Posted on July 23, 2019
Today is the anniversary of the current ruler of Oman ascending to the throne, on this date in 1970. Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said over the throne in a bloodless coup, and he'd sent the previous sultan into exile. Which is kind of sad, given that the previous sultan was his father!
(To be fair, Qaboos's dad HAD put him under what amounted to house arrest for years! It was a nice house - a palace, in fact - but who wants to be locked up even in a nice, big place, and have no freedom?)
The reason that today is called "Renaissance Day" is that Qaboos made many changes to the country. The word renaissance means a revival of something, often a revival of or renewed interest in science and art; and Sultan Qaboos ended Oman's isolation from the world and oversaw its modernization and development.
Qaboos also made some improvements in the rights of his people. He outlawed slavery the year he took power, and he eventually extended the right to vote to women. Unfortunately, Qaboos only took his human-rights reforms so far. He is still an absolute monarch, with no checks to his power, and he has broken promises made to his people to give elected officials more power. He has punished citizens for criticizing him, and his record with minorities, disabled people, and the LGBTQ+ community is not at all good.
So I for one would never choose to go to Oman. Here's some of what I'm missing:
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