Ask an Omani - Arranged Marriages

Yes readers, its time for another edition of our popular 'Ask an Omani' segment. This week, arranged marriage.


Do you think its OK to have your marriage totally arranged? How big a % of Omani marriages do you think are effectively arranged?

Arranged Marriages?

In general, an arranged marriage in Oman (mostly towns around Muscat) is not as bad as it sounds. When the guy proposes to a girl (whether it's because he saw her and liked her, or his female relatives suggested her to him), he gets to see her before the engagement. They see each other and talk. Many end up texting or calling each other.

During this time (which can take a week or months), both of them have the opportunity to decide whether they want to be together or not. However, there are two types of arranged marriages. One is a fake-arranged marriage, and the other is, well, an arranged marriage. The fake one is where the two have a secret relationship, but keep their parents out of it. This way the father will "always" be proud that he married his daughter off in a pure arranged marriage!

Think of it like this: in the West, some of you have moms and dads that like to introduce suitable partners (like match-making). Some of you hate it, and others don’t mind it! It's the same idea, but we have protocol to follow or else….gossip!

I think these two types of arranged marriages are acceptable, and they usually are successful. However, I do not think it is "suitable" anymore to have a pure arranged marriage where the two never see or talk to each other until their wedding night. I know many girls that struggle, and I think that it has a lesser success rate. This type of arranged marriages is mostly common in Northern and Southern parts of Oman

.

Thanks Dreamer!

And readers, don't forget to email your questions to undercover(dot)dragon(at)gmail(dot)com

A pure diversion: One of the Dragon's true heros

STOP!

I offer a fascinating diversion for you, especially if you're doing what I often do, which is surf one's many blogs, websites, feeds, facebooks, skypes, emails, forums, ...

Plus, follow up on your various posts and threads and family and friends on all of the above, google searches, wikis,...

Don't forget on-line banking, e-government, direct feed TV and radio, and videos, and tring to find cool images...

and your flights on expedia/kayak

Holiday/rental car/hotel/trips sites...And just walk away from the Crackberry and the Twitter kids.

I know. I should be grateful you even got this far. And I am. But do us both a favour, take a moment to listen to this guy. For what it's worth, here is one of the Dragon's heros. A physicist called Richard Feynmen.

Enjoy. (He got a Nobel prize for Quantum Electrodynamics and also helped build the bomb). He was an really amazing human.

I would love to know his opinion of the Bahla zombies... Listen to him here, but preferably follow the links on youtube to his many other interviews.



Any thoughts - leave a comment.

Oh dear... UAE reinforces Oman's reputation for Voodoo... But zombie numbers under control in Bahla, thanks to ROP

As one travels through the GCC, it is not unusual occasionally for the locals to comment, when hearing where you live, 'Oh, Oman, that's voodoo country'.

No, really. They do. ((if you don't believe me, check out Muscat-based blogger Suburban on the same issue)

It's a side effect of the East African fear that Oman represents, combined with a much older and deeper pre-Islamic culture being long established in Oman compared to the 100% 'desert states' of the Gulf. For the many many thousands of years Oman has been populated, pagan rituals were common, like everywhere I guess. (and there are still tales of jijn told today when exploring in the amazing wadis of Oman, fair enough).

That is pretty much rubbish today, obviously. But the downside of a freer press in the UAE means they are not above a poke at old Oman, their country cousins. See the report in The National.

Good news in the report though.

According to the super reliable local ex-tour guide Mr Suroor (hint: Age 82), the number of zombies in Bahla is well down in the past few years, what with modern developments reducing the number of local farms (a big natural habitat for Omani zombies, nats)...

No, really.

Mr Suroor said that some of the isolated farms behind the barren, jagged mountains nearby were turned into slave labour camps. Some of them were people who had disappeared from their homes in mysterious circumstances and turned into zombies to work as slaves in the remote farms. With fewer farms and more modern houses being built in their place, the number of zombie workers has been on the decline in the last 20 years, thanks also to police efforts and a change of attitude in the new generation of the local people, he added.

Saleh, come on. You can do better. Where's the Michael Jackson tie in? Halloween? At least get a photo of the zombies man! Now THAT would be a story! Or ask the local police if they can share their zombie busting secrets with the rest of us. I had meetings with several today, for example.

Maybe there is scope for a GCC National Enquirer after all. But I expected better from The National's editors.


Photo: Bahla Farm workers: According to The National.

The National: World News: Oman:

The healing benefits of a witch’s brew
Saleh al Shaibany, Foreign Correspondent

BAHLA // The ancient fort, built before the dawn of Islam, stands vigilant in the middle of the modern part of Bahla, a town famed for its witchcraft and whose reputation extends to the rest of the Gulf and as far as Oman’s former colonies in east Africa.

Wealthy families from the region travel regularly to Bahla seeking witch doctors’ counselling for their problems, which can range from divorce to inheritance.

According to local tradition, the origin of witchcraft in Bahla started with the murder of a local dignitary who was killed by villagers for practising wizardry in the town about 1,400 years ago. The fort was later built on top of his grave to prevent his followers from turning it into a shrine. His spirit then started to appear in the town and it was reported later that he was tutoring youngsters in wizardry at the citadel’s courtyard in the dead of night.

