Website Popularity Rankings Oman: English blogs higher than newspapers & Ministry of Tourism

Popularity Rankings in Oman of websites listed by category based on Alexa data. Forums about society, politics and football are extremely popular. The Ministry of Education is the most popular government sponsored website. Egyptian and foreign news outlets are more popular than Omani ones. And, certain English blogs have a higher popularity ranking than major newspapers (including the Oman Observer), the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Tourism.  Downloading and file sharing also ranks high. I have not included all sites or search engines in the rankings below.

Government Sites
14 - Ministry of Education - moe.gov.om
21 - Ministry of Education Forum - forum.moe.gov.om/~moeoman 
30 - Higher Education Admission Center - heac.gov.om 
31 - Sultan Qaboos University - squ.edu.om 
77 - Manpower - manpower.gov.om
121 - ROP - Royal Oman Police 
181 - Muscat Securities - msm.gov.om 
237 - General Directorate of Traffic - traffic.gov.om 
737 - Ministry of Information Oman - omanet.om
1127 - Ministry Of Tourism - www.omantourism.gov.om/ 

Forums / Blogs / Hobbies
2 - Facebook
5 - Sablat Oman - s-oman.net - Global rank 3,059: Popular online forum all about Omani society
8 - Kooora - kooora.com - All about Arab football
17 - Censored Blocked Page Template - block.om 
20 - Hi Kora - hihi2.com - For those interested in Arab football 
28 - Omaniaa - omaniaa.net - Popular forum about politics, economy and society
37 - لبرزة العربية ALBRZH ALARABYA - albrzh.net  - General Arab forum; jobs... 
45 - Cool Binat -  cooolgirls.com
52 - Goal.com - goal.com - 'Provides soccer news and entertainment'
55 - ظفار المجد Dhofari Almajad - dhofari.com - Local forum on affairs of Dhofar region
108 - alharah2.net - Omani forum
199 - London Olympic 2012 - london2012.org 
570 - Muscat Mutterings - muscatmutterings.com, English blog on Oman
812 - AndyinOman .com - Expat teacher's blog about Oman; nicely done with lots of photos and descriptions

Shopping/Auctions

40 - Ebay - ebay.com 

48 - Apple Inc.- apple.com 
51- Amazon 

Service Providers / Banks
47 - Mazook -  Mozook is the number one mobile service provider in the Middle East and CIS region.
90 - Omantel - omantel.om - Phone service provider
92 - Bank Muscat - bankmuscatonline.com
99 - Oman Air - omanair.com 
106 - Booking.com 
120 - Nawras - nawras.om - Phone service provider Oman
1132 - Friendi Mobile - www.friendimobile.om 

Media
26 - MBC - mbc.net 
42 - Masrawy, Egyption portal and news site - masrawy.com
50 - Oman Daily - omandaily.om 
61 - Al Jazeera News - aljazeera.net 

74 - Al Arabiya News Channel - alarabiya.net, Arabic Language news station

81 - '7 Days' - youm7.com - Egyptian news site 

95 - Al Watan - watan.com - 'The largest Arab American Newspaper'

98 - Al Watan (Omani) - alwatan.com - 'Voice of Oman to the World'

101 - BBC Online - bbc.co.uk 

135 - India Times - indiatimes.com 

155 - Shabiba Newspaper - shabiba.com; Local Omani paper 

158 - Oman News - omannews.gov.om 

176 - Azzamn (Time) News - azzamn.org - Omani local news

232 - Quds Al-Arabi - alquds.co.uk - Arabic daily political newspaper published in Britain

255 - Gulf News - gulfnews.com 

295 - Times of Oman - timesofoman.com
322 - Muscat Daily 
1047 - Oman Tribune - www.omantribune.com 
1251 - Oman Observor - www.omanobserver.com

Downloads / Shareware
25 - My Egy - myegy.com - Place to download games, films and Arab movies
33 -  GulfUp | Free Files Sharing Site :) - gulfup.com 
49 - Arab Seed - arabseed.com - Watch or download Arabic movies, TV shows, music,  games

Other
274 - PDO

Special Ramadan Programming 2012 - MBC1

This is a quick summary of  some of the special TV programs produced for Ramadan this year on MBC1 Channel.

