author - oman observer

Oman, as a nation, has matured and grown in so many ways during the last five decades since His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos came to power. If we look at the cornerstones of what is required to be a...

Little did we know it but Oman has yet another impressive Marine Biologist and Environmentalist in its midst. Suaad Saleh Al Harthi, an Emirati woman making waves in marine conservation and management...

It’s good to see the Royal Oman Police (ROP) making traffic enforcement a higher priority over recent months, as more police vehicles appear to be patrolling our highways. Speeding, dangerous and...

Fittingly, having gained her degree in Marine and Fisheries Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University, a young Omani woman is now establishing a significant national and international profile in the...

Life skills’ is a phrase we hear more and more in educational circles today alongside ‘critical thinking’ and ‘global citizenship’. Life skills are defined by the World Health Organization...

Edgar Degas wrote, “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” Having helped my wife Lena discover new artistic avenues of expression during our New Zealand vacation, I understand...

It’s amazing how random thoughts can lead from one theme to another when we are doing little more than ponder. With all the flying I’ve been doing lately, a very good example reared its...

Don’t put off till tomorrow, what you can do today! Well, here I am on annual leave, in New Zealand, about 8,000 km away from Oman, and what’s this? Blue skies every day? Well, nearly. Yes,...

Ray Petersen  - petersen_ray@hotmail.com - Flying is definitely the way to travel, but the airlines, as a collective entity, at some time, need to wake up their ideas and provide an enjoyable,...

Ray Petersen - petersen_ray@hotmail.com - That landlords are having difficulty renting out their properties, especially in the capital, is no surprise, as the construction industry has continued...

Text by Ray Petersen and photos by Lena Petersen - William Wallace was immortalised in Scotland long before the film Braveheart, starring, and directed by Mel Gibson, was released. However, since...

RAY PETERSEN - Petroleum Development Oman is referred to locally as PDO, and is the major producer of crude oil and natural gas in the Sultanate of Oman, and is also one of the top twenty oil...

Ray Petersen - petersen_ray@hotmail.com - We are a sensitive lot, aren’t we? We get upset when trivial things go wrong, simply reacting to our own lack of composure. We get offended at what...

Ray Petersen - petersen_ray@hotmail.com - Gee, that’s a tough question isn’t it? The creator of the Charlie Brown comic strip had Linus ask, “What would you say you want most out of life...

RAY PETERSEN - The Office of the Grand Mufti of the Sultanate of Oman is well known to Omanis, but possibly not so well known to the expatriate community. Maybe we do understand that the office is...

Ray Petersen - petersen_ray@hotmail.com - Times have changed. Oh, how they have changed. Once upon a time when we went on a ‘holiday,’ it was to relax, chill out, do nothing and recharge our...

MUSCAT, June 5 - Ben Ewing, with his confident demeanour and affable manner, could almost have jumped off the pages of a John Grisham novel. I put it to him that the luster of the profession has...

How hot is it? Well, it’s so hot I saw a dog chasing a cat the other day, and they were both walking. Well, bad jokes aside, I’m sure that having the hottest months of summer, and Ramadhan,...

By Ray Petersen — The Holy Month of Ramadhan is upon us, and it’s a different experience, even after eight years in the Sultanate, to observe how some people prepare themselves for the month of...

By Ray Petersen — Many expatriates are currently preparing for the annual summer migration to cooler climates as the intensity of the summer heat bites, just that little bit harder. Some go on...