“I am not sure about the story but I know for a fact that people from different parts of the country come here to seek consultations with witch doctors,” Hamood Suroor, the 82-year-old retired guard of the fort, said.

“It ranges from people wanting revenge, pay rises, casting and the removal of evil spells and money matters.”

Mr Suroor said local witch doctors were average people you could see around Bahla’s streets and included traders in the markets, farmers and even civil servants.


“They are also your everyday people and known to all but they possess special powers. They talk to the spirits to get the answers they are looking for in order to cast their spells,” Mr Suroor said.

The witch doctor Khalfan Ismail, 52, was asked to remove an evil spirit from a 26-year old woman that had been preventing her from getting married. Before the ritual could take place, Mr Ismail wanted a pregnant black goat to be slaughtered in the courtyard of his house and the carcass to be offered as a sacrifice to the friendly spirits.

After the slaughter, the woman, clad in black from head to toe, was escorted by her parents into a semi-dark consultation chamber at the back of Mr Ismail’s house. A thick grey smoke from an incense burner floated to the ceiling, creating a screen that divided the room. The woman and her parents walked through the smoke screen to enter the other side of the chamber.

Mr Ismail, sitting on the floor in a corner of the chamber, dropped chunks of frankincense into the incense burner. He mumbled incoherent words as the woman sat down opposite him, flanked by her parents. Seconds later, she dropped her head, her chin touching her chest and began to rock sideways. First gently, but then the movement of her upper body gathered speed as the mumbling from the witch doctor grew louder. Less than a minute later, a single beastly growl coming from the woman was followed by bouts of gasps. The woman sprang to her feet and almost immediately collapsed on the floor in a heap, too quick for her parents to cushion the fall.

The woman was still gasping as she lay down. The witch doctor left the chamber taking the incense burner with him. He came back to open the curtains and let in the sunlight. He assured her parents that the evil spirit had already departed their daughter’s body. She would also find a suitor soon to marry her now that she was free from the shackles of the devil. He explained later the significance of the smoke screen that divided the room. The possessed woman needed to enter the “safe zone” to force the spirit out.

What method had Mr Ismail used to remove the spirit?

“I made contact with the friendly spirits to remove the bad one. The mumbling was part of the ritual to seek their help. The growl was the pain of the bad spirit as he was leaving her body. Of course, it does not always work. The friendly spirits may not co-operate. It also depends on the skills of the witch doctor,” he said.

Mr Suroor said that some of the isolated farms behind the barren, jagged mountains nearby were turned into slave labour camps. Some of them were people who had disappeared from their homes in mysterious circumstances and turned into zombies to work as slaves in the remote farms. With fewer farms and more modern houses being built in their place, the number of zombie workers has been on the decline in the last 20 years, thanks also to police efforts and a change of attitude in the new generation of the local people, he added.

“Witch doctors are still much sought after in Bahla for people who want a shortcut in life. We have wealthy businessmen from the Gulf coming here to take revenge on their competition by casting spells on them or men who want to marry women who rejected them,” Mr Suroor said.

Some of the old demands may be on the decline, like ordering the death of an enemy through spiritual power, but requests of love potions, business prosperity and office promotions are on the rise. These lesser demands keep witch doctors in business in Bahla.

Witch doctors are paid nominal fees for their services, ranging from a mere 20 rials to 100 rials (Dh191 to Dh955) a session. Mr Suroor said that it was the respect and attention that witch doctors receive that keeps them practising, not wealth. Some of them are wealthy in their own right, from the private businesses they run.

“You can still see loose spirits wandering aimlessly in and out of the Bahla Fort, even now, during the night. You can tell that they are no ordinary people because they have no shadows,” Salim Ghailan, a post office worker said.

Mr Ghailan said normally people did not go close to the fort in the night but his car had suffered a puncture and he had been forced to stop within a hundred metres from the old citadel.

Update: Air crashes (not), crashing defeats, and crashes avoided

Ah, the week that was.

Can you actually get TWO feet in your mouth? Yes! Just ask Oman Air and The Wave!
Local bloggers Muscat Mutterer and Jet Driver covered the debacle that was the EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE Wave Airplane Crash, complete with:
- actual panicked residents of the Wave (no notice given except a flyer dropped hours before),
- simulated condolence statements posted on the actual Oman Air active website,
- burning tires,
- real traffic jams, etc

For some bizarre reason even the numbers of passengers and crew couldn't even be made to add up in the pre-prepared scenario used for the accident. And someone actually phoned in to report the hallucination of seeing an actual plane crash. EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE

Lessons to be learnt all round, no doubt. Next time chaps, while the Army are excellent at shooting things, logistics, and getting things done (like setting fire to and extinguishing burning things), maybe think about subcontracting the whole "PR and Project planning" side?



JD's photoshop jest summed it all up really. I have to report it again here, it's so good.

Perhaps a great opportunity for the Blue City to point out how very far away from an airport they are... or maybe not.


Meanwhile, ....
Oman's football team manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. This is the life. And someone in the crowd threw a firecracker. Ooooh. As my ol' gran would say "its all good fun until someone loses an eye!!!"