Adel Iman in Fareq Naji Atallah

9 pm  (Oman Timings) -  فرقة ناجي عطاالله - Gang Naji Atallah 

Gang Naji Atallah is a nightly series that stars the famous Egyptian actor Adel Imam.
Premise: Adel Iman plays an diplomat working in the Egyptian Embassy in Israel. He is sacked and his assets frozen. So, he forms a 'gang' to rob an Israeli bank of 200 million dollars. They pull off the heist, and now he and his gang are in the middle of escaping back to Egypt through Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. The series is a comedy putting the characters in ironic and surreal situations, but sentiments of the struggles of the Palestinians and conflicts in Sinai, Egypt and elsewhere are weaved throughout the script. Comedy/Drama.

11 pm - Omar

This is a historical reenactment of the story of Omr Khattab who was appointed Caliph in 634 of the Islamic Empire. He was know for fairness and justice. The series takes us through his life; the rise of Islam in Mecca and later its expansion. The series is well-made and was filmed mostly in Morocco. There was some controversy just before the program's release concerning how religious figures were going to be portrayed.

12 am - Khawaja (Egyptian word for foreigner) Abdul Qadir 

This is a story about a British man who first moves to Sudan and then to Egypt in the 1940's. When he arrives in the Sudan, Khawaja is a heavy drinker but soon reverts to Islam with the guidance of his Sudanese friend and finds new peace in life. While in Egypt, he meets the wali's 'mayors' family and falls in love with the wali's sister Zainab. The story focuses on the relationships between the people in the Egyptian town and their trials and tribulations in life. Drama/Romance

1 am - Tariq wa Hayoona

The lively entertainers from Kuwait host a game show where callers can win various prizes and money. The shows format is a bit different this year. Whereas, previously callers searched for items in rooms; this year Tariq and Hayoona compete against each other in various tasks such as hanging laundry, making candy apples, screwing in light bulbs and more. The caller associated with the winner of the task (either Tariq or Hayoona) gets additional prize money. Callers are from all over the Arab world and each caller is serenaded with traditional music from their country. Average prizes are 500 - 2000 Saudi Rials. 

2 am - Haroof Waoloof  'Letters Thousands'

Another game show where callers receive trivia questions where the answer starts with a certain letter in the Arabic alphabet. The announcer is famous for waiving his Saudi sword around. In this year's promos, he is dressed up as Zorro and uses his sword to carve an Arabic 'ح' or 'h sound for 'haroof' instead of Zorro's 'z'. Almost every show a car or two is given away.

Tash ma Tash - This was a Ramadan series that ran for 18 seasons, but was not shown this year. It is a comedy.drama that deals with social issues in Saudi. The actor Nasser from 'Tash' is also a judge on 'Arabs Got Talent'. Below is a translated episode from Arabic into English from last year dealing with the religious police the muttawah.

.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

De Niro kidnapped by Omani Sheikh from Salalah in movie plot

The film Killer Elite was released earlier this year. The film revolves around the storyline that an Omani Sheikh kidnaps De Niro's character and holds him in an underground "bunker" in Salalah to force the character of Jason Statham into killing three former SAS soldiers to avenge the death of the Shiekh's sons during the Dhofari uprising. The movie is well-made with good actors but somehow missed the mark in thrill factor and received mixed reviews.

Actors De Niro and Statham in supposed Omani landscape

      The highlight of the movie for me is that the plot revolves around Oman. Even though the the story takes place partly in Oman, none of the film was shot in Oman. The film was filmed mostly in Australia, “To our knowledge this is the first time Melbourne has doubled for Oman, but Victoria’s locations are so diverse that the state has doubled for many locations over the years....," commented the CEO of Victoria Film. And, sometimes filmed with an Australian foreground but Morrocan background edited together, "Some of the scenes were shot with foregrounds in Australia and backgrounds in Morocco, so it was like a magic stunt, keeping the hands moving and keeping the story and pace moving..," Director, Gary Mckendry (http://www.postmagazine.com/Publications/Post-Magazine/2011/October-1-2011/Directors-Chair-Gary-McKendry-Killer-Elite.aspx).

    This is where Oman misses the mark by not inviting the crew to film in Oman or by not sending Omani "consultants" to the set because where could Oman ever get such great publicity for its tourism "projects" and country. Jason Statham's brawn speeding through breathtaking Omani wadi cliffs combined with De Niro's notoriety featured  in a Hollywood movie shown to thousands of people. Instead, Oman is pictured as a backward country filmed with a Moroccan background and with an Omani flag or two thrown in. Honestly, the movie does not represent the Omani people or Oman's natural beauty well or realistically. The movie is based on a book, "Feather Men" by Sir Ranulph Fiennes which in turn is allegedly based upon a true story.

