Last Friday, on January 10th, the ruler of Oman Sultan Qabus bin Said passed away. Nahostcast had only in December recorded an episode on the country and didn’t foresee this development. But in order to understand what this loss means to a country like Oman, it is even more important to provide an insight into its political and societal system.
Oman – a country that few people can actually locate on a map, although it is one of the most developed countries in the WANA-region. However, only 40 years ago there were only 10km of tarred roads and a dozen primary schools. Today it’s a modern state – but how does a society cope with such a tremendous change? Which role does the sultan take within the Omani society and for its development? Which discrepancies arise between the generations in this process of modernization? How does the current political system look like and why is the sultanate often declared a political solution for the region?
We addressed these questions with our guest Hamed, who has grown up in Oman, has lived and worked there. He actually came into our lives via an adventurous roadtrip through the country and invited us to stay as a couchsurfing host.
