Ain-Al-Yaqeen - June 3, 2005

		June 3, 2005

UPON THE DIRECTIVES OF SULTAN QABOOS BIN SAID:
INCREASING CARE GIVEN TO CAMEL AND HORSE RACING IN THE SULTANATE OF OMAN.
DISTINCTIVE TOURISTIC FEATURES INCLUDING HISTORICAL SITES, MOSQUES, NATURE, AND MODERN SHOPPING CENTERS.
MODERN DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESS IN DIFFERENT AREAS.

Oman is rich in natural assets and cultural heritage and the country provides an attractive and safe destination for tourists. With features such as wildlife, cultural heritage including UNESCO listed forts, an extensive coastline with spectacular sandy beaches, sunny hot climate, variety of water sports and recreation and unique archaeological sites of world significance, Oman is an attractive international tourism destination.

The Sultanate of Oman lies on the south cast corner of the Arabian Peninsula between latitudes 16˚40' and 26˚-20' north and longitudes 51˚50', and 59˚40' east. Its coast runs to a distance of 1,700 km from the Strait of Hormuz in the north to the borders of the Republic of Yemen, thus overlooking three seas, the Arabian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

It is bordered to the west by the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to South by the Republic of Yemen, the Strait of I Hormuz to the North and the Arabian Sea to the East.

The Sultanate occupies a total area of about (309) thousand km2 and includes different terrains that vary front plain, to highlands and mountains. The coastal plain overlooking the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea forms the most important plain of Oman, the area of which amounts to 3% of the total landmass while the mountain make up 15% or the total area, paramount among which are two ranges: Al Hajr mountains which stretches in the form of an are from Ras Musandam in the north to Ras Al Had. The second is Al Qara mountain range situated in the far side of south west of Oman. Sand and desert cover the greatest area as they represent approximately 82% of the total area: most of it is the Empty Quarter.

The Sultanate's climate varies from one area to another. In the coastal areas we find a hot and humid weather in summer while it is hot and dry in the interior, except for some high areas as the weather is moderate over the whole year. In the southern area the weather is more moderate. Rain in Oman is scarce and irregular. However, sometimes heavy rainfall is also reported. Governorate of Dhofar is an exception, where heavy and regular rain is registered from June to October due to monsoon.

The Sultanate is divided administratively into three governorates, Muscat, Dhofar and Musandam, and five regions, Al Batinah, Adh Dhahirah, Ad Dakhliyah, Ash Sharqiyah and Al Wusta. These governorates and regions consist of' Wilayats amounting to 59 in number. Each region has one or more regional center. The total regional centers amount to 12.

Governorate of Muscat is situated on the Gulf of Oman at the south part of Al Batinah coast. It is confined between Gulf of Oman and the mountains of AI Hajr Al Sharyi. The Governorate is the most populous area of the Sultanate. The average density exceeds 24 times the average population density in the Sultanate.

The Governorate consists of six wilayats: Muscat, Muttrah,Bowshar, A'Seeb, Al Amerat and Quriyat. Muscat is the capital of the Sultanate and the headquarters and the administrative apparatus of the state. It is an old city that played an important role as a commercial station since the early ages of Islam. It is also one of the most important trade centers because of its strategic and special location. It is famous for Al Jalali and Al Mirani forts.

In Muscat and its wilayats we can observe this remarkable harmony between the ancient heritage and the modern contemporary features. You can see the old houses and markets, small shops and narrow roads, next to the modern markets, shops and wide streets. This preserves Oman's historical and cultural identity on one hand and gives it at the same time the spirit of the age and modernization on the other hand.

The Governorate of Dhofar is located in the south of the Sultanate. The coastal strip stretches for 560km, and the region has an area of around 1,500km2, of which only 130km2 are affected by the monsoon rains. The coast of Dhofar is a haven for the fishing industries and sardines are one of the most prolific fish in the catch as well as lobsters, abalone and prawns. Agriculture is a main industry in Dhofar and crops such as coconuts, bananas, sweet potatoes (yams), lemons, papaya, wheat and corn are grown. Traditional crafts include blacksmithing, goldsmithing, embroidery and needlework.

