Friday 19 / April / 2024
Muscat: If you’re looking to take a trip down memory lane and recall Oman during a simpler time, check out Simon Cockerham’s video, which shows what Muscat looked like in 1990.
Cockerham—a long term resident of the Sultanate—shot a video of him travelling from Ruwi and CBD to the Muttrah Souq and the Corniche, and has only recently uploaded it onto YouTube, after painstakingly transferring it from videotapes to DVDs and then broadcasting it for the world to see.
The video showcases many of the nation’s iconic buildings, including the well-known Sheraton Hotel, the much-loved Star Cinema, and of course, the very popular Muttrah Souq, a favourite haunt for tourists and residents alike.
“I lived all over the Middle East, having taught English in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and of course Oman, and of all of the places I’ve been to, this is the one that I didn’t want to leave because there was something different about Oman,” recalled Cockerham, while speaking to the Times of Oman. “The people here were so warm and friendly and welcoming that when I came back here, I just liked it so much.”
“I’ve always had a passion for capturing video, and so I used to take my camera with me pretty often,” he added. “In those days, the idea of taking a video camera around was still new because they were quite big and had to be held in both hands, and so people were surprised to see me holding this. They wouldn’t be themselves on camera because they thought they had to behave a certain way.”
Cockerham said the video reminds him of a time when life wasn’t as stressful as it is today, and he uploaded this onto YouTube so that everybody could recall their early years in the Sultanate, when things were a lot simpler.
“The one thing that strikes me is how we all thought Oman would stay the same forever, allowing us to live a simple, quiet life that a lot of us search for, but of course Oman hasn’t stayed that way,” he said. “Through videos like these, I’d say I’ve learned to appreciate the smaller pleasures in life, because I don’t think any of us appreciated Oman enough at that time.”
“Another difference between then and now is the number of people on the streets,” added Cockerham, who’s now been living in Oman for the last 18 years. “Oman was a lot quieter back then, and if you look at so many of the areas in the video, you’ll see that so many of the places featured in it are a lot more crowded now.”
Since he first began filming, Cockerham has added much to his repertoire, and is grateful that he is able to share his hobby with those around him.
“I began filming on these really big cameras, which needed you to use tapes, and as technology has advanced, I’ve learned a lot of skills as well,” explained Cockerham, who currently teaches English at the Royal Air Force School in Oman. “My editing and filming skills have both improved immensely. One of the first things I learned was how to keep steady while filming as that is really important.”
“Oman is a lovely place full of really kind and welcoming people,” he added. “I’ve been to many of the places in the interiors of the country and there are a lot of qualities here that you just don’t see in the other Middle Eastern nations.”
