Less than a decade ago, a 500 MW solar power plant would have been the largest in the world. Oman’s new solar farm stand out in that it uses bifacial colar technology that can collect energy from the front side and the rear side.
After deposing his father in 1970, Sultan Qaboos opened up the country, embarked on economic reforms, and followed a policy of modernization marked by increased spending on health, education and welfare. Slavery, once a cornerstone of the country’s trade and development, was outlawed in 1970.
The Nabhani dynasty were rulers of Oman from 1154 until 1624, when the Yaruba dynasty took power. One of their most visible legacies is the Bahla Fort, a large complex of mud brick buildings on stone foundations which is registered as a UNESCO world heritage site.
The Imamate is a 1,200 year old system of government pioneered by the Ibadi religious leaders of Oman, and was based upon the Islamic sharia.
The Hafit period defines early Bronze Age human settlement in the United Arab Emirates and Oman in the period from 3200 to 2600 B.C.E. It is named after the distinctive beehive burials first found on Jebel Hafit, an outlier of Al Hajar Mountains.
Muscat’s notability as a port was acknowledged by Western Civilization as early as the 1st century CE by the Greek geographer Ptolemy, who referred to it as Cryptus Portus, and by Pliny the Elder, who called it Amithoscuta. Muscat is now the capital and largest city of Oman.
The harsh climate prevented much settlement in the Arabian peninsula apart from a small number of urban trading settlements, such as Mecca and Medina.
