Oman site scenes

Speech delivered bySayyid Badrbin Hamad Albusaidi

Your Excellency President S.R. Nathan,
Distinguished members of the delegation, Your Excellencies, Dear guests, sponsors, Ladies and Gentlemen.

I would like to express our warmest welcome and our sincerest delight that President Nathan has chosen to honour us with this visit to the building site of the Jewel of Muscat boat, and kindly to launch the project’s website.
Here in this ancient fishing village of Qantab, we are witnessing and indeed celebrating the return of an aspect of Oman's maritime heritage that instils within us great pride: the culture of friendly, diplomatic relations facilitated by the Indian Ocean trade, which has been underway for more than twelve hundred years.

In no small measure, we owe the foundation of this project to our Singaporean friends. His Excellency George Yong-Boon Yeo, the Foreign Minister of Singapore, was the first to break the news to us about the discovery of the Belitung Shipwreck, and it was initially his vision to construct a replica boat in Oman, in the spirit of celebrating a rich maritime heritage. His idea was received with excitement and enthusiasm, and with the blessings of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, we embarked on this historical and educational initiative that promises to teach us so much about the Maritime Silk Route and ancient shipbuilding techniques, in order to rediscover the historic, economic, social, and cultural links between the Middle East and Asia.

Today, we are proud to see and be part of this great event in the making.

A word of realism and caution though; the road ahead is still long and difficult. The boat building has gone well, but the ambition to sail it thousands of miles across the ocean is a bold one. It remains to be seen whether our crew will have the resilience and good fortune of their forbears.
Despite the challenges, the Jewel of Muscat is a symbol of partnership rooted in a spirit of exploration and adventure. We are guaranteed success, for this common creative task before us cannot but strengthen ties between friends, working together, in a spirit of cooperation and connectedness.

In the modern era our two countries have enjoyed exceedingly friendly relations since 1985, when formal diplomatic ties were established.

Since then, we have benefited from positive bilateral ventures in trade, tourism, training, technology, exchange of expertise, and joint investment.

It was with great pleasure, then, that we welcomed the signing of the GCC’s Free Trade Agreement, concluded with Singapore last December.

It is our hope, that the bonds cemented by the Indian Ocean trade network centuries ago, and extended by bilateral initiatives of the present, will be augmented by this adventurous and commemorative cultural project.
The faces that comprise the joint working group we see here before us, along with so many more, throughout the world, who are working hard on this project from behind the scenes, but who are unable to be with us today, themselves speak for the cooperation and friendship, between Oman and Singapore.

We hope, too, that this project will educate new generations, helping our children to better and fully understand certain aspects of their roots, heritage and identity, and a global audience to better understand Indian Ocean history, in particular about the Maritime Silk Route.
May I offer the warmest thanks to all those who have worked so hard to make this possible.

This project has been realised through the wise leadership and generous support of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said. We are truly grateful for his vision, and honoured to serve him in every way we can.

Now may I invite Dr Tom Vosmer, Director of Construction, to say a few words, on behalf of the boat building team.Then, one of our youngest team members, Lamya bint Harub al Kharusyyah will introduce the state of the art Jewel of Muscat website.

Mutrah Corniche

This sweeping arc of old, balconied buildings and tiled mosque domes, souvenir shops and carpet vendors begins with the early-morning fish market, is punctuated with 18th-century Mutrah Fort and ends with musical fountains overlooking the harbour: it's a popular evening stroll for Muscat's citizens keen on catching the sea breeze. For those feeling energetic, it’s possible to walk from Mutrah to Muscat along the entire length of the corniche, looking out for boiling schools of sardines and leaping dolphins in the calm waves of the Indian Ocean. Muscat Gate Museum marks the entrance to Muscat proper: a gate that until 1970 was locked each night – despite the opening made for passing traffic.

Sohar

The coastal city of Sohar was once an important Islamic port and the largest town in the country. Visitors will be attracted to its large and functional souq with handy tailors, fruit sellers, and fishermen vying for space, and its fort which stands apart with its four-story walls and six towers, an imposing sight overlooking the bay.

Wahiba Sands a mesmerizing landscape

The Wahiba Sands is a long, narrow strip of high dunes and sketchy woodland about 110 miles from north to south and about 50 miles from east to west along the unspoiled coastline of eastern Oman.

In the north of Wahiba Sands are the most incredible sand dunes, some reaching a colossal 300 feet high and separated by enormous depressions.

These beautiful dunes stretch as far as the eye can see and it is a spectacular sight especially in the evening and the morning, when the warm colours of the desert become much richer and the long shadows accentuate the splendour of these giant forms.

The sands are made of grains of rock, blown in from nearby eroded rocks and marine sediments and they are moving inland at a pace of about 30 feet per year.

Wahiba Sands is not just a desert landscape though. It encompasses areas of woodland as well as the mudflats and lagoons around Barr Al Hikman, where large migrant bird populations congregate in winter.

It is also home to around 180 plant species and 200 species of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.

Anybody who chooses to live in the environment of Wahiba Sands must be hardy and resilient to tolerate its potentially harsh climate, the Bedu people are just that.

There are over 3,000 Bedu of varying tribal origins who live here among the woodland on the fringes of the sands.

There are also a number of small settlements along the coast that are lived in by the local fishermen who take advantage of the rich fishing grounds of the Arabian Sea.

Evidence of human occupation in the sands dates back as far as 8,000 years.

Qurum National Park

is another attraction in Muscat that has an exquisite collection of roses surrounded by a manmade waterfall, an amusement park and a lake. During the Muscat festival, Qurum National Park is a must visit place.

For history lovers, Bait azZubair Museum is the best place to refresh the history and the culture of the Omani tradition. Some other places to visit in Muscat include the Riyam Park, the Naseem gardens and the Kalbuh Park.

Also worth visiting in Muscat are the Amouage perfume factory; famous for its incenses and the Omani Halwah factory. In case you are more interested in museums, you can also check out the Bait Muzna gallery, the Marine Science and Fisheries centre, the natural History Museum, the Omani Museum, the Sultan’s Armed Forces museum, the Omani French museum and the Children’s museum.

These above stated tourist sites are must visit places for every tourist that comes to Muscat. In case you want to visit all these places, it is better to hire a cab and make a hassle free visit to all these places. If you have a tour arranger, all sight seeing facilities will be provided by the organization that also offers a guide who helps in interpreting the local language and making the tour all easier. So, if you are planning to visit Muscat, you cannot give the above stated places a miss as they are some of the well known tourist destinations of Muscat. So, enjoy sight seeing with your family and friends in Muscat.

Etymology

Map of Arabia identifies the territories of Cryptus Portus Moscha Portus.^] holars are divided in opinion on which of the two related to the city of Muscat. Similarly, references Omana and Moscha in Voyage of Nearchus. Interpretations of Arrianus' work by and eonclude that Omana was a reference to Oman, while Moscha referred to Muscat.Similarly, other scholars identify 's reference to Amithoscuta to be Muscat. The origin of the word Muscat is disputed. Some authors claim that the word has origins – from moscha, meaning an inflated hide or skin. Other authors claim that the name Muscat means or the place of "letting fall the ancho Other derivations include muscat from, meaning stronghidden land But v-man" (an) the old sumerian name Magan (Maa-kan), means sea-people in Arabic.