Speaking of planes plummeting into Integrated Tourist Development sites built at the end of new runways for our main airport, the earlier story of the catastrophic shut down of Muscat's entire Air Traffic Control system, that happened mid day October 6th. There's been ome typical stuff being discussed on the fascinating forum for all things airborne PPRuNe where had I mentioned the shut down in a back room dedicated to, of all things, Muscat Air Traffic Control (I'd point interested readers to the comment "shit happens" made purportedly by an Omani ATC).

Black Hawk Down:
mabrook(cong) as if there is no any faults world wide but in Muscat
what are you digging for my friend,yes Muscat is a system which isnt 100% perfect?!?! and i guess all systems around the world arent either
spit it out?what happened that day was the first time ever.and i tell you we are 99%radar in Muscat and i guess the 1% happened that day so tuff luck to all,at least we never(at least since i joined) fired anyone because of faults.you see it a dominos effect else where(like next door) everyone blames who is below him for faliures,but we dont here in Muscat we support each other.

...

well st does happen doesnt it?

Love that safety attitude! (there's more. Dragon haters will love it)

UPDATE: I have it on good authority (multiple sources) that the only air traffic controller mentioned in the earlier links on Muscat Confidential - Australian C.M - did a sterling job (unlike the suggestion of a UAE ATC commenter). Further facts to come, as now the story's out many involved are talking openly about it. But it sure happened.

The problems however - and they are legion - are at last under investigation by those accountable and on high. The tender for the new ATC radar and control system went out months ago anyhow. As I've always insisted the problem was first and foremost a systematic and pre-existing one, and not really down to individual ATCs (except perhaps the likes of Black Hawk Down). The Muscat ATCs in general - I'm sure - all did their level best to keep everyone up there at the time alive, and they succeeded, thankfully.

Trouble in Paradise. Bar Al Jissa resort villa purhasers unhappy with Oman's premier development.

Imagine you're in business. You have customers who are well educated, rich, mainly foreign, and who have just spent sums in the order of US$1.4 million each with you. Customers who should be providing you a steady source of solid follow-on money as you provide the services they will require to look after what they have already bought.

If you're in any business, no-one should like it when such customers are dissatisfied, complaining, sometimes looking to offload your product, and contemplating legal action.

But this is certainly what's happening in Oman's premier ITD Development to date: Barr Al Jissah Residence, run by the mega-giant Zubair family oligopoly. Several customers have joined forces and retained local legal council, forming PAG, an 'owners action group', to try and get the various property managers to deliver what they promised.

The response from those responsible for the development, e.g.:
Zubair Enterprises (the ultimate owner/promoter),
PRD International (sales),
Imagine Design Consultants (design),
Larson and Touboro (construction),
Turners (project managers),
Strata Global (property management)
Juthoor (strategic construction and real estate consultant & Furnishing)


are demonstrably unsuccessful as I write (and here I define success as satisfying customers whilst making money for the company and owners).

Aside: I'm not sure how much Sh. Zubair himself actually knows about this project and what is happening below deck, but if you're reading this and you know his email, why not send him the link. Personally, I think a lot of the problem is that the honorable Sh. Zubair is simply being kept in the dark.

The long running issue at the development, between purchasers and developers, is exposing the underlying problems Oman faces when stepping up to do business in a truly international market. It's a different ballgame, meeting the grade when not protected by soft Government contracts and regulations, your internal intra-company-family dealings, or being able to strong-arm local and powerless SME companies.

I've been told some of the works performed were unnecessary from an strictly engineering POV (like some of the vast walls built for the purposes of 'retaining' solid rock), but that these things were still done to maintain all the 'side commissions', backhanders, and various quantities of profits and contractual mark-ups being taken. Classic snouts in the trough. I'm reliably informed of a senior, experienced North American expat talent, brought in specially for the project, was summarily sent home this year after just a few months service when he kept raising such issues. They had disagreements over the provisions of his employment contract for payments due following such termination too.

I've also been told by clearly delusional sources that its all a symptom, a side-effect not normally discussed in public, of 'The Indian Mafia', whoever they are, with everything being done primarily on a mutual back scratching basis for the benefit of the middle and senior management layer, rather than for the benefit of the business or its customers. Who would have imagined? Patently Ridiculous.

The on-going management fees are rather high too, at more than double the Wave development(more snouts in the trough?). The quote people have been given to furnish a villa to make it suitable for rental is a rather shocking 40,000 rials! That's US$100k to furnish a rental apartment!

The many, many photos I've been sent of a recent inspection by a purchaser show the type of poor completion standard achieved to date (and still late). Its shocking. Especially when you remember this is for a semi-detached 'villa' that cost over $1.4 million dollars. Pools unfenced from huge cliffs. Cracked walls badly covered over. Cheap plastic doors. Minimal landscaping. Botched cupboard installations, missing skylights, mismatched and cheap tiling, ... IE, general Gulf spec built to exacting 'Indian labourer standard'.

Quote: "Landscaping to include established plantings befitting a multi-million dollar 5 star resort - not "dead twigs" and "1 dying palm tree"

You probably are living in a classic example of such standards as you read this, if you live in the GCC. Shoddy electrics and plumbing built by people with little experience of either, roofs that leak when it rains, bodges and poor quality workmanship everywhere. But then you or your landlord didn't just buy the property for huge money at promised international prestige specification and luxury finish, hmmm?


Photo: The original marketing pitch for BAJR

Ouch.

