Ask an Omani - The dating scene. Power cuts and homeless labourers.

Sorry for the lull dear readers, I had to take a business trip to London, via Switzerland naturally. Its good to be back. Interesting to see the power cuts in MQ & Shatti occuring regularly of late. Oman may be tendering for more power stations and foreign investment in the power sector, but as electricity is highly subsidised here, I'm curious who is going to pay the market price for that power and give the investors a reasonable return?

Lots of interesting stories in my in box, and I'll give you updates on several running stories later this week. There was a nice story in the UAE National about Homeless labourers in Oman too.

Number of homeless in Oman soars amid economic crunch
...“This is not the only homeless group living by a crust of bread and water,” he said. “They are everywhere in the country. Some absconded after their visas expired and some have entered the country illegally.”

They live in abandoned houses, construction sites, rooftops of commercial buildings, car parks of shopping malls and even behind rubbish bins.
...

But meanwhile, here's the latest installment of 'Ask an Omani' by our fantastic guest Omani - Omani Dreamer. Don't forget to email me your questions on local aspects of life and culture.

This weeks question: How is the dating scene amongst single young Omanis?



Anyone who has had single female friends come to visit (or an expat teenage daughter) knows it doesn't take long for the local lads to appear, eager to help them find their way around town and naturally, looking to hook up. But there's a lot of action in the local scene too.

Dating scene in Oman

Many wonder about the dating scene in Oman between our younger generation. Well, about 60% of the dating happens in Universities and Colleges! Many of the students that attend these colleges come from conservative families. However, in any case, there is a pattern that you will notice happening on the dating scene.

Guys:
Some guys come to the college and have never seen uncovered girls (not wearing face cover, or the head scarf). Being sexually suppressed, they start to spot a potential victim. The whole thing begins with them trying to be nice and funny (sometimes the scene is just sad! But some girls still manage to giggle!). After they get the signs of OKAY, which are usually indicated through smiles and giggles, they start by asking help in assignments. Then, the guy starts telling the girl that she is different the rest and that he feels sooooooo comfortable around her…. Etc (you get the point).

Girls:
Well, I must say that girl’s transformation is the most predictable of all. A girl comes to college and finds many boys that she is not used to seeing. Coming from a conservative family, she “rejects” the idea of even talking to a guy. She gives her “stares” of disapproval and gossips with her “similar mentality” friends about those “sluts” that talk with guys. Now, of course these girls would brag about how they are better than those “sluts” and that they are the “good apples” that are left. After the first month, these girls will find that they cannot help but smile whenever guys try to be funny.

Then, the transformation begins… you start seeing signs of make up on their faces. The head scarf becomes smaller (not bellow the chest). The abaya’s become tighter. After another month, the head scarf becomes loose and the silky (straightened) hair starts to show. All of this includes the smiles and giggles they have been sending towards the guys. Then, girls starts having that special someone in their lives that they talk to every night. Ohh, and yes, these are the girls that start with wearing clothes under their abayas and end up with undergarments under it only!

So here is the dating scene:

In a college, the girl and the boy look for a place that they “think” is invisible to everyone else. So, they might chose the library and go behind the book shelves. If the library is quite, you will be able to hear the giggles. Otherwise, that “invisible” place in not so… invisible. The guy might start touching the girl on her hand, then as the relationship advances, the more touching occurs. Then, all signs of compassion and love between the two appear in public. She leans on him, puts her arms around him.. etc. The difference is, it is not always love and compassion. Guys in this country like to brag about “how many” girls they have. They usually have more than one!

Then, as any relationship, things start to advance. Girls start attending college even when they don’t have classes (parents think they are studying very hard.. well.. they are working hard on something!). However, they are picked up from college by their guys. God knows where they go, but I’m guessing they just stay in the car and the guy gets some action. Once they are done, they guy drops the girl back at school...

Postscript: Co-incidentally there is a really great and detailed post today by Dhofari Gucci on the similar topic of Internet dating in Salalah. Check it out!


Of course in Oman we are still culturally some way away from where we could expect to get any info on premarital sex in Oman - we might all know its happening, but talking about it, or writing about it, still seems pretty impossible.

Still Eid. Shine on you crazy moon... Very Important People confirm lack of moon sighting in Oman

Well, thankfully it's still Eid Holidays. On the International scale, Oman kicks butt on Public Holidays. I loose count of how many we get - although last year's unusual royal berevement count helped recently to give even more. (Can someone do the math and tell us? How many free holidays this year?)

Does everyone out there know we still use (except for banks) the Thursday-Friday as a weekend. So for second Eid, the Public Sector got Sunday through Saturday off, a whole week pretty much, in addition to annual leave quota (if you have such a thing).

It also means the town is pretty dead. Everyone who can is off, either camping or out of town. Most of the traffic consists of idiots from the UAE or GCC. Yippee. Is it any wonder we escape? The Dragon too succumbed to the lull of beaches, boats, bikini babes and booze. (In fact, I find most religious holidays are best celebrated in this time honoured way. Look at Christmas!) Hence the lack of posts past 2 days. Can you blame me?

Picture: How the Dragon spends his religious holidays.


The consternation of the masses over the timing of the holidays are the only thing of note. Ibadhi religious holidays are based on the observing the appearance and disappearance of the moon.

