Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
rative domains, and by the end of the century, the country had stagnated economically, not
helped by British pressure to end its slave and arms trading.
Coastal Versus Interior: Isolation
The new century was marked by a rift between the coastal areas, ruled by the sultan, and
the interior, which came to be controlled by a separate line of
imams
(religious teachers).
In 1938 a new sultan, Said bin Taimur, tried to regain control of the interior, sparking off
the Jebel Wars of the 1950s. Backed by the British, who had their own agenda, Said suc-
cessfully reunited the country by 1959.
In all other respects, however, Said reversed Oman's fortunes with policies that op-
posed change and isolated Oman from the modern world. Under his rule, a country that a
century earlier had rivalled the empire builders of Europe became a political and econom-
ic backwater. While neighbours such as Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait were establishing en-
viable welfare states and sophisticated modern patterns of international trade, Oman
slumped into poverty, with high rates of infant mortality and illiteracy. Even the commun-
ist insurgency in Dhofar during the 1960s failed to rouse Said from his reclusive palace
existence in Salalah, and by the end of the decade his subjects, the most powerful of
which had been either imprisoned or exiled, lost patience and rebellion broke out across
the country.
The unrest led to a palace coup in July 1970 when Said's only son, Qaboos, covertly as-
sisted by the British, seized the throne. With a face-saving shot in the foot, Said was spir-
ited off to the Grosvenor Hotel in London, where he spent the remainder of his days.
Some suggest that Said was not a greedy or malicious leader, just fiercely protective of his
country's conservative traditions, which he feared would be eroded by the rapid modern-
isation experienced in neighbouring countries. Perhaps the country's contemporary bal-
ance between old and new, so skilfully maintained by his son, owes something to Said's
cautious approach to Western influence.
TOP OF CHAPTER
People & Society
The National Psyche
Since the sultan came to power in 1970, Oman has trodden a careful path, limiting outside
influence while enjoying some of the benefits that it brings. The result has been a success-