Times are hard, and these days people willing to pay for far flung 5 star developments with expensive running costs are hard to find. There are plenty of places in the world where one can spend a cool $million ++ and get a GREAT place to live and/or vacation. There is a lot of competition. As a result, developments with problems building things to standard, furniture rip offs, unprofessional management and non-communication, situated in a country in the scary Middle East where it is too f**kin hot to sit outside 4 months of the year are clearly in need of upping their game.

Not that such problems are stopping the typical PR crap being pumped out to the media by BAJR management. See Zawya press release.

26 October 2009
MUSCAT -- The prestigious Barr Al Jissah luxury residential development project is nearly complete and soon 71 luxury townhouses and villas will be handed over to their new owners. This marks the successful launch of Oman's first integrated tourism complex (ITC) project. This was revealed here yesterday at press conference addressed by Ziyad al Zubair, Director, The Zubair CorporationThe Zubair Corporation, Jose Lora, CEO, Juthoor Real Estate, and Arbind K Shrestha, General Manager, Shangri-La Hotel, Resort.

Speaking to the Oman Observer, Ziyad al Zubair said foreigners own about 50 per cent of the 71 houses while the remaining 50 per cent belong to citizens and residents of Oman. Arbind K Shrestha said the project has been completed in spite of difficult economic climate. The Barr Al Jissah Residence, comprising 71 luxury town houses and villas in a unique luxury real estate development, is one of the first ITC developments in Oman that offered real estate for sale to expatriates as well as Omani nationals. The development has three areas the Dusk Townhouse, Dawn Townhouse and Pearl Villa areas within the Shangri-La Hotel Resort and Spa offering breathtaking views of the Omani horizon.
...

And don't forget those breath taking views of electrical substations and air conditioning plants...

Or the fact that so far not a single villa has been handed over, despite being more than a year late. The reason the development has gone as far as it has is that the buildings all sold out well before the peak of the real estate bubble. Everyone got in way too deep to pull out by the time the crash happened - owners, Zubair, Shangri La.

For your entertainment, here's the latest email I was sent from the Owners group PAG to the developers. Talk about problems with customer satisfaction...

I suspect there's more to come on this story!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: DH
Date: Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 2:16 PM
Subject: Fwd: Solution to Complete BAJ
To: "HAL" , "WD"
Cc: RO , RB


Gents,
Below are my thoughts, as a purchaser, PAG rep and Developer in how to potentially address things going forward.

As discussed with H last night at length, I am happy to focus on the solutions and put the past nonsense behind us but this requires real engagement, solutions and action on longstanding, critical issues.

My thoughts:
1. The Developer needs to appoint a decision maker(s) who can address issues, make decisions, instruct owners & consultants in order to get things moving. Could be up to a $$$ limit before referral to a Director or Board. Each decision seems to take forever, by which time things escalate and compound making the decision redundant. The decision maker(s) need to understand the issues, be a good communicator, not have vested interests, and able to act fair and reasonably for both the developer and the owners. This could be task shared with clear delineation and coordination between the 2 decision makers.

a. Construction/Building Completion – XX is a prime candidate to coordinate the re-inspections with owners, instruct Juthoor/Turner/L&T/Atkins/etc on what needs to be done. He is also the best person to navigate the Ministries for approvals and coordinate the “Settlement Checklist” being an Omani, Property Experience and knowing the project history.

b. Documentation, Services Agreements, Titles, Management Agreements – XX - has shown to be fair & reasonable, knowledgeable and diligent. With authority from BAJRC he could quite quickly and professionally collate, check, change & instruct other consultants to do what is required to get this project finished.

2. Focus on the issues and not on the people raising the issues. Attack the problems not the people. Buyers who have invested such large amounts of money in these homes are naturally going to be concerned for the outcome. Each person will act differently – some will coast along and accept anything in good faith, while others due to personal, professional, experience and cultural reasons – expect 5 star service along with 5 star prices. Each customer is different and will need to be handled individually, however, the level of service/finish/completion/etc will need to be consistent across the project to avoid further conflict down the road. This is part of having Customers and is the burden of the Developer to get right – that’s why they make a profit – or not. It is a very universal concept and one to get right when dealing with an international clientele such as BAJ Owners.


3. Address the MAJOR issue and communicate directly – answers the questions, provide the solutions. Avoiding issues will not solve them, it just makes them worse. Selectively answering the “easy questions” doesn’t work either. With focused attention, decisions, clear instruction, agreed timeframes and effective communication – most of the major concerns at BAJ could be resolved quite quickly.

a. Defects & rectification – If lists have been submitted – address the list. Agree what is or is not going to be rectified and advise owners. Then go fix it. Then arrange for a re-inspection where expectations can be met or exceeded- not disappointed due to mismatched expectations. Agree alternatives, solutions, concessions with buyers as required. Document and communicate so both parties are on the same page.

b. Settlement – address the checklist, what needs to be done, by who, how long will it take. When do you think it will all be complete. Will rentals be able to commence -if not, how can this be resolved? Advise the owners so they can get themselves and their money organized. Do a practice run with the lawyers/banks/ministries/developers/agents/whoever to make sure it is all possible. Avoid the disappointment of further screwing people about.

