A Date With Oman

Anurag Mallick & Priya Ganapathy savour a platter of experiences from Portuguese forts, to dolphins, ancient petroglyphs, and secret wadis served with trademark Omani hospitality.

- Anurag Mallick & Priya Ganapathy

Oman astonishes you with its riches. The Queen of Sheba’s palace near Salalah was the epicentre of the 6,000-year-old frankincense trade, and it is likely that the frankincense carried by one of the Three Magi during the birth of Jesus Christ originated here. Sinbad the Sailor was not a legend, but a man of flesh and blood who was born in the ancient Omani capital of Sohar. In the 8th century, Cheraman Perumal, the Chera king of Kerala, adopted Islam (purportedly the first Indian to do so), divided his kingdom among feudatories, and sailed to Mecca; he died on the return journey, and his tomb lies in the Omani port of Zafar.

Straddling the crossroads of three continents, Oman’s rich history was shaped by the waters that lap against its rugged shores. Hemmed by the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Sea, and guarded by the Al Hajar mountains and the Rub’ al Khali desert, it overlooks the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. The Persians and Ottomans vied for control over the lucrative maritime trade of the Indian Ocean. But the country’s geography was its strongest armour, and even the powerful Portuguese could only occupy a few coastal areas. Expelled in 1650 A.D., they left behind a slew of seaside forts. Today, Muscat’s twin forts, Al Jalali and Al Mirani, besides the Muttrah souk, stand as proof of the short-lived Portuguese presence in the Gulf.