Character of Shiekh Amr in Killer Elite

     In the movie, the Shiekh's son is indifferent and does not show remorse when is father is killed and states, "I'm not going back to the desert," nor does he wear a dishdasha or any other traditional Arab robe throughout the movie. Also, many Dhofari people speak the local language Jeballi at home not Arabic. To Omani peoples credit, the Omani culture compounded with religious undertones calls for extreme respect for one's parents. Some people actually fear their fathers. It is highly unlikely an Omani person would publicly act so indifferently upon a parent's death. In addition, I have never heard any Omani say anything  remotely close to, "I'm not going back to the desert." Oman has a lot more to offer and achieved more than pictured (in fact, Oman is literally not pictured at all in this film).

TV in Oman

TV Schedules:
MBC.net: http://www.mbc.net
Etfarag: http://www.etfarag.com/Home.aspx

About TV in Oman

Most households use satellite TV in Oman. When buying and setting up a new TV in Oman, it is often necessary to also buy a satellite dish and receiver. The dish should cost around 50 OMR and the installation should cost a maximum of 10 OMR labor charge. Most people pay a one-time fee around 10 OMR to receive basic satellite service.

You can find a basic 32" flat TV from a known brand for around 150-175 OMR. The Ruwi area in Muscat is home to many electronic stores where you can negotiate for TV, dish, receiver, installation and delivery. LuLu's hypermarket also sells TVs, but often does not provide the dish or installation. Most sales clerks in retail stores speak English well. A popular service is NileSat. To receive premiere channels such as Hindi movie channels (Bollywood), there is a monthly surcharge.

Oman has three government run TV stations; however, the programming generally doesn't meet the expectations of the people and many seek other Gulf produced shows on other satellite broadcast channels such as MBC for their entertainment.

The MBC group of channels (http://www.mbc.net/) might be the most viewed channels on satellite in the Sultanate: MBC 1 (Arabic); MBC 3 (Cartoons), MBC Max (English movies), MBC Action (English movies and shows).  Many British and U.S. series such as CSI run on MBC (maybe a season or two behind).

Egyptian movie channels are also popular as Egyptian film industry has had a rich history and notoriety since before the 1950's. Both the Hollywood  movies "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and "Pretty Women" were based on Egyptian films. International news stations such as BBC, CNN and French news channel are also available via satellite. Music stations consist of Najoom 1 2 3, MTV, VH1 and Wanash.

      During the holy month of Ramadan, special programming is produced on many Gulf networks. Many residents shift their sleeping schedules during Ramadan and are awake until quite early into the morning when some of these shows are broadcast.

A leading show called 'Tash ma Tash' comes out of Saudi. The programme just finished its 18th year of Ramadan specials. Each episode lasts about an hour and focuses on different aspects of Saudi social issues and culture but a wide-ranging audience can relate to the characters and emotions brought forth in the story line. The show is what I would consider "cutting edge", but meant to be a comedy. Reportedly, the cast of the show is under constant death threats by some elements in the Saudi society.

Last Ramadan, there was an episode referring to the "past" vs "present" mutawah (religious police). The clip shows mutawah "of the past" walking down a village road greeting everyone, asking about their families, etc., then, shows a present day clip of mutawah sporting long beards in a SUV patrolling the streets. They kidnap a teenager with long hair and force him to the barber shop to be clipped.

Later on in the show, the mutawah stop any car with a man and woman inside together and demand their IDs to make sure they are married or related. Toward the end of Ramadan,  an episode aired about the excruciating heat in the region and the protagonist fried eggs by the sun and then hid in the freezer for some relief from heat.

Another Ramadan show broadcast on MBC is Tariq wa Hayoona طارق وهيونة. Tariq is a famous Kuwaiti entertainer on TV and in theater. Hayoona often acts in Tariq's productions. Tariq wa Hayoona is a game show where callers look for items in rooms of a studio house and win prizes and money. Contestants call in from all over the Gulf region. Tariq and Hayoona often "help" the contestants find the hidden items. The pair are quite energetic, and each show begins and ends with a singing number. Although they sometimes joke as if a married couple on the show for entertainment purposes, they are married to other people.





A third Ramadan series was a game show featuring Abdullah Abdulkhair عبدالله بالخير. Abdulkhair is a singer/entertainer based in the Emirates. It's rumored he loves the colour red and lives in a house decorated in almost exclusively red. He has a short monologue at the beginning segment of the show where he portrays a different character or theme each night. The following is his "take" on Gaddafi.