We’re almost at the end of 2014 and to see out the New Year in style, we’re taking a look at the past 12 months in Oman to remind you of the stories that made the headlines
A t the end of last year, we promised that 2014 would be even better and Oman has not disappointed us.
Over the past 12 months, the country has been witness to some memorable moments that, in some cases, could change the future of the country forever and steer the Sultanate in a new direction.
Y Magazine has been with you every step of the way, bringing you the very best stories from every corner of Oman. We’ve been in Salalah reporting on the Muscat Youth Summit – this year it was all about tourism – and watched our sportswomen make a bit of history by staging the first GCC Women’s Cricket Tournament.
Oman has made the record books more than once, whether on land or water, by two wheels or four.
The year started with the long arm of the law catching up with smartphone technology as the Royal Oman Police (ROP) announced it was launching an App.
Two Omanis made global news after being kidnapped at gunpoint in Lebanon on their way back to the Sultanate. The men, in their 20s and from the Al Rustaq area, were held for three days after being snatched from a taxi before being released unharmed.
Also making the front pages was the news that the head of the PDO Tender Committee had been jailed for three years after being convicted on corruption charges. The government official was also fined RO600,000 and dismissed from his post in a case that shocked Oman’s oil industry.
Torrential rain after a storm in the capital left Muscat waterlogged this month. Drivers faced a three-hour wait stuck in gridlock and some schools were forced to close to save parents having to battle through the traffic.
In positive news, work started on Nizwa Grand Mall, a shopping centre and restaurant development spread over 37,000 square metres. And Y celebrated its 6th birthday with a party at the Grand Hyatt Muscat hotel.
But the month finished on a terrible end. January 19 was a black day on the roads after a bus crash left three pupils of Pakistan School Muscat (PSM) dead and dozens injured. The overcrowded bus travelling from Mabela overturned after hitting a rubbish collection truck near PDO in Qurum. Schools would later move to introduce monitors on buses to supervise pupils and drivers.
February saw Britain’s Chris Froome win the Tour of Oman 940km race, while runners later headed out for the Muscat Marathon. Later in the month, it was four-legged racing with The Gallops of Oman challenge, which saw 110 riders from around the world race 180km across the Sharqiyah Desert in an event organised by the Royal
Cavalry of Oman. A second bus crash in Sur killed a schoolboy and the teenage driver after a collision with a car. Two-dozen pupils from the Indian School Sur also suffered injuries in the accident. The lethal H1N1 virus made it to Oman’s shores in March, leading to two deaths. Six people would also lose their lives in flash floods as torrential rain lashed the country.
Daring deeds were high on the agenda this month as photos released by Red Bull showing a record-breaking climb by professional climbers Stefan Glowacz and Chris Sharma, who abseiled into Majlis Al Jinn Cave, the second largest in the world, and climbed back up. A voyage from Mumbai to Muscat also made it into the record books that month. Nashwa al Kindi and Hilary Lister, who is paralysed from the neck down, sailed 850 nautical miles from India to Oman in just nine days. Nashwa became the first Arab female sailor to complete a trans-oceanic sail.
In April, we found out that almost two million expats from around the world are living and working in Oman.
By the next month, their future was looking a little uncertain after a ROP public statement appeared to suggest a two-year ban would be enforced on expats returning to Oman after leaving the country. The Ministry of Manpower would later clear up any concerns, saying the ban only applied to expats who leave the country before the completion of their two-year contracts. The visa debate would continue to rumble on throughout the year, though, with a blanket ban on some professions, including construction. Private sector employers were finding it harder to get visas for foreign workers, in particular women.
Teachers found themselves on the spot for once when the Ministry of Education announced they would have to sit an exam to test their own knowledge. A failure would result in being sent “back to school” with intensive training. They weren’t the only ones sweating it out, with parts of the country feeling the heat after a change in weather and rising levels of humidity seeing the mercury touch a sweltering 40-45° Celsius. We finished the month with the news that the source of the latest outbreak of the deadly MERS virus, which had killed almost 100 people worldwide, including two in Oman, had been traced to camels. Camels tested in Oman had been
positive for the virus.
June was a month for big screen movies and a storm that never was. Oman’s largest 3D-enabled screen opened at City Centre Muscat, along with nine others, as VOX Cinemas came to town. City Centre Qurum got seven screens. We also saw the opening of The Cave restaurant complex, the largest and first of its kind in the Arabian Peninsula, sitting atop the Darsait Hills outside Muscat and offering a unique dining experience. Meanwhile, we were preparing for tropical cyclone Nanauk, which was said to be heading for Muscat. As panic spread and evacuations began, Nanauk had other plans and suddenly veered off course, missing Oman completely.