Picture: David Ryle at http://www.rylesprocket.com

There is an Official Moon Sighting Committee, tasked with receiving reports from across the land through notarised observers (not just someone stumbling out of the Ruwi Novotel). This is why we never know exactly when the holiday will be until the last minute.

But although one might think modern astronomy could easily determine the timing precisely for everyone, but no:

New Moon is often considered to occur at the time of the appearance of the first visible crescent of the Moon, after conjunction with the Sun. This takes place over the western horizon in a brief period between sunset and moonset, and therefore the precise time and even the date of the appearance of the New Moon by this definition will be influenced by the geographical location of the observer.

Ah hah. Makes planning holidays hard.

But it also meant that if the moon might have been theoretically visible (under ideal conditions) in parts of the Sultanate last week, because it was cloudy the moon went unsighted, and so Oman's Eid (and Islamic calendar date) is on a different day to Saudi's. Saudi you see, did see the moon. Saudi even send planes up to see it if necessary, which is why they can announce earlier with accuracy and religious consistency in their eyes [but then they have a Haj to run, and try having more than 2 million guests arrive on your doorstep at a few days notice].

Not Oman. Also, there can be astronomical differences between the observability of the moon between someone in Oman and in Saudi.

The Islamic calendar has retained an observational definition of the New Moon, marking the new month when the first Crescent Moon is actually seen, and making it impossible to be certain in advance of when a specific month will begin (in particular, the exact date on which Ramadan will begin is not known in advance). In Saudi Arabia, if the weather is cloudy when the New Moon is expected, observers are sent up in airplanes. In Iran a special committee receives observations of every new moon to determine the beginning of each month. This committee uses one hundred groups of observers.

So when the Omani committee confirmed the moon was not seen (when it had been expected), a lot of people were a little miffed, having booked holidays in advance, made plans, Haj, etc etc. I mean, aircraft don't schedule themselves, and modern enterprises also operate on a slightly longer operational timescale.

So the mighty Majlis had to weigh in and check that there hadn't been a cock-up with the whole moon thing. Which they did, and confirmed it was OK (no actual explanation though, your typical 'Because I said So, Trust Me' Omani Government public answer) and announced it in the papers. Oh, and they were careful to point out that other countries in the region agreed that Oman's call on the whole moon-thing was spot on.

Majlis clarifies doubts on Al Hijja moon-sighting
ONA
Saturday, December 06, 2008 11:34:49 PM Oman Time

MUSCAT — The Majlis Al Shura has confirmed that the justifications upon which the specialised committee has made its decision on sighting the moon of the month of Al Hijja 1429 were accurate. The Majlis, in a statement issued yesterday, said it has followed up the issue of sighting the moon announced by the specialised committee and pointed out that it has studied the issue with the Council of Ministers, and submitted its views, stressing the importance that moon-sighting should be based on agreement of Shariah and jurisprudence evidences among Islamic nations as well as the advancements made in moon-sighting by using new technologies. The Majlis confirmed the correctness of justification given by the specialised committee in sighting the moon and affirmed that differences in moon-sighting among the Islamic countries and difference in calculating timings is a normal thing. A number of Islamic nations have agreed with the Sultanate’s views on sighting the moon this year as confirmed by renowned observatories, the statement concluded.

'So all you peoples gossiping out there, just shut up! You're so annoying' [Said in accent of King Julian, Ruler of the Lemurs in Madagascar the movie, BTW]

But clearly they didn't quite shut up, so subsequently the ruling Council of Ministers weighed in too, with there own investigation of the investigation of the observation, and their own press release from the official news agency, saying that no, it really really was OK that Oman's Eid was different.

Which is great, as coming from the Council of Ministers it is also a very overtly political statement. It emphasises that in such things, Oman does its own thing, and doesn't look to Saudi or Iran to control their religion. Damn right. You go Oman!

Moon-sighting decision is ‘accurate’, says Council of Ministers
ONA
Monday, December 08, 2008 12:08:54 AM Oman Time

MUSCAT — The Council of Ministers affirmed that the decision taken by the Moon-Sighting Committee for the month of Dhul Hijja was accurate.

Celebrating Eid Al Adha by the Sultanate tomorrow was based on the committee’s decision and on what have been studied previously in coordination with the Majlis Al Shura and other state departments for moon-sighting in the Sultanate after resorting to astronomy and hearing of different opinions.

The council affirmed the accuracy of the decision as it was based on scientific facts as confirmed by astronomers in the Sultanate and abroad. The decisions was also based on the Shariah evidences that set the beginnings of the lunar months based on place and region of the moon sighting, it said.

The council appreciated the efforts made by different authorities including the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, the main committee for sighting the moon, the sub-committees in the various parts of the Sultanate, and the Oman Astronomy Association for Sighting the Moon and the evidence provided by them for fixing tomorrow, December 9, as the day of Eid. Saudi Arabia and several other nations celebrate Eid today.

The council extended its Eid greetings to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the citizens and residents of Oman and Muslims all over the world.

I would have preferred if they printed some maps showing the degree of difficulty seeing a new moon (which can be done, see this example for a lunar eclipse) that night, wrt nearby countries, to explain to people why it can be different and sort of bolster their case on the 'no cock-up' part. But even if it was a screw up, it was 100% Oman's right to do so, so take that Saudi! Eid is Tuesday, so there.


Map showing degree of eclipse visibility