Reminiscing the sights and sounds of Oman
- Anuttama Banerji
- May 3
- 7 min read
This piece, written from personal experience, reflects on Oman, seen and remembered through its coast and its connection to the sea.
We carry it on Maritime Musings as part of our effort to bring together lived experiences that reflect the maritime character of places across the Indian Ocean.
Building historical consciousness or an interest in maritime heritage conservation in any country is a lifelong endeavour and effort. However, curated travel experiences can provide the impetus to societies to build an affinity for the maritime domain among travellers.
For people like me who grew up with a continental mindset in the plains of India and far away from the sea, the latter was a source of great comfort. The torrid yet calm seas symbolised yin and yang for me, enabling me to understand that the good and not-so good often coexisted together in this world. For me, the sea became a befitting metaphor of life on earth for it has the ability to absorb within it myriads of human emotions.
For this article, I have chosen to talk about my visit to the ‘Frankincense country’. Yes, that is how the Sultanate of Oman was introduced to me as a child when my mother and I played “Atlas”. Since then, I harboured this ardent desire to visit ‘Oman’. It was a cherished dream that finally became a reality in February 2016. It is a good time to write about the visit to Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since this visit was exactly a decade ago.
A Grand Omani Welcome
My parents are avid travellers and I have acquired this love for travelling from them. Every year, they visit a new city, town or country. Thanks to their utmost generosity and kindness, I have been fortunate to travel across most of the Indian states and Union territories as well as large parts of the world. For their 25th wedding anniversary, true to their passion, they instinctively chose to travel and celebrate and zeroed in on the UAE and Oman after looking at the world map.
While UAE was a delight with the Dubai skyline greeting us among other sights, Oman was truly an oasis of the desert. It is a country with unparalleled natural beauty that can leave anyone spellbound. It is a country that is historically and culturally rich and Omanis have a mind of their own. They are a part of the mosaic called the Middle East but choose to have their distinct Omani identity, one that sets them apart from the Arabs, Turks and Persians who dot the region.
As travellers, my parents have always opted for the unconventional path. As a result, during this round of our travels, we had chosen to travel by road from Dubai to Muscat covering significant distance, time and space, venturing across the different emirates including the mountainous emirate of Ras-al-Khaimah. We also travelled past the now very famous ‘Strait of Hormuz’ and entered Oman via the Al-Wajajah/Hatta border post.
On a lighter note, I remember our travel bags/trollies being checked by sniffer dogs or Labrador retrievers at the border check post. It was different considering the UAE was very technologically advanced and our luggage at the UAE border was checked by X-ray machines. Anyhow, we had entered Oman and made our way to Muscat, crossing several towns and cities like Sohar and Seeb enjoying our long and memorable ride.
Musings from Muscat and Beyond
Muscat is a quiet and peaceful city. It is exceptionally beautiful. Its corniches and its distinct architecture provide us with a glimpse into the rich history of the Omanis. For the unversed, Oman is an outright thalassocracy, deriving its wealth from the sea. And Muscat, Oman’s capital, among other cities, provides it with its distinct maritime character.
For me, Muscat was like visiting home. My aunt or pishi in Bengali is a permanent resident there. Her husband having established a big architectural firm there is based there for the last 25 years. They are multilingual much like other members of my family speak English, Arabic, Hindi and Bengali with commensurate ease, and have become a part of the socio-cultural landscape of Oman. My aunt had been egging my father to visit her for a while now and we had finally made it. What I distinctly remember now is first visiting the museum, that had been recently established. It was a sight to behold.
I casually remember seeing beautiful artifacts, boxes, pen holders with distinct Arabic calligraphy. Moreover, seeing traditional Arabic dhows or boats and other traditional navigation equipment aroused my curiosity. Seeing these objects with my own eyes, transported me back in time and space.
However, what really piqued my interest included the beautiful ceremonial boxes and palanquins used by Gujarati merchants who had made Oman their home in the eighteenth century. These Gujarati merchants had travelled to the country for trade and come to imbibe the culture of the country. They had been granted citizenship by the Omani state as well as a recognition of their services to the state. In any case, Oman with its distinct Ibadhi roots, had come to be a melting pot of cultures.
