Oman's 44th National Day

On November 18, 2014 Oman celebrated its 44th National Day, which is the date of the Sultan's birthday and commemorates him ascending to the throne 44 years ago. In expectation of the event, the whole country was decked out in red and green banners, flags, lights and a sense of celebration. It almost looked like the country was decorating for Christmas...until you realized that Oman's flag is red and green and the color scheme is merely a coincidence.

 

 

A few weeks prior to National Day, the Sultan gave a video conference to state that he would be unable to return to Oman for the festivities due to the fact that he was seeking medical attention in Germany. Many of the Omanis I worked with seemed ecstatic that he was speaking to them via video and everyone tuned in to hear him. In the days following his video, it was all anyone could talk about and I started seeing cars around town that were emblazoned with the Sultan or with the Omani flag, further showing everyone's love for the Sultan and national pride.

 

 

 

I have to admit that as an American I found all of this rather perplexing. No matter how popular one of our presidents might be, I couldn't imagine Americans getting so excited about hearing a speech, nor could I ever imagine Americans decking out their cars with images of the president or of our flag.

 

The Sultan's speech and his inability to return to Oman for National Day also sparked some questions by international journalists and expats as to his health and what his failing health might mean for Oman's future. As far as I can tell, this is not something Omanis discuss, at least not publicly. The Omanis love the Sultan and wish him well and don't seem to speculate about his health or what the future of the country might be without him, especially not during a time of celebration.  

 

Though November 18th was the actual National Day, the Sultan has historically wanted Omanis to stay in Oman for National Day, so people are not given the day off. Instead, the holiday is the following weekend, ensuring that Omanis stay in the country for the actual holiday and then get days off that they can travel with. This year we were lucky enough that the National Day holiday fell November 26-27, which meant that all of us Americans could celebrate Thanksgiving (which would otherwise have been a normal work day).

 

Since I learned my lesson about staying in Oman during holidays (and since my mom would have worried incessantly if I'd been alone for Thanksgiving), I flew to Doha, Qatar to spend the holiday with some of my friends who used to live in Oman and were relocated to Doha a few months ago. While I didn't get out and see much of Doha, what little I did see was such a contrast to Muscat. When I first visited the Gulf region, I found Muscat so much more aesthetically pleasing than the bigger cities like Abu Dhabi, Dubai or Doha. And while Muscat is much more charming than the other three, after living here almost 8 months I find myself missing the bustle of a big city and feeling a little bored by Muscat's sleepy charm. So a weekend in Doha was a nice refresher - not only to see good friends, but to also be reminded that Dubai isn't the only big city in the region. And since it's only an hour and a half flight away, it's an easy escape on the random boring weekend here.