One of the brightest impressions of the world travel of Qaboos was the meeting with his grandfather Taimour bin Faisal in Bombay. “We rushed into each other’s arms. Both were very excited — we saw each other for the first time, because my grandfather had left the country before I was born. Taimour bin Faisal turned out to be a very nice person, we had lunch. He asked me about Oman, my parents, my studies and service. I was very happy to see my grandfather. This is one of the unforgettable events of my life. I have some photos of that meeting”.
I wanted to know how the plans of reforms were taking shape, so I ask the Sultan when and in what way did you mature the plan of reforms in Oman? what was the first impulse that made you think of reforming your country?
“Every country has its ups and downs. We had to find a way to revival and development. But the money from oil was not the only thing that should have ensured the rise of the country. Education — that is the key to success. Education is not a goal, but means for people to know themselves better. The problem of education has been interesting me from my early youth. Without education people cannot get ideas of good and evil, cannot take care of themselves. I was very conscious about the fact that a country like Oman with a rich and ancient history was in a difficult situation, which was unjust, that it had a chance to revive and should have taken it. I was very upset that my country had lost the grandeur and fame it had had in the past... When I was thinking of what was to be done for my country, I understood that I had to set priorities. Education has become the most important of them”.
As far as we touched on the issue of Oman’s glorious past, which had inspired young Qaboos to search for a new way for his country, I ask:
What figures and events of the world history attract you most? Who of your predecessors of the dynasty Al Said has influenced you most?
His Majesty answers: “There are many of them, I cannot select one person. Every great man had something original in his activity, something that had to do with problems of his time. They have remained in history just because they have managed to resolve important tasks of their epoch. Talking about Oman I think adoption of Islam, when our people accepted with an open heart the words of the Prophet, was a crucial event. Then, I am fascinated by the image of Malik bin Fahm”.
“This was before Islam?”
His Majesty nods: “Quite right... As far as our dynasty goes, I am most attracted by Ahmed bin Said and Said bin Sultan. Especially the last one — under him Oman has reached the greatest glory and power. Everything related to this name inspires descendants very much”.
He continues talking about more familiar events and personalities, that is of the Arab world. On the first place among those that had left a deep mark in his mind there is the Arab-Israel conflict of 1967: “Defeat in the war was a shock to me. This defeat dispelled illusions, it brought me back to reality and I came to a conclusion that what was to be settled in different ways after could have been avoided”.
As a child he had taken interest on events in the world and many of them took to heart. He confesses that the revolution in Egypt has become a real surprise. They used to hear that king Farouk was a worthy man, all of a sudden the media began to portray him in black. The events in Iraq, where the ruling dynasty was overthrown caused bitter feelings in 18-year-old Qaboos, especially he was upset by atrocities of the actors of the coup. This confession made me understand better the humane way of Sultans rule: he didn’t take his revenge on the defeated rebels of Dhofar, though it had taken some hard years to fight down the insurgents supported from abroad. On the contrary, he gave them a possibility to join peaceful life and become successful.
My next question regarded the Sultan’s plans for the nearest future of Oman. This was the answer: “I wouldn’t call myself a conservative, I am somewhere in the middle. As far as preserving culture and folk costumes go I am conservative, because there are a lot of things in them which should remain with us forever. But when we think about challenges of the time we have to adapt, being both conservatives and liberals... Oman enters the 21st century having a solid base. But we cannot stop, we should proceed. Making a step we have to think of a following step”.
Five years passed. On March 11, 2005 I was once again going to Saih Al Barakat. Familiar landscapes were succeeding each other outside the car window: austere mountain slopes on the left, a runaway steppe with rare acacia trees on the right. But there was something new, something that I had not seen the last time: instead of the tent village there was an elegant building as if from the ancient times. It was the Sultan’s new residence Hisn Al Shomoukh.
Heavy carved doors swung open before me. The interiors of the palace turned out to be ascetic. There were narrow niches divided with horizontal partitions from top to bottom of the walls. The same way it was in the chambers of the ancient palace of Nizwa and Jibrin castle located nearby. In each detail of the decoration a subtle taste of the Sultan — a connoisseur of antiquity and admirer of national traditions — was sensed.
Soon I was asked to go up to the first floor for a meeting with His Majesty. I found him in an excellent form as if years had no power over him. His speech was as energetic and expressive as before.
First of all I handed him over my newly published book A Reformer On the Throne, for which my first interview with him became a base. With his characteristic soft humour the Sultan said that he had already got acquainted with my work and had recognised the person in the book. Accompanied by general laughter I said, I hoped he liked the protagonist.
Though not so many years passed after our first meeting, many things had changed in the world and, naturally we talked about them. In this connection we spoke about perspectives of Oman. The Sultan said that the main task was to guarantee people’s participation in the decisions regarding their lives — in policy, economy and even healthcare. It looked like that topic interested him most of all, as he spoke a lot about it and was especially inspired. In particular he said, that the times when a narrow circle of people somewhere on the top decided for all and the rest were to obey, had passed.
The second topic covered that day was transparency: transparency of decisions taking, of governance, of everything. Further, witnessing important events of life of Oman, like intensive election campaign for municipal councils and election of members of Majlis Ash’shura, or construction of powerful industrial complexes and ports, I recalled these words many times. One could easily guess whose creative thought was behind all these accomplishments.
Every time when I happen to be in the magnificent interiors of the Royal Opera House, a unique architectural masterpiece, I remember the Sultan’s words:
“In Oman we try to preserve our musical heritage. I cannot give preference to just one direction or to separate works. I like the music of Andalusia, Turkish and Iranian music, a lot of Indian and African music. Of course, I love music from other Arab countries, for example Yemen and the Gulf countries. The music of Oman developed under the influence of many other cultures, for example India and Africa. Our music is extremely diverse and expressive. Fortunately, Oman has maintained its tradition very well and I try to help its development. But it does not end there; we also have all the main types of orchestra — symphonic, military, jazz and so on. I hope that all these efforts to develop music will lead to the fulfilment of my goal — raise the cultural level of the people in general and musical education in particular.”
Whatever he conceived was implemented in a perfect way. It concerned effective foreign policy combinations, thanks to which he was called “A Wise Man of the Gulf”. It concerned the development projects that were realised under his leadership. It is not an exaggeration to say that he has imbued a new life in the country without disturbing a single stone in the ancient foundation of its culture. He has increased its wealth and filled people with pride for their nation.
This is concluding part of the memoir on Sultan Qaboos by Sergey Plekhanov, Russian scholar and author of A Reformer on the Throne.
Sergey Plekhanov -
sergey.plekhanov@gmail.com -
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