An ode to Oman’s maritime legacy

If ever the Sultanate of Oman is to receive due acknowledgement and recognition for its timeless maritime tradition, the respects being paid by the Singapore authorities stands head and shoulders above the rest and it is a passage down the timeline in all its hues and complexities.

Oman and Singapore share the strongest bond over their sea tradition and the ties that are intact over centuries were reinstated with the voyage of the recreation of ‘Jewel of Muscat’, a 9th century Omani sailing ship made of traditional knowhow.

The Marina Park in Sentos, Singapore which hosts the Maritime Experiential Museum and the largest aquarium is also home for Oman’s own jewel spread over two floors, which allows visitors to view both her deck and her unique sewn hull. More than a million people are visiting the Jewel in a year in her new home, at the heart of Sentosa Resorts world.

The Museum was opened by Oman’s Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al Busaidi and Goh Chok Tong, Emeritus Senior Minister of Singapore in a glittering ceremony.

First the visitors will be taken through the corridors of history of this high-tech museum and treated with a short movie that is simply awe-inspiring. The story starts with a king and the son set out on a voyage to meet the Omani ruler with a unique gift in their ‘mandoos’ meets with the adverse weather and finally they had to give up to the rage of nature in the mid-sea abandoning the unique piece of respects to the fathomless ocean. The state-of-the-art aqua theatre gives a feeling to the audience that they are accompanying the king’s crew in their voyage. Every time the ship’s route was disturbed, it is the viewers who could first experience the tumult. It is a wonderful video presentation that narrates the history behind the Jewel of Oman and it simply takes us down the epic from the history of Oman.

The recreated Jewel of Oman which is a diplomatic gift and a token of goodwill to Singapore sailed her way across the seas in the old-fashioned way in 2010.

The group of Omani sailors led by Captain Saleh al Jabri, a former captain in Royal Oman Navy, spent several months in cramped, stark conditions on board this ninth century ship replica, all in message of goodwill to Singapore. The team delivered the vessel to Singapore as a symbol of closer ties between the two states after sailing in the old fashioned way from Muscat.

The team of Omani sailors re-created the way their counterparts would have lived on board such a vessel centuries ago, living for five months in the same conditions and even eating the same foods — dried fish and dates. They navigated a key Indian Ocean trade route once used to transport precious cargo from Arabia to the Far East.

“We have tried to think back a thousand years,” Captain Al Jabri told the Observer then. “We all understand life must have been very difficult and very hard then and we just tried to do almost the same”.

The project was funded by both the Omani and Singaporean governments and is considered to be a landmark in the bilateral relations of the two friendly nations.

Marine Life Park
The Marine Life Park, on the other hand, the world’s largest oceanarium inspired by the myriad marine wonders of our blue planet keeps the huge doors to the secrets of the sea right in front of our eyes. It features some of the world-class attractions and for sure. The Marine Life Park will take you and your family on an unforgettable journey through the sea.
The awe-inspiring universe of life in the ocean at S E A Aquarium (South East Asia Aquarium), the world’s largest aquarium accredited by Guinness World Records features more than 100,000 marine animals from over 800 species across 49 habitats. It is home to majestic manta rays, enormous goliath groupers, hammerhead sharks and other gentle giants of the sea, as the Park authorities have said.

Simply put, a visit to this Marine Park is worth experiencing the Oman’s history abroad, dipping yourself down in a world bustling with thousands of marine animals, and getting up close with some of the most magnificent creatures of the sea with its ultimate marine encounters.
Source: Oman Observer