Modern Era
Modern Era
The Portuguese began to establish small settlements, which were exemplary of the strategy in the Middle East. Yet even here, the Portuguese struggled to establish them long-term. Time and again, they had to defend themselves against the Ottomans, English, Persians, and Dutch. In 1650 AD, it was the Yaruba dynasty that initially unified Oman and expelled the Portuguese. This dynasty had a significant influence on East Africa, bringing great wealth through the slave trade and trade with India. A civil war, lasting about 25 years and resulting from power struggles, allowed the Persians to reemerge before Ahmad ibn Said successfully pushed them back. Since 1746 and until today, the Said dynasty has ruled with the current ruler Haitham ibn Tariq. In 1798, Great Britain gained influence in Oman through a treaty with the Sultan of Muscat and the East India Company. In 1840, Sultan Said decided to move his seat of government to Zanzibar. Despite British influence, this was a flourishing time in history, but after his death, there were disputes in the succeeding generation, leading to the division of the realm into Oman and Zanzibar in 1856. From that point on, the economy went downhill. Maritime trade collapsed, aided by the opening of the Suez Canal and the advent of steamships. Until 1970, the father of the current Sultan kept his country in isolation.
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Jabrin Castle
The Jabrin Castle is a residential fortress that was built in 1670 by Sultan bin Saif al-Ya'arubi. What visitors find on-site is more than just another fort or a small pre-Islamic fortress, like many can be found in Oman. The residential fortress of Jabrin can rightly be referred to as a castle. The old mud palace offers a whole range of interesting and unexpected sights and anecdotes about its builder and the people who once lived here. Already special in its construction Barely another fortress in Oman can showcase such precision and grace in the design of its decorations. The arabesques o...
Geography
The Sultanate of Oman is located in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula. To the northwest, the country borders the United Arab Emirates, to the west Saudi Arabia, and to the southwest Yemen. The 1,700-kilometer-long coast in the east forms a natural border. There, Oman borders the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Oman, and the Persian Gulf. The total area of the country is 309,000 square kilometers. Thus, the state is just slightly smaller than Germany. The territory includes the exclave Musandam at the Strait of Hormuz. The United Arab Emirates separate Musandam from the rest of the country. The...
Bedouins in Oman
Classically viewed, a Bedouin is a desert dweller who wanders as a nomad through the desert. Historically, nomads generally moved from grazing land to grazing land to ensure the survival of their herds and their respective tribe. The people in the coastal regions of Oman settled down long ago. In the fishing villages and smaller trading ports, people have lived as 'Hadr' for centuries—a term used to describe settled coastal dwellers. The Bedu (the term for desert tribes in Oman), on the other hand, have mostly settled down in recent decades. How many Bedouins are there in Oman? The country i...