Night-long National Day celebrations in Oman

MUSCAT: Celebrations of Oman’s 49th National Day continued late into the night of November 18th with people in the country continuing their revelry into the wee hours of the morning of the 19th.
National Day, which traditionally celebrates the birthday of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said ever since he became Sultan of Oman in 1970, is always a festive occasion that brings great happiness to both locals and foreign nationals in the country, many of whom have lived here for decades, and call this country home.
As Omani bands – some of which had been previously organised, others that spontaneously came together, inspired by the occasion – struck up patriotic and martial tunes using several instruments that are at the core of Oman’s musical history, including drums and bagpipes, people got into their cars in droves, and began tooting their horns in celebration of this memorable day.
It was hard to not see people sporting Omani memorabilia that represented either the country, the flag or the Sultan, with many of the revellers who had turned up on the streets to celebrate sporting scarves depicting the country’s national flag and portraits of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Decorative lights in the traditional red, white and green colours twinkled from the streets and flags fluttered from every available flagpole.