c. Service Charges- this is unacceptable in the current form. It is not going to go away. Strata Global either need to re-price ASAP or be replaced. There are alternatives if required. The Owners will not be railroaded into excessive fees as it impacts the value of their properties – this is a fact. It needs to be recognized and resolved as no-one in the PAG will be paying these fees at settlement to avoid SG disappearing with the money upon termination. O/A formation also affects insurances.

d. Documentation – This needs to be wrapped up - Title plans, Easements/Right-of-way, Services Scope of works from Body Corp manager (S.G or replacement), Rules & regs, Hotel Access Fee issue, Hotel Management Agreement, Hotel revenue forecasts, Marina berths, etc

e. Furniture package- This proposal is unacceptably overpriced. This is a view shared by all interested members of the PAG and therefore makes the Shangri-la Management unattractive. The Furniture package will be a flop in its current form and this issue needs to be addressed. It is not going away either. Like the service charge fees, the only people who are arguing for the furniture package are not buying it! This hasn’t worked, will not work and Juthoor/Shangri-la need to revise the offer to meet the customers’ expectations. The alternative is for both the furniture and the Hotel scheme both to be a flop.

f. Visas, Import – Thankfully this appears to be gaining tractions and support from Juthoor and the Developer in doing what is necessary to assist the owners.

g. Agency for Re-Sales – Absolutely nothing has been done on this by Juthoor/Developer/external agents since the arrival of Juthoor 6 months ago. There are owners who want to sell. There are commissions to be made. Why isn’t something being done to allow agents onsite, a display villa even, a photo shoot, some marketing onsite. Again - help your customers - make money from it even. Do something or invite other agents to sell/lease if Juthoor is not interested/able.

h. Communicate –What happened to the newsletter? 1 issue then gone. What about a bi-weekly email update-"we are doing this, that, and a photo" . All general info to reassure owners that it is all still happening. Most are not in Muscat as you know and lack of information breeds concern and discontent.

I am happy to assist with issues and advice if required to get this wrapped up. I am also happy to endorse initiatives outwards to the PAG members and advise them that they need to engage with the Developer to resolve their individual purchases.
Many are probably sitting on the sidelines and observing the carnage that has occurred quite publicly and want to stay out of harms way. If we have some good news and quick wins that can be broadcast from the PAG it will help to turn the mood and assist the re-engagement with customers.
D.H
+971 XX XXXXXX

More on the Air Traffic Control meltdown. Near misses common events in Oman

Well, as the manhunt continues within the Ministry and Muscat ATC for the sources of Muscat Confidential's latest story on Oman's sorry state of Air Traffic Control, a few other people have also come forward with ... both 100% confirmation of what happened, and additional details of both the flying blind event in October and in general. [You know who you are - thank you]




A near miss or Airprox event happened when the Oman Air VIP flight was showing off the new Airbus to HE the Minister and various important people. While cruising comfortably along in the custody of Oman Air Traffic Control, a sudden high acceleration evasive maneuver was taken by the pilots to avoid a mid-air collision situation, causing the VIPs to almost spill their champagne, and hardly unnoticed by those on board.



It was also not the only near miss.



Photo: Near misses due to Oman ATC errors are routinely covered up, say our sources


We await Muscat Daily's follow-up report* on such a worrying problem and the civil service cover-up, a situation potentially impacting not just the safety of all those who fly through or over Oman, but also the reputation of the whole country wrt tourism and business.

Here are some key questions they could simply ask the appropriate Government Authorities:
- for how long was Oman without an effective ATC system in October 2009?
- what were the real reasons for the Minister's Oman Air flight having to take evasive action?
- how many near miss events happened when the ATC system was down?
- what are the qualifications of the Senior System engineer responsible for the ATC system, and why was a junior engineer allowed access to the master passwords?
- Why is the senior engineer still in his job after such a blatant breach of standard operating procedures (SOPs)?
- who is responsible for ensuring near miss events are properly reported and that international standards are adhered to? IS the non-reporting of near miss events part of Oman ATC Standard Procedures?
- what is the actual back up system if there is a catastrophic failure of the only radar thingy, or of the main computer system (say by flood or fire)?


Interested parties might also want to see if the recommendations made in the independent review by top-notch international Swedish Consultants have been addressed or even shared with those accountable for the safety of Oman's ATC system? (Hint: Mr Minister, or even Council of Ministers - Ask to see an unedited version of the comprehensive Swedavia report. If the findings themselves don't scare you, the clear attempt to hide the report from the powers that be should perhaps be of even greater concern...)

I found it rather ironic that coincidentally, on 13-15th October, the Ministry of Transport and Communication was hosting the Trans-Oman conference "the Sultanate’s first comprehensive event providing access to cutting-edge solutions, services and infrastructure especially designed for the transport, shipping, aviation and logistics industry!" I'd LMAO if I didn't fly so often.

TRANSOMAN is not just an exhibition. It is a forum to discuss industry issues; discover the latest trends; connect and do business with various suppliers and service providers in the air, road, rail, shipping, customs, cargo and logistics businesses, connecting Oman, the rest of the region and beyond.

* or lets face it, any of Oman's media. This is a big story. Perhaps our friends in the UAE would be more willing and able to follow up this? A few phone calls is all it would take, plus interviews with the UAE or Indian ATCs who of course had to be informed that Oman airspace was temporarily unable to accept new planes for a while.

