Outward Bound School Oman challenges corporate honchos and Omani students on expedition courses

Imagine the executives of Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) surviving together high on the peak of Jabel Ahktar learning leadership skills. Or, imagine youth traveling from Salalah to Muscat on foot and with camels in honor of the 41th National Day tracked by local and international media. These are the 'unconventional' types of courses run by Outward Bound.

                              

(Port of Salalah employees trekking. Photo from: http://www.outwardboundoman.com)

The Outward Bound School (http://www.outwardboundoman.com) opened its 'doors' in Oman in 2009. Originally founded to teach WWII sailors the skills and self-reliance needed to survive shipwrecks, now offers leadership and skill building expedition courses in Oman and worldwide. It's a bit like the show Survivor except the goal is that the whole team completes the course together while learning new skills and how to work together. The current school in Oman runs courses for corporations and school youth.

The mission statement of Outward Bound states its purpose is:
  “ To inspire character development and self-discovery in people of all ages and walks of life through challenge and adventure, and to impel them to achieve more than they ever thought possible, to show compassion for others and to actively engage in creating a better world.” 

Outward bound offers the Omani people an alternate form of education to supplement  the classroom or corporate boardroom.  I find this to be an invaluable resource for the Omanis. There are no housemaids and no excuses on courses. Everyone needs to pitch in for the good of the group. 

41st National Day Journey. Photo from http://www.outwardboundoman.com

Omani pastimes: Cow fighting, Car drifting, Soap football, and Camel racing (Oh, what fun!)

Cow Fighting in Oman
Cow fighting is a popular recreational activity in Oman where two bulls are pitted together until the loser bull flees. Men bring their bulls to the place of engagement such as in an arena or a field. The cows arrive by pick-up truck and are led by rope to their fight. Two bulls start the round by pushing with body weight and using their horns. The first bull to quit is the loser.

Some winning cows can demand prices into the thouasands of Omani Riyals. Bull fights normally take place on Fridays and is normally an all male event. A famous arena is in Barka just outside of Muscat. Smaller localities also have fighting venues.

Auto Drifting
Car Drifting has become a mainstream past time in Oman for the youth. The 'shabab' meet at a planned destination with their vehicles and partake in high speed, controlled maneuvering while the wheels are torqued in the opposite direction throughout the motion resulting in the awesome drift effect.

Although exciting, drifting has inherent safety risks for the vehicles' motorists, as well as, the spectators. To drift one engages the emergency break while sharply turning the wheel to create the sliding effect. There is a 'drifting range' near Shinas. It is illegal to drift on main roads and one could be jailed or fined (around 150 OMR) if ROP were to enforce the law.

In addition, sand sporting or dune bashing is similarly enjoyed. Near Bidiyah (just outside of Wahibi Sands), there is a sand challenge sports site set up. If you don't own your own 4X4 SUV, it is possible to rent one and take a 'dune bashing' tour.

Sabone Footall (Soap Soccer)
Popular with teenagers, sabone football is played in a float made from strong vinyl. The floor is soaped down with a detergent like slipperiness. The players enjoy sliding while chasing the ball. Many youth seem to really have a blast with it.

Camel Races
Sometimes taking place on Friday mornings or on holidays such as in honour of National Day, camel races are a traditional occasion in Oman. Getting a camel ready for racing takes great care and training, as well as, good breeding. Several camel race festivals have been held in Oman each year.

Sometimes camels are raced grouped by their ages as camels start training for racing around age two. The coat color of a camel is known to be determined by the color of its surroundings; hence darker sand 'brings out' darker haired camels. I hope you may enjoy watching a camel race.

.emarat (امارات.) Domain Extension Available and عمان. (.OMAN) Coming Soon...

      The domain extension مارات. ((DOT)Emirate)-in Arabic characters) part of the Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) scheme under the ICANN programme allowing local language characters to be used in domain extensions (instead of English) went live the second week in November.

     Previously, the top level domain extension for the Emirates was .ae. One now can register their مارات. name if passing the requirements. It costs about 99 USD to register the 'dot emirate' name at a domain registrar such as 101domain.com. Domain registrars are authorized to sell the domain name with the extension assuming the name is still available.  'Due to the governing law of the UAE: Israeli entities and individuals are not eligible for .ae domain names.'

         It was announced that in Oman the عمان. (.OMAN) extension will be come live sometime next year reportedly in the first quarter of 2012. The extension has already been approved and registered by the proper authoritative organizations. It will be interesting to see what the demand is for the new extensions and what type of website development will be taking place. 

Print and Internet Media in Oman

English newspapers in the Sultanate

● Muscat Daily (www.muscatdaily.com)

Muscat daily is probably the best "read" for expats. It's a relatively new newspaper being founded in 2009 and is privately held. There is a nice mix between "official stories" and local interest. Also, international news is featured. One can recognize it by its bright orange and black heading.

The paper's Internet layout is organized and easy to navigate. One of the staff has started is own Facebook ('FB') page under the user name Muscat Daily Ed. It is not officially affiliated with the paper, but the FB comments about the news stories are interesting at times. Muscat Daily uses the printing press of Times of Oman.

● Times of Oman (http://www.timesofoman.com)

The Times of Oman is one of the oldest if not the oldest privately held English print newspapers in Oman founded in 1975.

