The people clearly embrace this. While there's plenty of choice, the preferred water tank to put on your roof is a white, crenellated copy of watch tower. The new homes beneath them are painted white and adorned with fanciful arches, colourful domes, vivid tile work and ornate window screens. Making even the newest modern sprawl look like an Arabian Nights stage set. Civic works set that standard.
The Grand Mosque in Oman, of which I'll write more in a later entry, is not yet 15 years old and is a glittering example of how modern craftsmen can work in, and build upon, styles of the past. Every province and major city has, or is getting, a new ceremonial entry gate spanning the pristine new highways. They evoke castles, palaces and mosques, made with enough traditional craftsmanship that were it not for their size and pristine edges, you might mistake them as old. The entry to the new airport will feature traditional watch towers and elements of Arabic gardens. Quite simply, Muscat was a good place to look at.
The Sultan may embrace traditional architecture, but his social attitudes are refreshingly modern. The majority of the country practices Ibhadi Islam, but there are plenty of minorities and the official line is rigorously non-sectarian. Islam is Islam, and any practitioner is welcome to kneel side by side in any mosque. It's an attitude that would transform the world's current problems if widely embraced.
Female dress is far less restrictive here than in other Arab states. Most women, and men, cover their heads. Out of tradition, respect, and protection from the gruelling heat. Women can drive, are in the work force and hold roles in Qaboos government. While traditions mean the sexes don't mix much, my limited sightseeing observed women out and about, living life normally to Western eyes.
The population is prosperous and well-educated, thanks to no income tax and state services that provide not just basics like health care ... but a parcel of land to each citizen and help to build on it. The Sultan and his ministers are planning resources to keep income flowing steadily for years to come. Oil and gas now, offshore oil and copper in the future.
An openness to diversity is, no doubt, helped by Oman's history. The country wraps around the Eastern tip of the Arabian penninsula, faces India and controls the approach to the Persian Gulf. A critical mid-point on the legendary spice routes, Omanis couldn't help but be cosmopolitan from their earliest history. People came with the trade; today's native tribes have their roots in places as far flung as Africa and Central Asia. (Muscat's Bait al Zubair museum does a great job of exploring the differences in tradition, culture and dress between these tribes.)
That spice route hub position also, no doubt, influenced local cuisine. From our limited exploration, it's based on sophisticated spice blends and borrows from neighbouring countries to come up with something uniquely Omani, with dates, saffron and frankincense playing critical roles.
These are the observations of just four days, based in a luxury hotel and in the hands of a local guide when we went wandering. These are first impressions rather than researched reportage, and I'm sure there are plenty of problems in the country as well. Certainly, no matter how well I ran my benevolent dictatorship, I'd be mighty uncomfortable tucked between Saudi, Iraq, Iran, etc. I'm sure there are social challenges with guest workers from India, the Philippines, etc. filling so many basic roles. And the Sultan is 74, and childless ... even the most benevolent of utopian dictatorships can come unstuck in transitions of power.
But we'll lay that aside. What four days told me is that if you want a dose of Arabic culture and Middle Eastern exoticism, in a safe place, with fine accommodation, good food and fun shopping, all wrapped in warm and magnanimous hospitality, this is the place to go. And from what all the construction we saw tells me, this is likely to continue and get better.
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