Al-Alam Palace, Old Muscat

 The Sultan's palace is next to the Ministry of Finance in Old Muscat. The facade you see in the photo was built in 1972, two years after Sultan Qaboos came to power. I am told the Sultan does not actually spend that much time there, but it is used for ceremonies and state visits. The palace reminds me of the entrance to some kind of elaborate and glamorous 1970s New York nightclub at the height of disco. It is the kind of building you either love or hate. I find it beautiful...in its own way.

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A Clear Victory (On Sultan Qaboos and National Pride)

My fellow Fulbrighters and I were checking out the Museum of Modern Art in Mutrah recently, and I stumbled across these fascinating old tributes to Sultan Qaboos in a section of the museum that is a reconstruction of an old Omani house.

The Arabic above Sultan Qaboos's photo is from the Quran, Sura al-Fath:
" إنا فتحنا لك فتحا مبينا "
(Verily we have won for you a clear victory)

The verse is Allah addressing the Prophet Muhammad, but in the context of the photo, the quote refers to Sultan Qaboos and the victory he won against the forces of backwardness and tyranny, as symbolized by the old regime. Has anyone else encountered this quote in reference to Muslim leaders?

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Old Photos of Sultan Qaboos and Sultan Said bin Taimur

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Busaidi Family Geneaological Website

So, the site's purpose is "designed with the aim of recording, and increasing knowledge about, the genealogies of the current and former ruling families of Africa, Asia and the Americas. Unlike their European counterparts, genealogical information on these families is sparse and inadequate."

For those researchers doing histories of families in Oman and Zanzibar, this is an invaluable starting point. Click on the title to link to the Busaidi section; there are also substantial pages on the Busaidis in Zanzibar, and royal honors and military decorations.

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Old Picture of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, Sultan of Oman

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