Wednesday 20 / November / 2024
Muscat: More and more efforts are being taken by the Sultanate of Oman to showcase the country’s rich heritage and culture by sharing it with people who live in the country, as well as visitors.
The Fath Al Khair Centre has been recently opened in Sur, to showcase Oman’s marine heritage, while attention has also been provided to the Sayyid Muhammad bin Ahmed Al Busaidi Library, a treasure trove of cultural, intellectual, and scientific works, according to the Oman News Agency (ONA).
More awareness is also being created about how past generations of Omanis would make their homes and buildings using the best of the resources available with their surroundings, enabling them to coexist with nature.
“Located some 212 km from Ibri in Ad Dhahirah, the area of Al Salif is a vivid example of the existence of human social and cultural settlements that owe their existence to temporal factors and the interaction of the Omani with his community,” explained the ONA.
“The internal structure of Al Salif is largely the result of a complex terrain that the builders had to deal with, in addition to the water drainage system, which had to be taken into account so that large parts of the wall would not be exposed to water run-off from the hill during rainstorms.”
Defensive structures were also erected in the area to fend off invaders. While defending Al Salif, its inhabitants would organise the defence of their surroundings into several tiers, depending on their proximity to the centre of the area.
The first line of defence was a system of towers built along the northern edge of a limestone outcrop located right in the area.
While Al Salif in Ad Dhahirah offers people a chance to explore one aspect of Omani history, a vast repository of culture awaits them at the Sayyid Muhammad bin Ahmed Al Busaidi Library. Considered one of the most important reference libraries in Oman, it was opened in 1986, and is supervised by the Sultan Qaboos Higher Centre for Culture and Science.
“The library contributes to the growth of the cultural scene in the Sultanate of Oman through publishing and discoveries,” explained ONA.
“It is a storehouse of information for readers, researchers, intellectuals and visitors, for what it contains in jewels and valuables, and a variety of cultural, intellectual and scientific materials.”
“The library has works over a wide range of topics, including jurisprudence works, Sharia sciences, Arabic language, philosophy, history, general knowledge, encyclopaedias in various types of knowledge, collections of poetry, literature, history, language, chemistry, medicine, astronomy, and others.”
The Fath Al Khair Centre in Sur, meanwhile, has detailed information and artefacts on Omani mariners, the art of shipbuilding, and the implements used by sailors.
“The opening of the centre comes in alignment with the priorities of Oman Vision 2040, its strategic objectives and its executive programmes to promote citizenship, identity, heritage and national culture,” said Ibrahim bin Saeed Al Kharusi, undersecretary for heritage at the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism.
Dr Amer bin Nasser Al Mataani, the CEO of Oman LNG, added, “The company’s financing of this centre reflects its constant endeavours to support the promising tourism sector in the Sultanate of Oman, and to find appropriate ways to revitalise tourism in South Sharqiyah.”
With inputs from Oman News Agency.
