Random Country of the Week: Oh Man, Oman

By Brian Engelsma

Everyone always pays attention to Yemen, Oman’s younger brother to the west. Oh, Yemen, what an interesting and unique name you have, you are so funny and cute Yemen.  Screw you Yemen.  Oman!  Oman is random, and gets no press.

In case you didn’t already know, the Sultanate of Oman is a vibrant nation located on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, bordered to the north by Saudi Arabia, to the west by the bullshit nation Yemen, and to the south by the Indian Ocean. Home to two and a half million of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, Oman’s 120,000 square miles, roughly the same as Arizona, has been free from Portuguese rule for over three centuries.

Most of Oman consists of a vast gravel desert, although a mountain range does cut across the nation. The climate of Oman varies depending on where you are. Muscat, the nation’s capital, which is located in the east, receives about four inches of rain a year. In the southern province of Dhofar, however, over 25 inches of rain can be counted on during the rainy season.

Perhaps the most pressing issue facing modern Oman is the lack of available water. Water is more or less available throughout the nation, thanks to an extensive system of pipes, but drought and limited rainfall contribute to water shortages that can plague the Omani countryside.

Like other Arab states Oman is officially an Islamic state, with nearly 99% practicing Muslims. However, unlike other Islamic states Oman is made up of mostly Ibadhi Muslims, with the rest of the nation being primarily Sunni Muslims.

Islam spread to the nation during the Prophet Muhammad’s lifetime in the seventh century A.D. As mentioned earlier, Oman is the only nation made up of primarily Ibadhi Muslims, a feature it gained in the eighth century. One interesting feature of Ibadhi Islam that has shaped Omani life is that it chooses its ruler by communal consensus and consent.

The nation was ruled as a colony by Portugal from the year 1515 until the year 1650. Following Portuguese occupation Oman was ruled by various competing families, who formed a Sultanate. The Sultanates control slowly expanded to a good portion of the southern Arabian Peninsula, as well part of eastern Africa, most notably Zanzibar.

Much of Oman’s overseas territories were seized by the British crown in 1850. In 1856, following the death of the ruling Sultan, his sons quarreled over control of the empire, which eventually led to it being split in two in 1861, with present day Oman one part, and Zanzibar being the other. With the discovery of oil in Oman prosperity and wealth soon followed.

Currently Oman has a relatively high standard of living, but with dwindling oil reserves, significant concern exists that the nation will fall on harder times. Currently the oil business makes up over 99% of the nation’s income. In recent years oil production has been slowly decreasing. Oman does have reserves of other natural materials, such as Copper and Marble, but as of now has not fully developed them.

In an effort to branch out and diversify their economy, the Omani government has been attempting to stoke tourism and natural gas production in the country. The real treasure of Oman’s economic future, however, is industry, with Sultan Qaboos hoping that industries such as telecommunications and information technology will make up 15% of the nations GDP by the year 2020.

Oman features a variety of popular tourist attractions, such as wadis, or valleys in English, deserts, beaches and mountains. Popular tourist activities include sand skiing, mountain climbing, camel racing and camping.

Oman! Oman is a truly random country. Unlike Yemen and other similar nations on the Arabian Peninsula, only Oman can boast the mediocrity and peace that makes it a random nation.