Dhofar is an area rich in history. In 1992, an American satellite discovered the remains of a city submerged beneath the sands of the Omani section of the Rub' al Khali (the Empty Quarter). Initial speculation indicated that this was the legendary city, Iram Dhat al Emad, distinguished by its imposing columns and high walls, which is mentioned in the Quran. The site has been subject to much exploration and study by archaeologists who have dated pottery and glass vessels excavated from the area at around 100BC. It has also been ascertained that the city sank under the sands due to what has been deemed a 'light earthquake'. This could be the 'clamour' which is referred to in the Quran: '..a great clamour was heard in the sky and Shaddad and all who accompanied him were struck down' - and the city sank below the ground.

The Dhofar region is subdivided into 9 wilayats. Its climate is dramatically different to the rest of Oman due to the effects of the monsoon rains (khareef) which arrive during the summer months, creating humidity and moderate temperatures of around 300C. As a consequence, the area becomes lush and green, with waterfalls and rivers feeding the surrounding pastures. The mountain ridge, which receives the most rain, stretches for 400km from east to west. During the khareef, springs gush forth and provide plentiful water supplies for much of the rest of the year. The fresh greenery is ideal for cattle grazing and livestock rearing is an important occupation in the area.

The wilayat of Salalah, which is the administrative capital of Dhofar, lies on the Arabian Sea, around 1040km from Muscat in the north. The city has been subject to many historical and archaeological studies over the years and evidence has been found in the form of writing, inscriptions and signs indicating that a number of different civilizations have succeeded each other.

Governorate of Musandam lies in extreme north of the Sultanate. It is separated from the rest of the Sultanate by a strip of UAE land. Its rough mountains rise to 1800 metres above sea level.

Governorate of Musandant is distinguished for its strategic location, with part of it known as Ras Musandam - overlooks the international water passage called the Strait of Hormuz.

It is worth noting that not the whole of the Strait is good for navigation. The part suitable for sea navigation falls within the territorial waters of the Sultanate, which made Omanis shoulder a huge responsibility in organizing navigation in this Strait since the old ages. The strategic importance of this Strait has increased nowadays, as it turned to be a crossing point to 90% of the Gulf's oil shipped to all over the world.

Governorate of Musandam consists of four wilayats: Khasab. bukha, Daba Al Bayah and Madha. Khasab town is the regional center of the Governorate located 481 kilometers from the capital Muscat.

Wilayat Khasab is situated in the north corner of the governorate. It has taken its name from the fertility of its soil, and it has a port (Khasab port). As regards Wilayat Daba AI Bayah, it is situated in the south east of Musandam. Its inhabitants depend on fishing, agriculture and ship building.

It is a semi desert plain which slopes from the southern fool of Al Hajr AI Gharbi Mountains towards the Empty Quarter. It is separated from A'Dakhliyah Region by AI Kur Mountain to the East; it joins the Empty Quarter from the West and Al Wusta Region from the south. A'Dhahirah Region consists of five wilayats: Al Buraimi, Ibri, Mahdha, Yanqul and Dhank. Ibri town is one of the regional centers located some 279 kilometers one of from the capital Muscat. Wilayat Ibri is distinguished for its unique location which joins the Sultanate with other areas in the Arabian Peninsula. Furthermore, it was a crossing for the commercial convoys since long. It has a lot of historical places such as forts, fortresses among which are Al Salayf Fort, Ayn Al Hadith and Ayn Al Janah.

Wilayat Al Buraimi which is situated in the North West corner of the Sultanate, adjacent to the borders with UAE, is the second biggest wilayat of A'Dhahirah Region in terms of its population, thus ranking next to Ibri. It is famous for agriculture and has many historical and touristic sites. The city of AI Buraimi was replanned during the years (1990-1905) and has been provided with all modern services.

