Muscat to Nizwa ~ June 25

Our excursion into the interior takes us into a different landscape, mountains with wonderfully colored stratification, wadis, oasis villages irrigated by the Falaj system, and even through a brief RAIN shower! Nizwa, once the capital of Oman, is one of the country’s oldest cities and trading centers. The Nizwa Fort is among the most visited tourist sites in Oman, rightfully so, since its large central tower commands views over a green valley of date palms and the sprawling city. The present fort configuration dates from the 17th century although the site was occupied in the 4th century CE. On our way to the fort we stopped at Nizwa souq and though we missed the goat auction, we walked though the fruit, vegetable, date, and spice markets, and watched artisans crafting the silver jewelry for which Nizwa is famous. The recently "restored" fort includes a museum with accounts of the site.

Returning to Muscat via Al Hamra village, we visit Bait Al Safah a home and museum which preserves examples of life in the old village, share a traditional meal of rice, vegetables, grilled meats, watermelon, and coffee, and watch women dressed in Abayua make our bread and roast coffee over open fires.

Our group of travelers is proving to be congenial and quick to absorb new experiences. The Omani people we encounter are friendly and hospitable. Tomorrow is Friday. We again leave the city to explore the ancient Falaj irrigation system and visit the first mosque built in Oman.

Muscat ~ June 24

Up early to enjoy another walk on the beach. The receding tide reveals many tiny colorful shells (no more Cowries). Our Arabic Lessons continue promptly at 8 AM. While I am definitely not a star pupil, I improve with each lesson. The rest of the morning was dedicated to learning about the oil industry in Oman with a visit to Petroleum Development Oman (PDO – http://www.pdo.co.om ), an overview lecture, oil museum visit, and lunch. Since I grew up in Beaumont, the Texas city where “oil became an industry,” I thoroughly enjoyed the presentations.

Oil and natural gas (LNG) are essential to the Sultanate, which is the only GCC state not an OPEC member. Many oil companies drilled exploratory wells in Oman in the 1950s but the first well producing commercial quality crude did not come in until 1962. Today the Royal Dutch Shell controls 34% interest in PDO, the Omani government 60% which also owns all the gas. The PDO concession represents more than 2/3 rds of the country having 2,600 km of pipeline. 800 km asphalt roads, and over 5,000 km of graded roads. Because much of Omani crude oil is heavy, PDO employs technology advances to enhance the methods for finding and developing new oil – “intelligent wells” - and gas fields. 80% of Omani oil exports go to South and East Asia. PDO, we are told, is committed as well to training and education and the Omanization process. While the managing director is British, two-thirds of the top management is Omani and there are 4,187 Omani and 1,000 expatriates employed. PDO seeks to provide sustainable incomes for Omani people and engages in “gifts to the nation,” among them a planetarium. What does this sustainable development and the oil industry mean for Omani people?

As our afternoon lecture on Tribes and Politics in Oman presented by Ahmed Al Mukhaini (law professor at the SASLO Legal Training Center), Oman today may be best viewed through the lens of Pre and Post oil era history, the adaptation to the modern state and an oil producing economy. Oil transformed Oman and contributed to what is frequently termed a “Renaissance” within the Sultanate. Since many men and women work in the capital area and return to their villages on the weekend, tribal and family identity remains embedded in Omani political and social culture. After oil, Omani tribes (100s of tribes, 15 main) and their relationship to the state was re-invented and new traditions developed. As the Royal family supplies legitimacy for the Sultan, after oil, the corporate state defined new connections with tribal leaders by granting positions, providing stipends, inviting participation in councils, and meetings with the Sultan during his annual tour. Tribal relationships are political and complex. Our brief introduction to the topic clearly invites more study.

Our evening, after a full day’s activities, is free. Tomorrow we have our first excursion into the interior to Nizwa Fort and time to roam the Nizwa Souk. Stay tuned!

Muscat ~ June 23

Once again we are on the go from dawn to late evening. I have taken my first colloquial Arabic class, can now use and return the proper greeting, “Assalaamu Aalaikumm, Wa Aalaikumm assalaam,” know more about the 19th and 20 th century Muscat merchant community, and have participated in a series of focus groups with distinguished Omani men and women from the public and private sectors.

Our morning began with the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque tour. The Mosque, designed for Muslims of all Islamic sects, incorporates the architectural styles of each region of the Muslim world, and is a remarkable representation of Islamic faith and the achievement of the modern Sultanate. Many years in the planning, it took 6 years to complete at significant cost, was dedicated in 2001, and can accommodate 20,000 worshippers. Each piece of limestone, marble, semiprecious stone and wood carving is numbered. Semi-precious stone inlays recall the Mughal Empire, arches in black and white echo the Grand Mosque in Cordoba and so on. The entire Quran is scripted around the Mosque walls using innovative new technologies to hydraulically carve the calligraphy. Rare woods from all over the world are used in doors, ceilings, decorative panels, and screens. The chandeliers are German crystal with Swarovski beads. The hand woven Persian carpet took 400 women 6 years to complete & was, at one time, the largest in the world. Our visit concluded with a panel of three religious Omani men discussing Modern and Classic Islam, followed by an engaging Q & A session – topics ranging from the media misrepresentations, the Taliban (disliked), male ego, and multiple wives.

We next toured the Bait Al Zubair Museum, originally the home of Sheikh Al Zubair bin Ali and one of the country’s architectural icons. Three generations of this prominent merchant family lived in the house until it was demolished in the 1940s to provide road access for cars to the Sultan’s Palace. The museum has three separate buildings, one the carefully restored original home, another a recreation of the living area of the Al Zubair home with furnishing as it was in the 1940s, and the third houses various collection of weapons, jewelry, historical photographs, a fabulous map room which includes the 1863 Johnson Map, the first American made map of the Arabian Peninsula.

