Oman: Under Arabian Skies

by Rory Patrick Allen, Eamonn Allen (Editor)

The Sultanate of Oman is a land of oases,deserts, rolling sands, shifting dunes and mountains upon which ancient cities have been carved from stone. A land that boasts the Queen of Sheba, Sindbad the Sailor and The Lost City of Ubar buried for millennia under the Arabian Sands. A country that was heralded for its wealth in frankincense and it is from here that ancient frankincense caravans began carrying their precious cargoes to the classical world. Oman is a country where the Bedouin still wander the deserts as they have since time immemorial. A mystical land where eagles soar over the mountain that is home ot the prophet Job, a prophet in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

In the mountains nearby live an ancient people whose language predates Aramaic. The age of the language remains a mystery. It is a spoken language with no written form. In these mountains one finds caves that are decorated with prehistoric art. Mines and distinctive cone like tombs dating from the Bronze age feature all over the country. It is a land that has tales of wizardry, magic, jinns and exorcisms. Embark on a magical and mystical Arabian Odyssey with one man and his traveller's tales through this land that time has all but forgot.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Middle East

373 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Philip Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wide-eyed and nicely naive set of stories that together tell us about Rory Patrick Allen's life in Oman. It's not a travel guide, it's one man's experiences in Oman, but, in telling the stories, Allen provides a wealth of cultural, historical and geographical information, making the book a perfect companion for the traveller to Oman. Allen is not a great writer in the literary sense (nor would he claim to be, I suspect; he appeared very humbled by my interest in the book when I couldn't find a paperback version on Amazon) but he's a good story teller, honest and emotional. One issue: he is so smitten with Oman and with Arab culture that he sometimes seems to denegrate British culture and education in drawing comparisons. For example, when confronting a poisonous snake, he says that his English education had taught him to kill it and he compares this with a Koranic verse that says that all living things have a right to life, suggesting that we have much to learn. Point taken, but I don't feel that English, Christian upbringing (as mine was) taught me anything different. Having said this, I enjoyed the book immensely; I have visited the Sultanate of Oman several times - it's as beautiful as Allen says it is and the Omanis are amongst the warmest, most welcoming people I've ever encountered. Go there. Take this book with you.

[Tracy Abramovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oman explained.

I started this book, thinking it was just a story. But the more I read, the more I understood its meaning. A great explanation of this interesting part of our world.

[Kenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Feels more like a blog than a book, and it was a freebie on Amazon, so difficult to complain. Bloke moves to Oman writes a bit about his experiences, a bit of travel in country and a bit of his friends. He works for the military, but it could be the tourist board. Uncritical and a general love note. He has friends. Who he likes and are very welcoming. And they are great and know their country. And they are wise. And wonderful. And if I don't understand why, it's because they;re cooler. Really great. He likes the country. Etc.

It's got that 'gosh this is amazing' and wouldn't say a word against anything, not much history, and unfortuneately badly edited, ay the end I didnt' think I knew much more about Oman, the culture, or him. A shame really. But these days as a blog with more photos, it would be ok.

[Jan Wolfeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

read and really enjoyed the book , a great insight into both the people the place and its history and culture, and obviously by going native Rory Allen discovered Rory Allen .i think most people dont have the courage ,curiosity or will to do that .a great read about a culture that has very little exposure

jan wolfeld

[أثير · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author have obviously contracted the Omani fever, but didn't we all?!

Having visited Oman twice within this year can't help but get immersed in his journey and adventures in the country that leaves you wanting for more.

A great read for those who want to reminisce their memories of the beautiful Oman and its kind people.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a friendly book with anecdotes about the time the writer spent in Oman as an English teacher. Although it is informative about the country, I found it a bit one-sided because it mainly concerns men, how the women live was not entirely clear to me. A decent but a bit superficial book, but fine if you want to get a feeling about Oman.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Memoirs which read like a guide book.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book, especially at the start, because the author did a great job of mingling fact and history with his own story, making it a very interesting way to learn about the country. As the book progressed, it became more diary entries of his escapades, which made the timeline hard to follow at times.

His entry to Oman was 1991 and the book was just published in 2010. I thought this would make for some massive discrepancies because of the way culture has changed so much so quickly. But honestly I found only a couple little things that are not true - for instance, now camel jockeys are robots instead of young boys because of child labor laws...but that's only happened in the last few years.

Honestly, I was a little put of by his expression of religious belief early in the book because it gave me an expectation that let me down. Allen is a "follower of Jesus the Nazarene," but then he had a demon possession encounter and sought out a local exorcist; he considers the life of Solomon a legend, while I would expect Christ-followers to uphold the Bible as more than a story.

The last couple chapters felt disjointed and kind of like he ran out of stories so he had to hurriedly end.

All in all, it was an interesting read that gave me some new insight into Oman, but moreso into Bedouin life (Bedo are only 10% of the nation's people--the rest primarily seafaring) and one man's travel adventures.

[Chris Hays · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am torn on this book. It is not my style of reading and I think the version I read could have done with some extra editing. Many parts were repeated and un-useful to the overall story. There is a sense that some parts of the story are lively and informative and others are more or less random events. I did like hearing about the different parts of Oman and the routines. However, sometimes I felt the author was gloating when he would mention that he was exceptional and not to share secrets of the Omani. It is a tough edge to balance and could have been polished much cleaner.

[Nate Hill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written account of apparently 15 years of work in Oman. While this book provided some interesting information on Oman, I don't feel like it provided any insights that couldn't be found on wikipedia.

[Dlmrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Tremayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's more and interesting book that necessarily we'll written but the authors of centred behavior and the fascinating country makes for a rewarding read