We were also reading about a unified GGC visa said to be on the way by the end of the year, but now pushed back to 2015.
While Nanauk calmed down, a storm had been brewing at LuLu supermarkets and in July staff staged a three-day strike calling for better pay, bonuses and working environment. About 1,300 workers took part, bringing stores to a standstill across Muscat and customers stranded at tills. It was all over by the time we celebrated Renaissance Day on July 23.
Children were in the news in August. It began with a police appeal to find the parents who abandoned two Omani toddlers in Qurum Natural Park during the Eid holidays. The boys, believed to be siblings, were eventually adopted after no trace of their parents was found.
Tragedy then struck as two children, aged seven and nine, and a teenager drowned while swimming in the Wilayat of Saham.
A brighter ray came when Y launched a first-of-its-kind competition giving children the chance to win RO500 towards their tuition fees with help from Oman Tourism College. Mahmood Tariq Jalal, 16, a Grade II pupil at Anas Bin Al Nadher School in Seeb, scooped the prize for his wonderful poem about his love of Oman.
Things were getting colder as the Ice Bucket Challenge craze swept through the country with everyone from guests and staff at Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa and Y Magazine’s Matt Blackwell joining in.
In September, the country was thrilled to see Omani racer Ahmad al Harthy make history by becoming the first entrant racing under an Omani licence to win the British GT Championship at Donnington Park Grand Prix Circuit in the UK, confirming his legendary sportsman status.
As the summer slipped away, we realised that rents in Muscat had risen by seven per cent as demand outstripped supply. Shatti, Azaiba and The Wave, Muscat, were revealed as property hotspots.
Better news was in store for small-to-medium enterprise owners when a ban on the employment visa was lifted. The ban was initially implemented for six months in November 2013 before being extended.
Oman also saw its first diabetes summit as experts seek to tackle alarming figures showing that 20 per cent of the Sultanate’s population suffers from the disease. We all had to learn a new name for Nawras as it rebranded as Ooredoo, becoming part of a global brand with 95 million subscribers.
Oman welcomed quite a few visitors towards the end of the year with politicians, hail and snow, and even British royalty paying us a visit. Muscat hosted nuclear negotiation talks between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, before the capital was battered with strong winds, heavy rains and thunderstorms. Some areas of the country saw hailstones and even snow.
Prince Harry caused quite a stir when the young royal was in town for three days, including National Day on November 18, during which he made trips to Nizwa Fort and Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque.
The Sultanate went patriotic crazy for National Day, with huge parades and celebrations to mark 44 glorious years. Oman’s national football team almost capped it all off with an amazing start to the Gulf Cup of Nations, finishing top of their table. Sadly, it didn’t last and glory eluded them with Qatar emerging as champions
Y Magazine’s Portrait By A Nation, a competition for children to decorate a pre-printed canvas of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Al Said proved to be a huge success, with 584 participants aged between six and 17 competing for the top prizes. You can look forward to another Portrait By A Nation event next year.
Expat workers were hit with the news that a two per cent tax on remittances sent out of the country had been proposed. We await further news on this during 2015.
The highlight of November – and probably the whole year – was, without doubt, a video address to the nation by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos. Speaking from Germany on November 5, where he is receiving medical treatment, His Majesty expressed his disappointment at missing National Day celebrations but reassured citizens about his health, saying he was responding well to treatment.
Two new developments were announced this month (Dec). As well as “Omagine”, with its pearl-shaped buildings, the foundation stone for Palm Mall was laid on December 21 in Mabela, Seeb. As well as shopping, it will feature the first snow village in Oman (Snow Park), an aquarium and cinema complex. The 100 per cent Omani investment-inspired project is expected to be ready in 24 to 30 months, creating 2,500 jobs.
As the Sultanate’s population hit 4,089,076, Muscat Municipality announced that smoking shisha after midnight would not be allowed in cafes. Majlis Al Shura members have recommended a blanket ban on shisha cafes in Oman in view of the health risks.
The Majlis Al Shura also voted for a complete ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol in Oman. The recommendation will now go to the Council of Ministers to be debated.
A fitting end to the year saw the northern runway at the new Muscat International Airport take off for business, marking the first phase completion. The first plane, an Oman Air Airbus A330m, touched down safely on the tarmac, marking a new era for aviation and the country as a whole.
Let’s hope the next 12 months are on an upward track, too.
There is much to look forward to.
Words: Kate Ginn
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