The paper can be recognized from its striking logo boasting a gazelle. The Arabic version 'sister' paper is called Al Shabiba. In 2011, the Times won a Communication Arts international design award in the Editorial Design category (I've posted a few of the winning entries below).

The head of the paper is Essa bin Mohammed Al Zedjali who is responsible for the content in weekly column called 'Viewpoints'. To his credit and forethought (as there seems to be a dearth of books and of bookstores in Oman), a compilation of all the viewpoint columns has been published in a book by the same name called 'Viewpoints' written half in Arabic and half in English. 'Viewpoints' may be purchased in the duty free shopping area in Muscat airport. Sadly, Mr. Zedjali passed away early 2013.

Winning Design: Times of Oman

Winning Design: Times of Oman

● Oman Daily Observer (www.omanobserver.com)

The Daily Observer is a government sponsored paper founded in 1981.  According to their website the Observer is the, 'English-language daily newspaper with the largest circulation in the country.'

The paper focuses on official local news but also has pages on India and the Philippines, as well as, a business and sports section.

A nice feature about the website is one can download the daily edition in PDF format from an inconspicuous link at the bottom; however, the overall website could use a 'facelift' considering it's a national newspaper.

Update 2013: The website has been redone; it looks a lot better.


● Oman Tribune(www.omantribune.com) 

The Oman Tribune is a relatively new paper founded in 2004 with a focus on business. The paper claims:

'Since its launch on September 1, 2004, Oman Tribune has been giving readers top-of-the-line articles and graphics from exclusive services such as New York Times, Harvard Business Review, McClatchy Tribune News Service and Graphic News.' 

● TheWeek (www.theweek.co.om)

The Week enjoys a large expat readership with a focus on local happenings and events. The Week is free and distributed all through out Oman. The Week also features an "epaper" format where all editions including archives can be read online through a special digital edition application that lets you 'flip pages'. 
The paper is an easy read and normally flaunts a catchy lead story and photograph which grab one's attention. According to the paper, it is audited by an international audit agency – BPA Worldwide.

Arabic Media

Arabic Newspapers in Oman

● Al Watan “The Nation” www.alwatan.com/,  founded 1971; private   

● Al Shabiba “The Youth” http://www.shabiba.com/
● Al Zamn “Time” http://www.azzamn.org/ founded in 2007; private. 
Al Zamn recently faced trouble when its editor and journalist Al Haj were sentenced to six month jail term for an article published regarding alleged favoritism at a Ministry.
● Al Ruwaya “Vision” http://alrroya.com/

Internet Forums

● Sablat Oman - http://avb.s-oman.net/forum.php. Very popular in Arabic version. 
● Sabla English - http://www.englishsabla.com
● Omaniaa - http://www.omaniaa.net/
● Al Harah - http://alharah2.net/alharah/.

Relevant Legal Codes

See Article 61 of the Telecommunications Regulatory Act  'anyone using telecommunication devices to spread false news or harm someone can be punished with up to one year in jail and can be fined up to RO1,000'
... and now the newly worded amended Article 26:
 'Article (26) "It is prohibited to publish anything which may prejudice the safety of the state or its internal or external security, all that is related to military and security apparatuses, their bylaws and internal regulations, any documents, information, news or official secret communications whether the publication is through visual, audio or print means or through Internet or any of the information technology means unless permission is obtained from the respective authority. It is also prohibited to publish the text of agreements and treaties concluded by the government before they are published in the official gazette.” 



 

A description of leading English newspapers and Internet media outlets in Oman.

4.5 / 5 stars

English Newspapers in the Sultanate of Oman

Expat Quiz: Who's that GCC ('Gulf Cooperation Council') King ?

In this quiz, match the corresponding Country, Name, and Face. The answers are listed below.

Country
1. Bahrain   2. Kuwait   3. Oman   4. Qatar   5. Saudi Arabia   6 and 7. UAE (President and Prime Minister)


Face

 Name

 I.    Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
 II.  King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
 III.  Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah
 IV.  Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said
 V.   Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
VI.  King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud
 VII. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

GCC Leaders

Scroll down for Answers ->

 How did you do ?
 7    correct = Expert
5-6  correct = Professional
4     correct = Expat level
3     correct = Secondary School
2     correct = Grade School
0-1 correct = What's a GCC country..

Answers:

1. Bahrain (A, II)   2. Kuwait (D,III)   3. Oman (G, IV)   4. Qatar (B, I)   5. Saudi Arabia (F, VI)   6 and 7. UAE (President (C, V)  and Prime Minister (E, VII)

Bandar Al Khayran: Serendipitous Discovery

Highlights of Bandar Al Khayran

Semi-Submersible

• Bandar Al Khayran is a serene and picturesque bay inlet on the road between Yiti Beach Village and Sifah about 30 minutes from Muttrah, Muscat by car.
• Al Khayran is also set to be developed into a small private resort called 'the Oberoi' by the Alargan company featuring a spa, restaurant and 82 rooms with an expected completion in 2013.
• The underwater scenery in Bandar Al Khayran is also a tourist destination for divers and for the "Semi-Submersible" -a vessel used to explore the reef below. See http://www.alkhayran.com/ and http://www.marinaoman.net/ to take the tour or for more information.
  

Sketch of planned resort (from www.alargan.com)

Construction Area

Construction Area

Semi-Submersible Tour

Semi-Submersible

Underwater life: Photo, http://www.omantourism.gov.om

Underwater life: Photo, http://www.omantourism.gov.om