NIZWA, OMAN // The marketplace in the conservative town of Nizwa, in central Oman, was bustling with the commotion of shoppers and the noise of hammers hitting silverware in repair shops. An American couple with their children strolled in the ancient courtyard browsing over silver trinkets. The man was wearing khaki shorts and was shirtless. His wife was wearing a blue skirt showing off most of her suntanned legs. She had on a matching sleeveless blouse that failed to cover the straps of her black bra. Their two boys were frolicking at the foot of an old mosque that was standing vigilant over the courtyard. They played with water taps attached on the outside wall used by worshippers to perform ablution before prayer time.
An old trader sitting cross-legged at the entrance of his spice shop tugged his white, flowing beard, his eyes fixed on the American couple. He shook his head and said to his Omani customers, "What is Oman coming to? Is this what the Muscat bureaucrats call progress?" Western expatriates are a minority in Oman in comparison with workers from the Indian subcontinent, but they travel around the country during weekends and bank holidays, including farflung towns such as Nizwa. Though there is no specific dress code in the sultanate, some western expatriates, according to a retired ministry of national heritage official, Marhoon al Kaabi, "take advantage of the good nature of the Omani people".
That's why many locals say South Asians are more accepted in the country than other nationalities. Their cultures, he maintained, are much closer to the local ones. "Don't get us wrong. We don't resist changes. Oman has known changes for centuries. My father and grandfather traveled to East Africa and India most of their lives as seafarers. We have seen many visitors since oil was discovered. "But it is getting worse and their numbers are increasing. What is annoying is the way they dress up and [their] lack of sensitivity towards our cultures. I don't have a problem [with them] if they respect our culture," Sheikh Mohammed al Sayyafi, a tribal elder in Sur in eastern Oman, said.
Shiekh Sayyafi, a man in his seventies, is one of the traditional shiekhs who is on the government's payroll as a minor official in his area. He settles local disputes, signs passport application papers, acts as arbitrator on local business affairs and even leads prayers at his local mosque. A historian who sells old books in the courtyard in Nizwa said, "I am probably of the last generation to do this dying business, thanks to the government's new initiative to build hotels and modern shopping malls in the small towns to attract foreign visitors. They explain to us that this is how they can create employment for our children. All the government is attracting is half-naked people walking in our streets."
Government officials respond to such criticism by saying that local dignitaries are to blame, too, for the erosion of traditions in their hometowns. "The majority of the sheikhs and other tribal leaders of some towns are driven by greed. They sell off family lands and farms to wealthy Muscat business people that are converted into hotels and shopping malls. The government is doing its best to keep the tradition and untouched. We [have] just renovated the castles, built road networks in these places and perhaps improved the beaches," Ali al Nabhani, a planning officer at the housing ministry, said.
A resident of Oman's industrial city of Sohar agreed with Mr Nabhani's position, and said that tribal elders are the wealthiest people in the smaller cities of Oman. "Tribal elders possess most of the prime lands. They are now rich and powerful from that wealth. They are the ones that brought in what they call 'foreign elements' in towns with their greed," said Khamis al Nahar, a taxi driver in Sohar. "It is a double standard meant to pull wool over our eyes when they feel guilty about it. Now they pretend they are the guardians of the heritage!"
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