The final even of the day, hosted by Oman Brand management Unit in collaboration with AMIDEAST, was a series of four roundtable discussions on Education, Economic Development, and Omani women. Fulbright scholars had the opportunity to participate in an important cultural exchange – our conversations as we moved from group to group were engaging, informative, and mutually rewarding. Participating in a focus group as part of the Brand Oman project, an ambitious effort to create a brand that “reflects the diversity that is Oman…,” was a rare opportunity. The program concluded with dinner with our hosts, more conversation.. and the presentation of gifts – bags appliquéd with traditional women’s dress for the women in our group and similar for the men with a commemorative coin depicting the tall ship, Sultanah, which visited New York in 1840 to establish trade and create American awareness of Oman and Zanzibar, which was controlled in that era by Oman.

Muscat, Oman ~ June 22

Welcome to the Sultanate of Oman and the Muscat capital area. After a smooth flight from Zurich in a well appointed Swiss Air Bus, we touched down at 10:30 PM Sunday, cleared customs, and checked into our hotel by midnight to rest before starting our program Monday morning at 9:30. We are lucky, the temperature is a mild 98 degrees, after a high of 130 the week before. Our hotel is only a short walk to the beach, and as an early riser, I take a walk on the beach and do some shelling. Searching for the illusive cowry, I found one after taking only a few steps and hope to find a few more.

After 24 hours my impressions are captured in these images. Muscat and the towns that comprise the capital area are experiencing growth and construction - new government buildings a new Opera House, shopping malls (the ubiquitous Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, KFC, McDonalds). There are expansive green areas and well irrigated lawns with flowers (zinnias) and flowering trees line the roads tended by hosts of foreign workers. The city sparkles in white stucco dress and the architecture includes the distinctive arch embedded with a postmodern flair. There are super “dual-carriageway” highways with fly-overs, and round-about (terms courtesy of the British influence). Although the most popular car appears to be by Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, Mazda, there is an occasional Honda, Mercedes, and BMW. Some cars sport the distinctive learner stripes as more Omani obtain their license, women among them.

Our first stop is the American Embassy for a briefing by the Assistant Public Affairs Officer. The embassy (no photos allowed) is fortified and well guarded (I saw local guards, no US Marines, but perhaps there are some), as expected it took a while to register and get though security. Once inside the inner courts have lovely lawns and flowers. Clearly the PA office understands the importance of the Fulbright summer program. The acting Chief of Mission (the new Ambassador arrives shortly) stopped in to greet us and take questions – we are encouraged to interact with the Omani people and learn as much as possible, while observing local protocols and courtesies – cordial and informative visit.

After an additional orientation presentation at the recently opened AMIDEAST Oman office we had lunch at the Automatic: Al Qurum (Lebanese) and took at tour of the city in our comfortable van. We stopped for photos at His Majesty Sultan’s Palace, drove to Muttrah (Old Muscat) along the Corniche and Sultan Qaboos Port where the Sultan’s yacht is anchored along with other private boats, container ships, and colorful fishing vessels. There is a park enjoyed by families and a vendor selling cotton candy – everything is spotless – the city has a global reputation for cleanliness and must be one of the cleanest cities I have visited.

At the end of our tour we took tea at the Al Bustan Palace Hotel, 7 stars, recently renovated with a fantastic marble, crystal, and mosaic lobby – complete with an elegant violin, piano, cello trio of playing Mozart and Strauss, and an Omani gentleman in the traditional dress worn throughout the area enjoying tea, chatting with guests, and offering one of the sweet dates for which the area is famous. Here I also found the first item on my shopping list COMMON BIRDS OF OMAN so am all set to continue my bird list.

The day ended with a visit at the Al Baranda Museum, with exhibits on the history of the city from earliest times to the present (marvelous map room), followed by a formal Omani dinner (25 different dishes) – we dined seated on cushions at low tables.

Washington D.C. ~ June 17-20, Pre-departure Orientation (PDO)

We are off to a fine start. The PDO, hosted at AMIDEAST, the program administrator, featured numerous speakers and a variety of presentations. Among these were Ambassador David L. Mack, Middle East Institute Scholar and former US Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, and Ibtesam al-Atiyat, Professor at the German Jordanian University. Mack addressed contemporary Middle East issues. Dr. al-Atiyat spoke on regional women’s issues. Her session generated considerable discussion which we plan to continue with her in Amman.

Of special note to world history students and teachers was a presentation of the recently launched web site, The Indian Ocean in World History, http://www.indianoceanhistory.org/
sponsored by The Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center ( http://www.mei.edu/SQCC.aspx ) a program of the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.

I’ve also visited friends, seen some wonderful exhibits (including Maya Lin’s “Systematic Landscapes” at the Corcoran – lucky timing I heard her speak and slipped on “booties” to walk on one of the sculptural installations).

Tonight we leave for Muscat, Oman, via Zurich and Dubai arriving Sunday evening, 21 June. We are bracing for the heat – it is currently 104 (down from 130 earlier this week!).

Mideast summer

During summer 2009 I am privileged to be one of fourteen participants joining the Jordan and Oman: Middle East Neighbors 2009 Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program. My blog is created to share my experience with colleagues, students, family, and friends.

See Alamo Colleges News: http://www.alamo.edu/main/html/news/2009/052109b.htm