The Batinah Coast region runs from Khatma al Malaha in the north, to Ras al Hamra in the Governorate of Muscat. The coastal plain is approximately 25km wide and lies at the foot of the Western Hajar Mountains. After Muscat, it is the most densely inhabited area in Oman. The Batinah has been cultivated for many years with a variety of food crops. The area has a history of maritime and industrial activity. Sohar, the main city of trade centuries ago, has a new port under construction, being built at a cost of RO120million. The city is renowned for its copper deposits, and archaeological evidence points to copper extraction being carried out 5000 years ago. There are still three copper mines in operation in Sohar with over 18 million tons of copper deposits. It is an attractive region for tourists due to its clean, safe beaches and the plethora of archaeological features.

One of the first references to 'Sohar' is in the work of historian, Yaqut al Hamawi who implies that the city took its name in the 6th century AH from a descendent of Noah: Sohar bin Adam bin Sam bin Noah. When the Palestinian Arab scholar Muqadisi visited the city in 10th century AH he described it as a "flourishing city with a large number of people living there. It is a beautiful city with a comfortable life, and its mosque overlooks the seathe Mihrab (indicator of the direction for prayers) changes colour because it is covered in copper".

The Dakhliyah region, in the Interior of the Sultanate, plays a great historical role in the coming of Islam to Oman. At the heart of the region lies the wilayat of Nizwa, which was a sanctuary for scholars and jurists, and a stronghold for powerful leaders. Nizwa has been deemed the 'Pearl of Islam' due to its restoration of the Islamic beliefs to the country, its seats of Islamic learning and its schools of Islamic jurisprudence. From the adjacent wilayat of Sumail, Mazin bin Ghaduba, the Companion of the Prophet Mohammed, (Peace Be Upon Him) travelled to Mecca to embrace Islam. There are eight wilayats forming the Dakhliyah region.

Al Wusta Region is situated to the south of both A'Dakhliah and A'Dhahirah Regions, at the east side it is linked to the Arabian Sea, at the west to the Empty Quarter and at the south to Governorate of Dhofar. It includes a large area of central parts of the Sultanate. It is distinguished for having a great number of oil wells.

This Region has been created in 1991 as an independent region in order to strengthen efforts since its cities and villages were part of A'Dakhliah and A'Sharqiyah Regions and Governorate of Dhofar. It consists of four wilayats: Hayma, Muhut, Doqum and Al Jazur.

Wilayat Hayma is situated in the center of the region, situated on the Muscat-Salalah road which links the Northern parts of' the Sultanate with the Southern parts. It is a desert area, therefore its people are migrating Bedouins. This wilayat is famous for its wild animals especially deer and Arabia Oryx which are found at (Jaluoni) area. This privilege is peculiar to this Region of Oman. The area of the Oryx sanctuary is approximately 25 thousand km. It has been listed by UNESCO in the World Heritage List. The other three wilayats are situated at the coast over looking the Arabian Sea.

The government built schools, hospitals and mosques and dug artesian wells to provide the Region's population with drinking water. It also constructed roads to join the interior areas to the coastal areas as well as the other parts of the Sultanate, paramount among which is: Nizwa - Hayma - Thumrayt, which has been tarmaeed and gave Hayma a great importance - joining it with north and south of the Sultanate. It also resulted in seeing modern lift Features in the Region.

Ash Sharqiyah Region is the north east front of Oman over looking the Arabian Sea from the east. It includes the internal side of Al Hajr Al sharqi mountains which join it from the north. It also joins Wahibah Sand frmothe south and Ad Dakhliyah Region from the west.

Ash Sharqiyah Region consists of wilayats : Sur , Ibra, Bidiyah, AI Qabil, Al Mudaybi Dima Wa At Taiyyin, Al Kamil Wa Al Wafi,.Jaalan Bani Bu Ali, Jaalan Bani Bu Hussan, Wadi Bani Khalid, Masirah.

Sur town is one of the regional centers Located some 337 Kms from the Capital Muscat and the most important of Ash Sharqiyah cities. It played a historical rule in trade and navigation in the Indian Ocean. It was also known for ship buildding, as it was the most renowned city in the Arabian Peninsula in ship building in the last century. Besides, marine activity and ship building, Sur is femous for some historical touristic places such as caves. It is also known wood industries. textiles and produces a number of agricultural crops.

