OMAN
THE NATIONAL EMBLEM OF OMAN IS THE KHANJAR — A CURVED DAGGER, SHAPED ROUGHLY LIKE THE LETTER ‘J’.
Khanjar are ubiquitous in Oman. They appear on the national flag, on police cars, banknotes and coins. Khanjar sculptures adorn roundabouts; depictions of khanjars have been engraved on Rolex watches. Not long ago, khanjars were emblazoned on the tailfins of Oman Air planes — until someone considered that perhaps knives and passenger jets do not mix. Around Oman, you can see khanjars being worn to occasions as diverse as weddings, funerals and job interviews — they stand for pride and purpose, an iron- clad adherence to tradition. For the better part of a millennia, these daggers were tools for camel husbandry and self-defence. In the present day they are a symbol of a country whose heritage cuts deeper than most along the Arabian Peninsula. And, as I look at it out of a plane window, it
occurs to me that the shape of the country’s coastline also vaguely resembles a khanjar. The shoreline curves northward — at the sharp tip is the Musandam Peninsula, daggering deep into the Strait of Hormuz. The central spine is the Hajar Mountains. And, at the cutting edge, beaches blade into the blue waters of the Gulf of Oman. Nearing the hilt, my plane lands in the Omani capital Muscat — one of the most likeable capitals in the Middle East, sprawled along a coastline serrated by little coves. “When you wear a khanjar, it’s a way of
showing that you mean business,” explains my guide, Khalid Mathrushi, who has just given his young son his first (small and blunt) khanjar. “People respect you: they take you seriously.” I’m travelling around Oman on an itinerary
organised by adventure tour operator Wild Frontiers, getting a sense of its history and
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landscapes by following the curve of its northern coast. In Muscat, the trip starts at Muttrah Fish Market. That morning’s catch is still twitching on the counters, the air is noisy with the clops of fishmongers’ knives, and giant tuna are shunted around in wheelbarrows. A delta of squid ink drains onto the floor, mingling with fish entrails. Very quickly you see Muscat is a town with saltwater in its blood. The city was known to Ancient Greeks as
‘the hidden port’ — its old deep-water harbour concealed under the cliffs. It prospered from the 16th to the 19th centuries — firstly as a Portuguese foothold in Arabia, then as the capital of an Omani Empire that extended to Pakistan and Zanzibar. It was a hub for Indian Ocean trade: among the ships laying anchor here were Portuguese carracks ballasted with spice and gold, dhows carrying Chinese ceramics, and other vessels laden with Arabian frankincense, bound for churches and temples across the oceans. In the 20th century, Muscat lapsed into relative obscurity as ocean trade dwindled — only the occasional steamer stopped by, and the names of the few passing ships were inscribed on the harbour walls. In the 21st century, however, it’s prospering again, but remains fairly unassuming — without the showboating architecture of nearby Dubai or Abu Dhabi. It is a low-rise city, where your gaze instinctively wanders to the water. Directly outside the fish market I find the
Sultan of Oman’s two luxury yachts moored, their funnels painted with khanjar insignia. So, too, do khanjar medallions adorn the iron gates of the Al Alam Palace, a little further along the shore. The palace was remodelled by the father of the modern nation, Sultan Qaboos, who overthrew his father, Said bin
Clockwise from top left: The tower of Al Qala’a Mosque in Nizwa at the foot of Hajar Mountains; aromatic frankincense at the Muttrah Souk in Muscat; late evening in Khasab on the Musandam Peninsula; a traditional khanjar is held by a seller at the Muttrah Souk Previous pages: Verdant agricultural terraces supported by an ancient system of canals amid the arid landscape of Jebel Akhdar in the Hajar Mountains
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