Wadi Tiwi

When the first cargo ship loaded with oil set sail from Oman in 1967 and headed out into the world, a new era began for the country on the Persian Gulf. Once a trading superpower that traded with China and maintained its own trading posts in Africa, Oman had become a simple and impoverished desert state where people lived off agriculture and livestock farming in the few arable areas. There were hardly any other sources of income, leaving the population poor and largely uneducated. The vast land was barely governable, leading to regular tribal conflicts and sometimes civil war-like conditions. ...

The rose gardens of Jebel Akhbar come to life every year between the end of March and the beginning of May. Every morning, the rose growers go to their fields to pick the blossoms of their roses. These are collected in large baskets and then taken to the distillery, where rose water is made from the blossoms. The harvest season is short, and in comparison, the efforts throughout the year are significant to achieve the best possible harvest. However, the still quite high prices that farmers can achieve on the markets for their rose water more than compensate for the efforts. The high price that...

Sultan Qaboos ibn Said al Said ruled from July 23, 1970, until his death on January 10, 2020, in Oman. His successor is his cousin Haitham ibn Tariq. As an absolute ruler, the Sultan is the chairman of a cabinet, holding the most important positions himself in this cabinet and appointing other ministers according to his will. There are no free elections for the people, no parliament with political or personnel powers, or other democratic institutions in Oman. The Sultan unites the executive, judicial, and legislative branches in himself. Qaboos held absolute power in his sultanate, which is co...