Flying Blind: Oman's Air Traffic Control system error

I fly a lot. So do many of you, I know.

Perhaps you might be interested in a recent report I received over a beer from a good contact in the US Military, who is sometimes passing through here. His news was confirmed with a nod and a wink by my contact in the relevant Ministry, so I thought I'd share. It's also doing the rounds of the regular aircrews by now too.

In early October, Oman's entire Air Traffic Control system, covering the whole damn country, went down for several hours, due to human error and sloppy procedures when operating the underlying IT system. The back-up system failed too. All the poor controllers had left were radio communications with the planes and basic radar, which just gives blips on the screen and no data like call sign, aircraft type or even airspeed - vital data for the way aircraft are controlled in our airspace.

In fact, it seems that for a while it's likely that Oman's air traffic controllers were basically 'flying blind', without even the basic radar.

Oops.



Photo: Oman Air Traffic controllers have apparently had several near-misses this year, aka 'airprox events'


The event is being followed up by the appropriate authorities, of course, but because no aircraft actually crashed, and this being Oman, it's being hushed up somewhat. Afterall, it was all OK in the end. Yani!! Mafi mushkala!! (or perhaps Hakuna Mattata?)

International airlines have responded to the incident by unofficially suspending the ban on in-flight smoking while in Oman airspace. An unofficial spokeman for one airline, who declined to be named, said:

"We figured, what the hell. After all, it could be our last chance for a bloody cigarette, so everyone can now just go for it. The crew won't say anything until we're safely outside Omani airspace."

Now, joking aside, air traffic controllers - even ours - do train for such situations. And the planes themselves also have a basic Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance System or TCAS (thank's to the International Civil Aviation Organization, after a few mid-air collisions in the 70s and 80s).

And I have every confidence things will improve after lessons have been learnt...

sigh...

I also see that there wasn't a report (yet) made to the Aviation Safety Reporting System (a voluntary international confidential near miss reporting website run by NASA) either. Tsk tsk.

One for the Muscat Daily to follow-up on? I'd love to read an official version of what happened...

Interview with Dance Event promoter Bakh

Here's an interview with Bakh, one of the DJs who held their first VICE dance event last night. I am told around 70-80 people showed up - mostly in costume - and all seemed to have fun. As usual, too many guys and not enough girls, but this is Muscat... Reports on the music were OK and the beer was 2.5

But as a first event, not too bad. I don't know if having Rock Bottom downstairs was good for business or not...

Muscat Confidential supports SMEs. We need more such enthusiasm.

Here's the interview.

> 1/ Why are you starting a dance event company? Who is your target market?


For fame and fortune, of course!

Jokes aside, we feel that Muscat is a place that strives to seamlessly
blend traditional charms with 21st century jet-setting lifestyles.
People here work very hard, but to have a good time they go to
neighboring Dubai, Beirut; even London and Ibiza. There is an enormous
void in the quality and variety of local entertainment!

We want to contribute to this city's nightlife. To those hard-working
(and hard-partying) residents and guests, to those that have
discerning tastes and a thirst for quality electronic dance music, we
offer well-produced events to the soundtrack that rocks underground
dancefloors world-wide.



> 2/ What's your background? How did you end up in Oman?

I was born in New York City and spent my childhood in places like
Soviet (and later Independent) Russia, Sudan, Abu Dhabi, Western
Europe. I started DJing and throwing parties while in college in
Boston over 10 years ago. Since then I moved back to NYC, started a
family, got my MBA and was invited to contribute to a start-up
business here in Oman. In the meantime DJing took me all over Boston,
NYC, Miami, Zurich, recently Dubai, and now Muscat.


> 3/ What sort of music will you be playing on Thursday?

Our specialty du jour is freshly baked house + techno, straight out of
the oven. There are three of us performing on Thursday, for a total of
six time-slots, so you can expect to hear many different takes on the
deliciousness, like deep, vocal, dub, disco, electro, minimal,
progressive and balls-out slammers.



> 4/ It's a Halloween theme for your first event, and you've said 'No costume - No entry' ... but that sounds like it might stop a lot of people from coming. What really happens if people just want to attend in casual clothes?


People have purchased masks in Carrefour, Markaz Al Bahja, the Muttrah
Souq. Plenty of creative ideas on the Internet; here's a collection of
YouTube videos to start http://bit.ly/40mIPA

There is no need to over-think this: simply dig deep into your (or
your partner's) closet. I am sure Mrs. Dragon will look spectacular in
Dragon's tuxedo; whereas the Dragon himself in Mrs. Dragon's stilettos
and stockings will be the highlight of the night. VICE is an equal
opportunity party and no cross-dresser will be denied entry, you have
my word!

We want this to be a very special event and we're doing our best to
make it so. But we can't pull it off alone. Our guests, their positive
attitude and untapped creativity are an integral part of the
experience, they are the ones that will make VICE a true Halloween
Extravaganza!


I would like to personally thank Undercover Dragon for giving us the
privilege of extending our message to a lively and enthusiastic
audience such as You: the readers of this blog.

We hope to see everyone on the dancefloor, shaking their money-makers
to the finest house + techno music ever played this side of the Hajar
mountains!

