For Clarification

I realized after reading a message from my dad that I may have falsely portrayed Oman. Like any tourist or visitor I suppose, I have taken pictures of the picturesque, described the quaint, the unusual, the lovely or surprising. Other than a few anecdotes about my family I haven’t given much information about Omani life, it seems, or at least the sliver of it to which I have been exposed.
Not to put Dad on the spot, but in an email he mentioned that he hoped that returning to America, a more consumer-based economy, would not be too much of a shock for me.
While I do not know if the same is true throughout the Middle East, I should first explain that the Gulf, or “Al-Khalij”; the people and accent here are known as “Khaliji”—specifically encompassing the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Counsel, or Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the U.A.E, Saudi Arabia, and Oman—are some of the wealthiest countries in the world. As “rentier states”, state-systems in which the government does not need to rely on income collected from citizens (taxes), the state exists primarily to collect and distribute the wealth of its natural resources (oil, and in Qatar, natural gas) to the citizens. Citizens do not pay taxes, And while the stereotype of “a Ferrari outside a Bedouin tent with an oil well in the back” is far from acccurate, like many stereotypes it contains remnants of truth. Because much of the Gulf is consumerism gone mad. I suppose I didn’t explain that while Dubai is on consumption steroids, it is merely the queen among a court of other ladies, all equally interested in being the fairest of them all. And to do this, they build 5 star, hotels, resorts, shopping malls, Porsche dealerships, etc.etc.etc. Emirati women can be picked out by their royal posture and abayas dripping with sequins, but they are nearly matched by other Khaliji women. Saudis especially, are known for their fancy cars, (although it is usually the Saudi men that are more visible…I actually have yet to see an identifiably Saudi woman. This probably will not happen, because outside of the K.S.A. (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; its acronym), they quickly adopt the slightly less conservative dress permissible in the rest of the GCC.
Oman is hardly immune to the trend to the allures of capitalism. Although I have tried to avoid them, there are huge malls, supermarkets, and hotels. Ok, I have not always tried to avoid them; the occasional visit to Borders with the other SIT kids, or shopping at the mall with my sisters has not only provided relaxing, numbing consumer-neurotransmitters, but is part of normal Omani life. The traditional souk in Muttrah is treated by the Omanis in the same way it is by the tourists: somewhere to go find something traditional, but if you have actual shopping to do, you go to Century 21. I have, however, avoided Starbucks, mostly because the other available options are far superior.
Maybe I already wrote about this, but prior to Eid, (the big holiday after Ramadhan), every Omani woman goes to buy herself new finery that will then be used throughout the year. Every Omani man and boy buys new dishdasha. I think I had discussed already how I liked the honesty of this: buying for oneself the items that one likes without feeling guilty about it, rather than hoping that others will choose the correct gifts or stressing out about getting something for others. Gift giving here, in general, is generally form guest to host or groom to bride. Other than that, it does not have a large part in social interaction. Birthday celebrations are minimal, except for a one-year old, (perhaps to celebrate that the baby has reached a safely survivable age). Anyway, pre-Eid is a shoppers paradise, and many Ramadhan sermons bemoan the way that shopping becomes the cure for hungry fasters; they sound similar to Christian complaints about the hijacking of Christmas for marketing purposes. The second Eid will fall almost on Christmas this year, and already people are gearing up for more spending. If I didn’t explain already, the first Eid, Eid al-Fitr (Celebration of Breaking Fast) follows the Islamic month of Ramadhan. Eid al-Adha (Celebration of the Sacrifice) comes at the beginning of the Islamic month of Hajj, the only month in which a journey to Mecca actually counts as “Hajj” (the required journey to Mecca in the life of every practiicng Muslim). Any visit to Mecca during another month, while still a special occasion, is known as umra and does not involve the customs and traditional visits of Hajj.
Having drifted way off-topic, I do not know if I have illustrated the point that Oman is a very consumer-based economy. If conspicuous consumption has not become quite as rampant as in other Gulf states, it is partly due to Oman’s smaller (and dwindling) oil revenues. Actually, for at least one member of the SIT group, (and no, this is not me), the focus on shopping, new Playstation systems, new cars, new cell phones, etc. etc. has been fairly disturbing. While in the States you can always find your tree huggers, your hippies, your wanna-be bohemian vegan artists, Oman is perhaps comparable to the State in 50’s, when everyone was still focused, or made the appearance of focus on the “family”, which in both Oman and 1950’s USA, much social conformity. Everyone expects the nice new house, the nice new car, the latest TV…and while in both the 50’s and in Oman, of course there are the none-mainstreamers, the dominant and visual face of the society is fairly uniform. It becomes more difficult in Oman because the social groups that would provide alternative avenues of discussion or interest are not permitted without government approval, which is nearly impossible to obtain.
I ought to be working on data analysis for my ISP (Independent Study Project).
P.S. the photos show Al-Hail, the neighborhood of Muscat near the SIT office and the internet cafe in which I'm sitting.
P.P.S. Thanks to Mom and perhaps others who tried to find record of the Sultan's Nobel Peace prize; i think my informants had faulty information. Or perhaps they simply believe he ought to have received one.