Throughout our visit to the Al-Bustaan hotel, a leading landmark in the city, my aunt Jhumpa, a Kathak exponent trained by the legendary Kathak maestro Birju Maharaj who ran her own dance academy in the city, and my father, were discussing Omani history over several cups of quintessential masala chai.
At that time, the ruler was Sultan Qaboos and his relationship with India was solid. They were both discussing Omani politics during their adda session and my aunt had informed my father that Oman didn’t have a successor and the entire populace was concerned about this fact.
With time, that fact changed after Sultan Qaboos’ demise in 2020 and his nephew Sultan Haitham bin Tariq came to power but that insightful conversation has remained with me. Incidentally, the law of primogeniture has now finally taken root in Oman giving us more politically clarity as well.
I also recall visiting the Sultan Qaboos Mosque, majestic with its arches, corniches and niches – all very distinct to Islamic architecture. A more nuanced version of Indo-Islamic architecture incidentally made its way to India, with the true arch being replaced by the Indo-Islamic arch, now found in India at the Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi for instance. The architecture carried a distinct hue, a shade of ‘sky blue’ that rhymed with the sky!
Visits to the Bahla and Nizwa forts, away from Oman were just as interesting and gave me a good glimpse of life in Oman. True to our character, we drove across the country to see these magnificent forts that left an indelible impression on our mind. Bahla’s unique history deserves a mention here. It is the first historical site in Oman to be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built by the Banu-Nebhan tribe and is a classic example of a medieval Islamic military fortress. The fortress is made of mud and brick and is purposely situated at a height and today provides majestic views of the landscape. Its purpose in its heydays, of course, was to keep an eye on the movements of potential invaders and act as a “defensive wall” against them.
We wrapped up our visit to Oman with a visit to the beautiful Opera House in Muscat, enjoying a soothing cultural performance. Overall, visiting Oman was a unique experience filled with adventure and intrigue. The simplicity of the people also left a deep impression on my mind.
Richness of Anecdotal History
For a person like me, travel and learning have an intimate relationship. My interest in World History and International Relations is a by-product of this engagement. I think I chose to study International Relations as it provides me with an opportunity to appreciate the world.
My extensive travels courtesy my parents and now because of my own interest have imbued in me a love for learning, the history and the arts. Today, when I travel, I try my best to imbibe a part of the local culture by learning about a country’s literary heritage and culture. I am a linguist, like many others in the family. So more often that not, language provides me that gateway to comprehending the culture of a nation.
Since childhood, every night, my grandparents and parents would read a bedtime story to me that spoke of legends, tales of kings and queens and the world-at-large. Every day I would be introduced to a new country and a new legend. One day it was “Sindbad the Sailor” who made a foray into my life, on another day, I was part of the “Thousand and one Arabian Nights”. Perhaps, it was this love for storytelling, that has made me a raconteuse today.
On a more serious note, ‘travel history’ is an important part of our academic curriculum with travellers such as Qublai Khan and Marco Polo richly enriching our understanding of cities and cultures. Today, the culture of writing travelogues has become a pursuit of travel writers and most of the times, travel has come to be considered the ‘preserve of the élite’. However, this perception needs to change. It is a part of our quotidian existence and one that enriches us in more ways than one.
Travel is a way of life. An experience that gives you perspective and knowledge that no other form of learning can ever provide. In this regard, anecdotal history and field visits refine our understanding of culture and history. They provide us with a lens to see the world differently, where we are learners and practitioners of knowledge.
Travel cultivates in us a love for culture and create a sense of historical consciousness as well. These ‘lived experiences’ cannot be substituted by any form of knowledge acquired through textual sources. Their impact is eternal for such experiences influence and shape our understanding in ways that are profound and surreal. Such experiences provide expression to our thoughts and ideas and gives us wings to fly. Quite literally.
Anuttama Banerji
Anuttama Banerji is a political analyst based in New Delhi, India. She graduated with a Master’s degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics & Political Science in 2018.
Her research lies at the intersection of water and maritime security as well as South Asian geopolitics. She is a prolific writer and commentator and her work has been published by The Diplomat, ThePrint, South Asia Monitor, South Asian Voices among other national and international forums.
She is a polyglot and is fluent in English, French and Urdu in addition to her native Bengali and Hindi.
Beautiful reflections!