Oman offers rich culture to attract high-end tourism
By Le Hung Vong
To middle-income Vietnamese, travelling to the Persian Gulf is as likely as laying their hands on Aladdin's lamp. Even for those who do get an opportunity to travel to the Middle East, Oman is an unlikely destination. But the kingdom, a member of the Gulf Co-operation Council, has some unexpected tourist gems.
With its towering minarets, white marble courtyard, beautiful prayer mat and stunning chandeliers, the Grand Mosque, located on the road from central Muscat to the international airport, is a remarkable architectural achievement.
Set against a dramatic mountain backdrop, the 416,000sq.m mosque was built by Sultan Qaboos bin Said as a gift to the people to mark 13 years of his reign in 2001. It took six years to build.
The main prayer hall: The interior of the main prayer hall is lined with white and deep grey marble. The stone is carved into elegant, bas-relief columns rimmed with arches, each of which encloses a richly-patterned mural of inlaid faience (glazed earthenware) and forms part of an integrated design.
The carpet: The floor of the prayer hall is overlaid with a magnificent Persian carpet measuring more than 60x70m. Handmade in 28 colours by 600 artisans, the carpet was made using 1.7 billion knots and weighs 21 tonnes.
The lighting: Thirty five chandeliers made of Swarovski crystal and gilded metal were especially designed and created for the main prayer hall. The central chandelier, suspended from the top of the 50m high central dome, measures 14m across. Comprising 1,122 lamps and weighing eight tonnes, it found a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as "the largest chandelier ever made".
Qaboos, who replaced his father and became ruler of Oman in 1970, said: "The Mosque is not only a place for worship but a grand school, a distinguished and leading light in the spread of learning and culture."
Nizwa
Nizwa, a verdant oasis city with a blend of the modern and ancient, was the capital of Oman in the sixth and seventh centuries.
Located some 175km from Muscat, Nizwa was an important cross-roads at the base of the Western Hajar Mountains connecting Muscat, Buraimi, and the lower reaches of Dhofar. The city, famous for its historical monuments, handicrafts and agricultural products, has an enormous souq (from Arabic for market) with a wonderful array of handicrafts - coffee pots, swords, leather goods, silverware, antiques, and household utensils.
Nizwa Fort, built in the 1650's, was the seat of power under the Al Ya'ruba Dynasty and is Oman's most visited national monument. The mosque here is one of the oldest in Oman. The sound of the mosque's muezzin calling the faithful to prayer fills the air.
One of the hundred forts in Oman.
Unique in scale in Omani architecture, the fort is filled with earth and stones to a level of 15 metres and capped by a platform with ports from which 23 cannons can be fired in a 360-degree radius. State-of-the-art for its time, Nizwa fort was laced with ingenious traps. To catch invaders off guard, stairs were interrupted by deep, gaping pits over which planks were laid - to be quickly removed when the intruder alarum was raised.
Desert discovery tours
A Bedouin child rides his camel.
Desert discovery offers travellers an opportunity to stay in comfortable permanent resting camps set in dramatic surroundings in the Wahibah Sands desert, one of the oldest in the world, with rolling dunes reaching up to 100 metres and shifting sands that change colour magnificently. This is the traditional home of the Bedouin, hardy, spirited people who are expert at surviving in these harsh conditions.
Visitors to the Al-Areesh Desert Camp in the Wahibah Sands, some 150km to the east of Muscat, can experience the thrill of dune driving, or simply explore the desert with a ride on a camel and a visit to the local Bedouin.
This vast area promises days filled with activity and night-drives that reveal desert life concealed during the day.
During the evening, travellers can enjoy a campfire with performances by Bedouin musicians, dancers and singers.
Oman's tourism targets
The Omani Government plans to diversify the economy to reduce its dependence on oil, and tourism plays a central role in this strategy.
Safety, a rich and diverse culture, and nature are the major attractions Oman offers tourists, Salim Bin AdeyAl-Mamari, director general of the country's Tourism Promotion, says, adding, "Oman is very clean".
Oman targets getting 1.5 per cent of its total revenues from tourism by 2010 and not less than 3 per cent by 2020, he says.
To achieve these goals, it plans to double the number of hotel rooms from the current 8,000 to 16,000 by 2010.
But this Islamic nation is not looking for people travelling on the cheap. "We are not looking for back-packers, we are looking for high-quality, high-class tourism," Bin Adey Al-Mamari says.
For a nation that bans casinos and massage parlours, it might be the wise course to adopt.
