Like so many places on this cruise the country of Oman was a mystery to me. An independent sultanate, known as Muscat and Oman until 1970, Oman was the most influential power in the region in the 19th Century, controlling Zanzibar (See below) and other territory. Since the late 19th Century Oman has had strong links with Britain. The economy is dependent on oil, discovered in 1964. Like many of the Emirates Oman is diversifying its economy, and investing in infrastructure projects and its ruler His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said has shared the countries oil wealth with its citizens.
Zanzibar again was just one of those mysteries conjuring up images of spices and pirates but it is of course an island off the coast of East Africa that today is part of Tanzania. Under Arab rule from he 17th Century, Zanzibar was a prosperous trading port. It became a British protectorate in 1890 and an independent Commonwealth state in 1963 but in the following year the ruling Sultan was overthrown and the country became a republic, uniting with Tanganyika to form Tanzania- information courtesy of New Oxford Dictionary.
The capital of Oman Muscat is described as an interesting mix of medieval, traditional and modern architecture dominated by a Grand Mosque built under the instructions of Sultan Qaboos. Despite these attractions, I had chosen today to take the Exclusive Tour to Wadi Bani Khalid by 4x4. It proved to be an long but at times thrilling ride of over 600 miles – that will teach me to look at the map since the Wahabi sands for which we were heading for a taste of ‘dune bashing’ are located some 300 kilometres south of Muscat and nearly a third of the way to Salalah (Oman) our next port of call (See Map)!
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