Dhofar’s Nomads: How Oman’s Renaissance Changed A Way of Life Forever

Dhofar’s Nomads bridges two images of Oman: the one passed to us through the renowned travelogues of Wilfrid Thesiger and his fe ted fellow explorers of the Arabian Peninsula in the 20th century, and the less familair version of the same story as expressed by the Omani population who lived through this period. This other side of the coin is locked in an oral tradition that has not yet found sufficient expression in Western descriptions.

This is the account of a nomad boy whose life story mirrors the rapid social and economical changes experienced by almost all of the pastoral people of Oman. Mussallem’s personal account maps the tensions and challenges encountered by the nomadic population of Dhofar as it went through a process of rapid modernisation during the Omani Renaissance.

Spell-binding and informative throughout, with surprises and twists for even the most experienced student of Oman’s history, this charming story is essential reading for an understanding of Oman today.

Mussallem Hassan Al Mahri is an eyewitness to the Omani Renaissance. Growing up in a family of pastoral nomads in Dhofar, Mussallem was one of the first of his tribe to be educated in the newly-established schools. Up until that point indigenous knowledge had been passed down within the tribal unit from one generation to another. Mussallem’s father, who like thousands of others had to migrate to neighbouring countries in pursuit of work in order to support his family, wisely recognised the advantages his children would gain from a modern education.

After 1970 ‘nomadism’ in the traditional sense was soon no longer viable. New opportunities were opening at this time to Mussallem, gradually transforming him from nomadic boy into a city dweller and eventually into an entrepreneur in tourism.