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Key Points

nPostednon November 19, 2016

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nInnOman, patriotism has a two-day celebration in November. Yesterday,nOman celebrated its 1650 independence from Portugal, and today thennation celebrates the birthday of Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said.

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nBorn in 1940, Qaboos has been the sultan since he was 30nyears old. I assumed that he became sultan when his father died ornrelinquished the crown, but actually Qaboos led a coup that removednhis father from power!

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nThatnsounds bad, huh? I mean, why would Qaboos steal his father’s crownnand exile him to the United Kingdom?

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nActually,nit was a good move. Qaboos’s father was Sultan Said bin Taimur. AndnSaid may have suffered from sort of mental disorder near the end ofnhis life. He apparently became a bit of a hermit, withdrawing from people and doing little to help hisnnation. When young Qaboos returned from the U.K., where he had gone to schoolnand served in the British armed forces, Said put him under housenarrest and arranged for his son to be able to see and talk to only anfew people. And for the last 14 months before the coup, Said didn’tnsee or speak to his son at all – even though they lived in the samenpalace!

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Oman has a strategic position on the Arabian peninsula.

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nInnthe meantime, Said’s nation suffered. Lots of people didn’t havenenough to eat. The infant mortality rate was 75%! That means thatnthree out of every four babies born died while still an infant!nAlmost nobody knew how to read and write, and there were only threenschools in the whole nation. Heck, there were only six miles of pavednroad in the whole nation!

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nWhennQaboos took over in 1970, he used the money from oil sales tonmodernize and develop the country. He was able to make his nation then“most improved” country in the world, according to thenUnited Nations. And even though it has a fairly high-income economy,nit also has a thriving tourism industry and a lively trade in fish,ndates, and other agricultural products – so it is less likely tonsuffer from being too dependent on one non-renewable resource as mostnof its Arabic neighbors.

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nChecknout Oman:

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Ash Sharqiyah Region

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Oman has several castles and forts

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Musandam Dibba

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Wadi-Shab

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Wahiba Sands

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Above and all further photos in this post are taken in Muscat, the capital of Oman.

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Grand Mosque

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nAlsonon this date:

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nRocky and Bullwinkle Dayn

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nActressn/ director Jodie Foster’s birthday

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nMonaco’snNational Holiday

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nGettysburgnAddress Day

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nMachunPicchu promoter Hiram Bingham’s birthday

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nDiscoverynDay in Puerto Rico

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nGarifunanSettlement Day in Belize

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nWorldnToilet Day

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nGeographicnInformation Systems Day

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Plannahead:

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nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:

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• nNovembern holidays

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• nNovembern birthdays

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• nHistoricaln anniversaries in November

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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:

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• nDecembern holidays

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• nDecembern birthdays

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• nHistoricaln anniversaries in December

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