Bon Ramadhan: A new generation celebration from France
Assel and Olzhas, are a young Muslim couple, originally from Kazakhstan, now living in the Auvergne-Rhones-Alpes region of France famed for its ski-fields and gastronome, where they live with their...
Has ‘Doing the Wrong Thing’ Become the Easier Option?
Why is it that so many people in the world today make bad, and wrong decisions? For everything we do, every action we all take, we only have to ask ourselves one of two questions, before implementing...
An Algerian Ramadhan
Looking around the world, and at the way Ramadhan is celebrated, I found a former expatriate American teacher from the University of Nizwa, Amanda Amarotico, who converted to Islam during her time...
Plenty of questions, but very few answers
I do not want to talk about Covid-19! I am sick of it. It dominates my life, my work, my family, my home, my diet, my freedom, my sleep patterns, my entire ability to function as effectively as...
Goodness and kindness last forever
I have been asked if I would share my Ramadhan reflections, being a resident, teacher, lecturer and journalist in the Sultanate for more than 10 years. My initial experience of Ramadhan was while...
From the other side of the fence
My friends in New Zealand and the United Kingdom are curious about Ramadhan, knowing a little of it, and if I’m asked how it ‘looks', I would have to respond like this… For me, little changes...
Far from the madding crowd: Covid-19 in Dakhiliyah
Far from the madding crowd may be an alluring Thomas Hardy novel, but it is also an apt description of the Al Dakhiliyah region, where Nizwa is now a bustling, thriving, centre of commerce. Well, at...
The diary and thoughts of a Covid-aware expatriate
I’ve been in lockdown for three weeks today, since my wife and I waved our daughter goodbye at Muscat International Airport. We never knew then what tomorrow, next week, or next month, let alone...
Better informed, better prepared, but not all wiser!
There is no doubt that rather than just talking about COVID-19, people all around the world are sharing their experiences, thoughts and opinions in regard to their management of the respiratory...
Murano: The artistry and culture of quality Glassmaking
Photos by Yelena Glukhovtseva Historians still disagree whether moving the glassmaking industry from the magnificent city of Venezia, or Venice as we know it today, was to protect the city, or to...
No School, No problem! Take lots of photos
Muscat: The Covid-19 pandemic’s first significant impact on the Sultanate’s society and communities occurred when school pupils were sent home as a precaution, followed a short time later when all...
The Birdman of Masirah
Now and again, a story reaches out to you from nowhere, and recently, that's certainly how one Darrel Pinto, a humble House Captain at the Masirah Island Resort, and I crossed paths. Lena,...
Coronavirus: It need not all be doom and gloom!
I’m no different, I believe, to most people at the moment, in respect of how much and what I know about COVID-19, so I will share that with you, what I’m going to do about it, and how I think we...
Julien Vermeulen: Fashion in Feathers
The art of fashion in feathers, or plumasserie, is one that originated in South America, but is one in which the French have excelled since the 13th Century, when peacock hatters began to use the...
Dakhiliyah cyclist wins Oman Cycling Championship
MUSCAT, MARCH 16 - Following the announcement of the Supreme Committee dealing with Covid-19, and the announcement by the Ministry of Sports Affairs suspending all sports events and activities held by...
Muscat to Muscat via Addis Ababa
Muscat, March 15 - The current COVID-19 situation is serious, but it has had its ‘different’ moments too, especially for travellers caught in situations of none of their own making. One such...
Instead of wringing our hands about this, let’s do something?
Among the greatest challenges facing educational authorities around the world and teachers (lecturers), today are probably those of academic integrity and student resolve. Now in terms of plagiarism,...
Launch of French Week 2020 today
MUSCAT, MARCH 11 - The third French Week in Oman has its official launch with around 400 guests invited to the French Embassy, the residence of the French Ambassador to the Sultanate Renaud Salins, in...
Designing Sustainable Cities Conference a significant French initiative
[caption id="attachment_609227" align="alignleft" width="201"] Renaud Salins, the Ambassador of France to Oman[/caption] MUSCAT, MARCH 10 - French Week 2020 in Oman gets underway on Thursday with a...
Caution best defence against virus
Muscat, March 7 - Cornavirus (COVID-19) of course is a significant concern to us all at the moment, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that neither Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV...