The solitude of Oman’s desert is attracting rising numbers looking to escape from everyday stress.
Many drive out to the dunes at the weekend in search of the perfect spot to get away from it all.
Among them is Aiman Shibani, whose daily routine in the city as a banker can be overwhelming.
“The silence in the desert is very healing. You hear no noise and your eyes can look at a spot where the sky touches the sands,” Mr Shibani, a banker in the National Bank of Oman in Muscat, told The National.
To sit in the silence far away from home, watching the sunset or sunrise or the wind blowing the sands, has a fantastic healing factor
Ibtisam Al Busaidi,
a psychologist based in Muscat
"You cannot do that in the city. There are concrete buildings anywhere you go and the sound of traffic even in the middle of the night."
He is far from alone in his quest for tranquillity, with the meditative quality of the vast desert’s resounding silence becoming more and more desirable.
A 240km drive from Muscat, the remote Wahiba Sands in eastern Oman is the most popular desert getaway for both Omanis and foreign residents.
“I lost my job as a cashier in a supermarket a month ago and I find places like Wahiba Sands a stress buster,” said Abdulwaheed Al Farsi, 26. "You can pick a lonely spot from the vast desert and meditate to forget your troubles."
But solitude is not the only antidote for the stress of working life.
Those trying to recover from personal losses also find the Wahiba dunes appealing.
“I lost my wife a year ago to cancer and I suffer from clinical depression but I find desert camping with friends a perfect thing to forget my miseries,” Salim Al Rushaidi, 68, a retired civil servant, told The National.
It is claimed its spectacular, orange dunes inspired British travel writer Wilfred Thesiger to write Across the Empty Quarter. Published in 1959, the book details his gruelling experience through the sands of UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Yemen.
Thesiger camped for two nights at Wahiba Sands before crossing the Empty Quarter desert in 1945.
Richard Wayne, who is in Oman for a two-week holiday, said he camped at the exact spot where Thesiger supposedly slept.
The mechanic, 36, from Portsmouth, southern England, said a Bedouin claimed that Thesiger was guided by his grandfather, “and that’s how he knows of the spot".
"I camped for two nights at the spot to try to feel what he felt when he was there,” he added.
Popular destination with tourists
So it is clear that Oman's residents are not the only ones looking to camp in the serene surroundings of the desert.
Travel agents say there is a rise in demand of desert tours in the winter months from December to March.
One official from the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism estimated a 20 per cent increase in tourists since the peak of the pandemic.
Before the coronavirus outbreak, the Sultanate welcomed 3.4 million tourists in 2019. Soon after a worldwide pandemic was declared, the Gulf nation registered only 356,000 tourists crossing its borders the following year. But numbers rebounded to 2.78 million for 2021.
Naifeen Al Bahrani, owner of Desert Delights Tours based in Muscat, told The National: "Desert camping is very popular in Oman. There is a rise of about 70 per cent in winter desert tours compared to the summer months.
"People typically camp there from just one night to five days. It depends on their time availability."
In efforts to boost tourism in collaboration with local companies, the Omani government this week announced that Muscat Nights will take place during the winter season.
Ahmed Al Hamidi, chairman of Muscat Municipality, told the Sultanate of Oman Television channel that the series of event would “increase the number of tourists, both domestic and international, by having different entertainment and activities on beaches, shopping malls, theatres and town centres, including festivals in the parks".
Take care in the desert
A Ministry of Heritage and Tourism official warned campers of the need to take general precautions while touring the desert.
"They should avoid dehydration and take plenty of water," said Mohammed Al Saifi, "Campers must only use four-wheel drive to avoid getting stuck in the sand.
"Most importantly, they should not go camping in an area when rainwater may collect during showers."
For tourists and residents alike, the positive effect of desert calm cannot be denied. Psychologists acknowledge that the solitude of quiet surroundings can be a healing factor.
Ibtisam Al Busaidi, a psychologist based in Muscat, said: “To sit in the silence far away from home, watching the sunset or sunrise or even the wind blowing the sands, has a fantastic healing factor for stressed thoughts."
"I personally recommend my patients to camp in the desert for a few days to heal themselves.”
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1
Calvin Harris
Columbia
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
Contracted list
Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine, Matt Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye.
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
'Midnights'
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Honeymoonish
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