Ibra - the second regional center - is an agricultural wilayat. It also has some crafts and traditional industries. As regards Masirah Island which is in the Arabian Sea, it is distinguished for its strategic location and for the massive and different species of turtles which lay and hatch their eggs in the coasts of the island.

The Blue City, Oman's largest tourism development project, involving an investment outlay of more than $10 billion, is expected to lay the foundation stone for a new era of development in the country's economic and social arena.

The prestigious, multi-billion dollar Blue City, which is one of the largest projects of its kind in the entire Middle East, will come up at Al Sawadi seafront area near Barka. The project will be developed over several phases, in the next 5-10 years, official sources told Times Business.

The international investment consortium, along with the project developer, will make a broad presentation on the project on June 4, 2005, in Muscat. Details of the proposed 34sqkm multi-speciality seafront city Al Madina Al Zarqa will be announced to the national and international media at Grand Hyatt at 9.30am. A comprehensive presentation on the project will be made at 6.30pm at Al Bustan Palace Hotel on the same day.

Ahmed bin Abdulnabi Macki, minister of national economy and deputy chairman of the Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council, will preside over the presentation ceremony.

More than 90 journalists from the international media are expected to attend the press conference.

The international investment consortium (Al Sawadi Investment and Tourism Company) is made up of Oman's Cyclone LLC and A.A.J. Holdings, Bahrain and Oasis Middle East Holding.

Tourism industry experts said: "The government is providing the project with extensive support as the 'Blue City' is expected to give a big boost to the Sultanate's tourism industry, and attract good amount of foreign investment."

Bahrain's ReeMoon, which is currently developing the one million sq metre, Bahrain Financial Harbour, has been appointed the development managers for the mega Blue City project in Oman, which is, in due course, expected to become home for more than 200,000 people.

"This is a very large and exciting tourism project that will bring several world-class facilities to the city, which is much needed for today's tourism development initiatives," tourism industry analysts said.

"With the support of Sultan Qaboos' government, private sector is actively partaking in the nation-building process. Worldwide, it's an age of tourism, and the Blue City like endeavours will attract a good amount of foreign investment," Omani industrialists opined.

To be developed over several phases, the Blue City, which is one of the largest urban economic development projects in the Middle East, will include many tourism components such as hotels and other tourism attractions, educational, healthcare, sports and marine sectors.

"It's an important milestone and an era of opportunity for Oman's tourism industry to test new highs. The Blue City venture is expected to provide enormous job opportunities for nationals, from the initial phases onwards. We must congratulate the promoters of this project on taking initiatives to develop a mega project of this kind in Oman," analysts added.

InterContinental Hotels Group, the world's most global hotel company, is confident that Oman's tourism industry will continue to grow in the coming years with the country being tipped as the 'next big thing' in the Gulf tourism market.

Quickly emerging as the No. 1 holiday spot for its beautiful coastline, peaceful cities and lush environment, Oman is increasingly making it to the top of international traveller's wish lists.

"What we are witnessing now in the industry is the emergence of Oman's boom time. At Inter-Continental Hotels Group we have the experience and expertise that is required to work in line with the government's initiatives to ensure that the industry grows healthily and steadily," said Tony Zamora, director of operations, Oman, Inter-Continental Hotels Group and general manager of Al Bustan Palace Hotel.

The Middle East, which has in the past been viewed by many of the world's travellers as a largely unexplored tourist terrain, has gained popularity over the years with the increased marketing of destinations such as Bahrain, in the 1980s, and Dubai, in the 1990s.

With properties Al Bustan Palace Inter-Continental Muscat, Inter-Continental Muscat, Crowne Plaza Hotel Muscat and the Holiday Inn Al Madinah, Crowne Plaza Resort Salalah in Oman, Inter-Continental Hotels Group believes that the next decade will be a true indication of the country's potential in the tourism sector. "Here in Oman we are witnessing a transition period where there is a greater interest in visiting the country than ever before. Here at Inter-Continental Hotels Group we are going to do everything we can in line with the government's initiatives to support the growth of the tourism market," said Zamora.

