbid and Birka

have also been restored and a project to explore the old silk road from
west to east was

launched in the late 1980s. 


 Before 1970, when the then 31-year-old Crown Prince Qaboos toppled his
father in a

 bloodless coup d'etat, the country had no newspapers, only seven
boys-only schools, a

 ban on radio and television and a city gate that closed off the
capital, Muscat, from the rest

 of the world.


 Today, Oman, is well into the age of technology. The population seems
to have managed

 the transition from the back of a camel to the seat of a jet extremely
well. There are now

 over 4,000 kilometers of metalled roads, a well-organized air network,
an ultra-modern

 hospital service and schools for girls as well as boys.


 If you fly over Oman you are unlikely to appreciate the difference in
lifestyle that exists

 between the capital and the surrounding countryside. But if you make
the 1,000-kilometer

 journey from Muscat to Salalah by bus, you will be enlightened. And,
should you choose

 to take the night bus, you will need some really warm clothes for the
trip.


 It takes you through practically barren stony desert where only camels
move about without

paying much attention to the two-lane highway that links the north and
south.


 In the area of Nizwa, people gather for the weekly goat market or go
to the souq or bazaar.

 Alongside lies Oman's largest fort, newly restored to show the
storerooms where dates

  have been dried for centuries while the syrup runs out, gathering in
small hollows in the

  floor. From here it was collected to provide a succulent cooking
additive.


 Not much has changed since then. Dates, with the exception of oil,
remain the nation's

 most important product. These days, in the southern province of
Dhofar, you can wash

  down the sweet flesh of dates with the milk from coconuts picked from
a palm by an

 86-year-old farmer. His vigor helps us to believe the claim that some
Omanis really do live

 until the ripe old age of 120. 


from Arabia on Line

URL: http://www.arabia.com/content/culture/11_97/oman11.17.97.shtml