Oman; Now and Then: A

Voyage Through
Time and the Residual
Culture

Ahmed Ali al-Mukhaini

jicfa@yahoo.com

Courtesy of Omannet.om
Courtesy of Pennsylvania Museum
 The Seven Voyages of Sinbad
• Geological Traverse
• Homo Sapien Migration: the Story of
Mankind
• Magan/ Makan Civilisation: gateway to
civilisations
• Monsoon and the Indian Ocean Culture
• Frankincense and Monotheism
• Modern Oman
• Voyage to come: Youth
Oman’s civilisation is not of structures nor Oman is
a modern day creation. Oman has always been
the gateway to other civilisations.
 I.
GEOLOGY
1/4
2/4
3/4
4/4
II. The Story
of Mankind
 III. Magan
Gateway to
Civilisations 1/2
 Courtesy: MHC

Magan Civilisation 2/2

Discovered by Europe in 70 CE
(Periplus of Erythrean Sea)

Roman
Parthian

IV. Monsoon, the Indian Ocean

Culture and Global Trade and
the making of Oman 1/3

Courtesy: Saudi Aramco

226y

8th Cen. CE

2/3 of ships

2/3
Courtesy: Saudi Aramco
Why Europe got interested in India and
by extension Oman?
V. Country of God:
Frankincense and
Monotheism (old
and new testament)
VI: Modern Oman
WHS
S1
Bahla Fort and Oasis: The Nabahina Dynasty
One of 4 WHS in Oman: (Bahrain 1, Saudi 2 and UAE 1).
1. Bahla Fort- 1987
2. Archaeological Sites of Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn- 1988
Arabian Oryx Sanctuary - 1994 - Delisted 2007
3. Land of Frankincense- 2000
4. Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman - 2006

Courtesy of Bait al-Zubair Foundation

 S2

Over 1870 fortifications including over 670

towers and over 500 forts and castles, etc.
Ya’aribah and Al Bu Said Dynasties

Courtesy of Bait al-Zubair Foundation

Languages of Oman ( by family)
and cultural subsets
• Arabic, Harsusi,
Hubyut, Shahri
(Jibbali), Bath-hari
and Mahri
• Baluchi, Farsi,
Kumzari and Sindi
(Luwati )
• Swahili
• Hindi, Guajarati and
Urdu
Religious Tolerance is Indicative of the Omani Character and
internal struggle
and Oman’s Commitment to Culture, Art and Learning.

Courtesy of Bait al-Zubair Foundation

The Future is in
the Beginnings

A Balancing
Act
 However,
This is not necessarily shared by all
Youth and Challenges of the Modern World
Total Population 2011
 75+ 75+

70-74 70-74

65-69 65-69

60-64 60-64

55-59 55-59

50-54 50-54

45-49 45-49

40-44 40-44

%female 35-39 35-39

%male 30-34 30-34

25-29 25-29

20-24 20-24

15-19 15-19

10-14 10-14

5-9 5-9

1-4 1-4

-500.00 -400.00 -300.00 -200.00 -100.00 0.00 100.00 200.00 300.00 400.00 500.00

2025
 75+ 75+

70-74 70-74

65-69 65-69

60-64 60-64

55-59 55-59

50-54 50-54

45-49 45-49

40-44 40-44

%female 35-39 35-39

%male
30-34 30-34

25-29 25-29

20-24 20-24

15-19 15-19

10-14 10-14

5-9 5-9

1-4 1-4

-120.00 -100.00 -80.00 -60.00 -40.00 -20.00 0.00 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00

2050
 Challenges

Youth Oligarchy/ non-Youth

• Employment
• Civil Liberties: freedom of
Expression
• Communication Gap and
ICT expectations
• Identity/ Role of Tradition
• Interlocking interests
(political, commercial,
ideological, etc.)

Shared Concernd
• Sustainable Development
• Social Welfare/ Protection
 Different Aspirations
Different self perception Omani vs. western
Greater economic and Kumma vs. Musar
cultural variations Arabic vs. English
Private vs. public
Individual vs. family
 Generational gap
Tradition and culture: new function
New Image: Modern-Open-Global Youth:
captured and commercialised
 What does this mean?

• Youth have a different perspective to the

world which we need to understand and
empathise with.
• Youth need to identify a proactive role and
seek to actualise it.
• Further youth skilling and engagement.
 jicf@yahoo.com

@jicfa

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