One love,
Bakh

CAYC Commodore summoned to the headmistresses'office

It seems the Commodore of the Capital Area Yacht Club [a.k.a CAYC] has been summoned to the headmistresses' office, according to my sources.

Her Excellency, The Minister of Tourism, has called for a 'very urgent' meeting with him, front and centre in her office tomorrow.

Topic no. 1 on the agenda?
I presume, maybe, the total lack of any action following her executive demand last month that they please evict themselves as of October 1st (and despite the case being sub-judice in 2 separate courts).

But that's just a guess.

[I'm not a lawyer. But obviously Her Excellency is well advised in such matters by her senior staff. Such an instruction from her Sovereign Ministry - especially one allegedly sent on letterhead above her signature - must have be based under a clearly agreed legal authority, vested in HE, duly exercised under the State law under the watchful eye of an independent judiciary, and even includes, I guess, sufficient delegated authority to enable land ex-appropriation and arbitrary compensation. Obviously.)

I stumbled across the eerily appropriate myheadmistress.co.uk. Talk about taking one for the team Commodore!


Photo: Not something one would ever find in the office of HE the Minister of Tourism. That would be ridiculous.


NSFW!
A google search for "spanking school headmistress" probably gives you an idea of what's in store for the poor old sailor! Naughty boy!

New fines for traffic offences so far just a rumour

There's an email going around that the ROP has apparently raised the fines for traffic offences.



Finally, you might think.

This obviously follows on from the speech HM made on road safety last week.

However, while it seems a good idea, my sources tell me it is not (yet) true, although it probably reflects plans by the ROP to 'do something'. So while it may be true, it is not yet confirmed by the ROP. And the last one about 'confiscation' seems totally OTT, and would probably require a Royal Decree.

IMHO, it would help a lot more if the ROP actually just made an effort to enforce the rules they have, and stopped relying on speed cameras.

Here's the rumour:

This is to inform you that, as of today 24.10.2009, ROP has raised the fines, in which you please note.:

Radar violation: R.O. 35/- and upwards

No Belt: R.O. 35/- and above

Glass tinted: R.O. 35/- and upward

Use of cell ph: R.O. 75/- and above

Overtaking from wrong/restricted
path/speed lane: R.O. 75/- upwards

Driving w/o
license: R.O. 500/- fine, six months jail, vehicle confiscated and sold.

Party Ticket Giveaway: And the winners are...

OK readers, first up, the (OK, OK, a few days late) results of the Muscat Confidential draw for 2 pairs of free tickets to the new VICE outfit’s rave dance event by BMB events, this Thursday at the Ramee Hotel in Qurm:



After a rigorous random draw, performed under the unrelenting supervision of Ms. Dragon (the ISS and ROP declined to attend, saying they trusted Ms. Dragon to act on their behalf), congratulations go out to:

Lucky winner no. 1
Melissa Dixon & guest. Melissa will be going as a Vampire French Maid accompanied by her zombie butler. Awesome.

Lucky winner no. 2
The anonymous blogger Local blogger Muscat Mutterings, who simply said he’s big and bad enough to go as himself and still scare the children.

Melissa and MM - your VIP entry details have been emailed separately.


Photo: Artists imaginings of a Vampire Maid... Hmmmm.


Hopefully we'll be able to arrange for more giveaways at Muscat Confidential in future.

Muscat finally gets a decent dance gig? VICE Halloween Event Ticket Giveaway - exclusively for Muscat Confidential Readers

In a another first for Muscat Confidential, you, dear readers, have the chance to win a free night out at an upcoming dance/techno spectacular on Oct 29th!



A group of internationally seasoned dance music aficionados, tired of the offerings in the standard Muscat night clubs, wanted an alternative: The result is BMB Events - "the finest house + techno parties this side of the hajar mountains", according to ex-New York DJ Bakh Inamov, who sounds like a pretty cool dude.

Their inaugural event is VICE: a "Halloween Costume Party fueled by House and Techno", this October 29th, at the Ramee Guestline Hotel, above the infamous Rock Bottom bar.

Their website is here: http://www.bmboman.com/
we'reThey are also on Twitter and Facebook, but I won't hold that against them.

Music will be spun by BMB's founders:
DJ CEE.J (Muscat)
DUB BASS (Muscat)
BAKH INAMOV (NYC)

The party is taking place at the specially decorated Mirchi Ballroom, which is on the 2nd floor of the Ramee, with a very, very, loud sound system.

A stocked bar of alcoholic beverages will be open until 2:30am, serviced by the Ramee Hotel staff. A Special Halloween dress code will be enforced: NO COSTUME = NO ENTRY

Entry fee is 10 Rials for the ordinary people, but the Dragon has wangled free VIP entry and tickets for 2 lucky couples, and we're giving them away here on Muscat Confidential.

Just email me your name, along with a short explanation of what costume you'll be wearing, and you'll be entered into the draw. The 2 lucky winners of a pair of VIP tickets will be announced here on Friday October 23rd, so get in to win. The draw will be supervised by the ROP, ISS, and Ms Dragon.

Send your emails to undercover(dot)dragon(at)gmail(dot)com

I am not in Canada...

Or female, obviously (who-ever that wanna be Sherlock Holmes may be)

I have just been so totally freaking busy working my claws to the bone, earning my vast salary - and combined with a total post Ramadan/summer/Eid lack of any news I can blog about. Or, at least, nothing note worthy I can say without breaching either various legal confidentiality agreements or the law...



