Dates: They are all around us, but where have they come from?
MUSCAT: The date is the sweet fruit of the Phoenix Dactylifera, or Date Palm, which is believed to have its
Read more
Author: Ray Petersen
Are we just pawns in a global ‘shell’ game?
Fossil fuel, says the Oxford dictionary, is “a natural fuel such as coal or gas, formed in the geological past
Read more
Unwrapping the gift of the old city of Qalhat
Photos by Lena Petersen MUSCAT: Almost everybody, at some time or another has remarked upon the remarkable prominence of the
Read more
My glasses keep fogging up… and I am not happy!
Like most of you, I detest having to wear a mask. They are uncomfortable in this hot weather, and I
Read more
Emerging from the bubble: Oman’s tourism and hospitality prospects
MUSCAT: The world, in the slow and uncertain manner in which a newborn lamb takes its first steps, is gradually
Read more
Three weeks to prepare for Oman’s second annular eclipse
MUSCAT: Less than six months since the last significant astronomical event in the Sultanate, a rare annular solar eclipse, when
Read more
The realities of COVID-19 could be timeless…
If Oman does not get its act together! I fully support the Supreme Committee and the Ministry of Health in
Read more
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
Read more
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,
Read more
An Algerian Ramadhan
Looking around the world, and at the way Ramadhan is celebrated, I found a former expatriate American teacher from the
Read more
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,
Read more
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
Read more
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
Read more
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
Read more
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
Read more
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,
Read more
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
Read more
No School, No problem! Take lots of photos
As parents you should relax and start by explaining clearly to your children why we are forced to be indoors the importance of adhering to this restriction, and the need to keep learning
Read more
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
Read more
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
Read more
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
Read more