By working in association with the government's plan of action, Inter-Continental Hotels Group has helped to develop its properties by the sea as the premier place to stay when diving in some of the world's most breathtaking dive spots.

The Inter-Continental Hotels Group caters to all travellers business and leisure. "With stunning year-round weather, Oman is the ideal place for a holiday.

"It is just the place to relax, get in touch with nature and discover the beauty of Arabia in a tranquil setting," said Zamora.

"But because of the stunning environment, it is also becoming a hot spot for business and MICE travellers."

Home to the stunning and unforgettable Al Bustan Palace Inter-Continental Muscat, which was built in 1985, Oman is well positioned as a provider of some of the finest properties. Considered to be one of the best hotels in the Middle East and sixth in the world, the Al Bustan Palace Inter-Continental Muscat has for almost 20 years made the secrets of Arabia accessible for European visitors.

On the other hand Sayyid Asa'ad bin Tariq Al Said, the Sultan's representative, met the camel owners and those concerned with camel racing on the new Camel and Equestrian Association premises at Al Rahba farm in the wilayat of Barka. He discussed with them topics relating to camel racing, notably fixing camel riders' age and preparation of lists of camels registered at the association. Sayyid Asa'ad told media men that the royal directives of Sultan Qaboos have transferred the responsibilities of the Omani Equestrian and Camel Association to the Sports Affairs Ministry which will elect a new president for the association, adding that he will always support this sport. He said the Sultan has endorsed several projects relating to this sport including the association's new building. He added some new utilities will be established including a track for show jumping and a horserace track (more than 2,000 metres). He said the association will offer any jockey who represents the Sultanate in regional and international events an amount of RO25,000 and a car. He hoped that the Sultanate's jockeys will achieve good results in the marathon horse racing which will be hosted by the Sultanate during November 2005. The event organised by the association will be sponsored by Oman Establishment for Press, News, Publishing and Advertising.

Meanwhile Minister of Sports Affairs Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidi had announced the formation and recognition of the Oman Equestrian & Camel Federation through a communiqué to the media.

As per the ministerial decision 60/2005 dated May 24, 2005 it was decided to form a temporary board to run the Oman Equestrian & Camel Federation.

The board is headed by the Rashad bin Ahmed Al Hinai, the undersecretary at the Ministry of Sports Affairs, while the vice-president ise Mohammed Saad Al Munwari, the director-general of sports activities.

The temporary board also consists of seven members nominated by the ministerial decision. The members are Hilal Al Hajri, Faisal Al Raisi, Mahmood Al Farasi, Said Al Roshadi, Nadir Al Mawali, Mohammed Al Balushi and Issa Al Raisi.

The temporary board has been given a three-month period before which the general assembly has to be convened and the new board elected.

Until then the temporary board will conduct all the activities, including administration of the federation.

The board may also seek the help of technical expertise to run the activities.

Sayyid Asa'ad bin Tariq Al Said, president of the Oman Equestrian and Camel Federation (OECF), has appointed Sheikha Najia bint Khalaf bin Mubarak Al Ma'awali, as his deputy for equestrian affairs.

He also issued other decisions appointing Sheikh Said bin Abdullah Al Roshdi as OECF secretary-general and supervisor of camel affairs, Farouq bin Saleh Al Adawi as OECF technical expert, Nasir bin Mohammed Al Wahaibi as director of administrative and financial affairs, Khalid bin Mohammed Al Saifi as acting director of equestrian affairs, Hamad bin Ali Al Saadi, as acting director of camel activities affairs, Adil bin Isa Al Balushi as acting director of technical affairs and Najma bint Said Al Sariri as acting director of information and public relations.

Also in line with the development progress in Oman Salalah Port handled 2 million tonnes equivalent units (TEUs) for the second consecutive year. The port received 5,816 ships since it became operational in November 1998. The executive president of Salalah Ports Services Company said that the Salalah port container terminal witnessed continued increase in the handling of containers and ships.