Oman’s National Day celebrations on November 18 will be muted this year as the country continues to mourn the death of its former ruler while cutting back on non-essential expenditure to protect its ailing economy and curtailing large gatherings amid the Covid-19 crisis.
In previous years, renowned actors, singers and other performers have been flown in to entertain crowds in football stadiums and hotels across the country. But this year the festivities have been trimmed down in recognition of the nation’s loss in January.
Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who was the Arab world’s longest-serving ruler when he passed away aged 79 this year, is credited with bringing Oman out of obscurity and transforming it into a modern nation by building schools, universities and modern infrastructure while opening it up to visitors.
Nearly a year after his death, many Omanis still mourn the loss of the much-loved leader and are reluctant to engage in celebrations.
“I think it is obvious that Omanis are still in mourning and the death of Sultan Qaboos is still fresh in their minds. The government has obviously decided to keep the 50th National Day on a low key to respect people’s feelings,” Qassim Al Kharusi, a political analyst said.
National flags will be hoisted along roadsides but the streets of cities like Muscat, Sohar and Salalah will see little of the usual National Day fanfare.
Oman’s ruler, Sultan Haitham bin Tarik is expected to deliver the traditional National Day speech on television, rather than the royal box in the national stadium in front of thousands of his subjects.
The usual street decorations and traditional dances on the roads will also be bypassed this year, though there will still be small fireworks displays to mark the occasion.
Financial analysts said that, in addition to muting the celebrations out of respect for the loss of Sultan Qaboos, the country is trying to save costs to pay for the national deficit.
“The year 2020 has a deficit of 2.8 billion rials ($7.2 billion) and it makes sense to cut down losses. At current prices, we sell our oil at about $43 per barrel compared to $120 per barrel in 2014. There will be no point to spend millions in celebrations when we need to pay for the deficit,” Ahmed Al Shizawi, a financial analyst said.
In the last three months, Sultan Haitham, who took over from the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said in January, has introduced a series of measures to boost the national coffers, including trimming down the civil ministries, introducing taxes and implementing plans to raise funds from bonds.
However, towns outside Muscat are expected to stage the usual National Day horse and camel races, though the crowds will be cut to half their usual size due to the pandemic.
Oman, which has been through two lockdowns since the start of the pandemic, reported 329 new cases of Covid-19 on Monday with 12 deaths. The total number of confirmed cases has now reached 120,718 while 1,350 people have died from the virus since the beginning of the outbreak.
The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
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GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Timeline
1947
Ferrari’s road-car company is formed and its first badged car, the 125 S, rolls off the assembly line
1962
250 GTO is unveiled
1969
Fiat becomes a Ferrari shareholder, acquiring 50 per cent of the company
1972
The Fiorano circuit, Ferrari’s racetrack for development and testing, opens
1976
First automatic Ferrari, the 400 Automatic, is made
1987
F40 launched
1988
Enzo Ferrari dies; Fiat expands its stake in the company to 90 per cent
2002
The Enzo model is announced
2010
Ferrari World opens in Abu Dhabi
2011
First four-wheel drive Ferrari, the FF, is unveiled
2013
LaFerrari, the first Ferrari hybrid, arrives
2014
Fiat Chrysler announces the split of Ferrari from the parent company
2015
Ferrari launches on Wall Street
2017
812 Superfast unveiled; Ferrari celebrates its 70th anniversary
Match info
Deccan Gladiators 87-8
Asif Khan 25, Dwayne Bravo 2-16
Maratha Arabians 89-2
Chadwick Walton 51 not out
Arabians won the final by eight wickets
The biog
Favourite film: The Notebook
Favourite book: What I know for sure by Oprah Winfrey
Favourite quote: “Social equality is the only basis of human happiness” Nelson Madela. Hometown: Emmen, The Netherlands
Favourite activities: Walking on the beach, eating at restaurants and spending time with friends
Job: Founder and Managing Director of Mawaheb from Beautiful Peopl
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