OK... I've been feeling blog-lazy too.


And I can't even blame twitter... sigh

But I was thrilled to see the first Twestival of twitterers in Oman. (sp?) The net might just save the Middle East...

Now that I've posted, at least Jet Driver can blog again!!!

And meanwhile you can all read great Omani blogs like Dhofari Gucci (see blog roll), oh, and a great 'observational' blog I stumbled across recently by an American teacher in the wilds of Oman, describing the total and (at the same time) hilarious dysfunction that is the product of your tax dollars and the excellence that is the Ministry of Higher Education in Oman... Check out Eyes Wide Oman, by Claire. I'm a fan.

Enjoy!

And don't worry, I am still here in country, and will get of my fat green tail soon,. Be assured am certainly not tucked away in the Dark Castle... (but thanks for the rather brave and supportive emails. You know who you are...)

A laugh... and The National newspaper increasing reports from Oman

Here's a nice joke I thought I'd share. Some real updates later this week.

A young Omani man is seeking to join the ROP.

The ROP Sergeant doing the interview says: "Salim. Your qualifications all look good, but there is an attitude suitability test that you must take before you can be accepted."

Then, sliding a pistol across the desk, he says: "Take this pistol and go out and shoot six illegal Afgani immigrants, six drug smugglers, six Yemeni terrorists, and a wadi dog.”

"Why the wadi dog?" says Salim.

"Great attitude," says the Sergeant. "You pass the test. When can you start?"

Also, great to see The National's Omani reporter Saleh al Shaibany is starting to publish some real stories, his latest on the rise of expat beggars in Oman, following on from his nice article about the problems being faced by Omani women owning and running businesses.

Keep it up Saleh. (although, I'd prefer if you started to seek more in way of official comments from Muscat Municipality, ROP, etc. Even if that just means all you can report is "No comment".)

What is Oman really good at?

Eid Mubarak everyone. The Government declared a 9 day national holiday for Eid, and it's great. The bars are open again, I can eat out at my favorite places and eat pork and consume alcohol for lunch without having to check into an excellent local hotel, smoke in public, .... etc.

Eid for most Omanis is well described at Dhofari Gucci.


Photo: An Aussie Businessman


Meanwhile, I was pondering the natural advantages Oman has (and hasn't). For example, in Australia, there is a huge surfing and beach culture, so they also are home to many top businesses serving surfers - clothes, boards, etc.

Same for say, skiing in the Alps of Europe. Again, these countries host locally major international winter sporting goods manufacturers, export ski and snowboard instructors, host resorts.

So, what is Oman good at? Where is our local equivalent of Billabong or Atomic? What's our Ricardian natural advantage? How can Oman compete with countries like Vietnam, despite having a population with, shall we say, a totally different work ethic?

- Fishing?




It should be. The fishing used to be AMAZING in Oman. Of late one hears tales from Expat and Omani alike of a dearth of good big fish, excepting the offshore Dhofar perhaps. But shouldn't we be manufacturing really good fishing gear? Running more fishing oriented tourism? Exporting talent, in the way of Arabic speaking Captains for the (much bigger) Red Sea or Mediterranean markets? Processing fish properly here to export direct to prime markets like Japan, USA and China? Are we even properly running our fisheries? Are we world experts on running a fishery? Marine Biology?

- Trauma care.
This is a no brainer, definitely.



Oman has one of the world's highest rates of death and injury on the roads. We should have a specialist Trauma and Emergency Surgery Teaching hospital here. ET and Military surgeons from all over the world could train here. We can export trained expert Omani Doctors and Nurses (again, who speak Arabic and English). At the rate we seem to be going, there is no danger of running out of stupid Omani boys in really fast cars who don't know how to drive responsibly and safely. Already, Koula Hospital is world famous for having lots of fantastic wet work and gets a lot of visiting surgeons.

We could be developing medical equipment, treatment, etc.

- Um
What else? Goats and dates, obviously. I've commented on the business opportunities for dates previously. The opportunities are not huge, but hey, people need cereal.

- Oh, Sand and surf, obviously.
Hence OMRAAN, Blue City, the Wave, BAJ, Asian Games, etc, etc, etc. If only the people building these Hotel and Tourism developments, and working there and living in them, were Omanis. We would also need to be exporting trained F&B and Tourism staff, not importing them.

- Sailing?
But then why drop the ball on the America's Cup, have few good marinas, and hardly support the local sailors? How many of our victorious crews in Catamaran sailing are Omani? Could Oman become a 'New Zealand of the Middle East' for Sailing? Maybe. But not the way its going. Again, can you really forsee Omanis building world class racing boats, or tourist craft? Heck, even our local fishing boats are imported from the UAE. Pathetic.

Then, I started to run out of ideas. There's lots of things we know we aren't good at, [Education, Media, growing food, ...] - I think we import waaaaay too much, of everything. But I'm not talking about basic import substitution (although I think we need to do a hell of a lot more of that too).

Where is that expertise, the professionalism? A thing where people all over the world, people with money, would eventually say,

"Oh, look at that, Omani. Excellent choice. That is really good shit. "

Perhaps a School of Government, like the ones in New York, France and UK?


Readers? Any thoughts?