Dawn Over Oman by Pauline Searle

Author:Pauline Searle [Searle, Pauline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Regional Studies
ISBN: 9781317242093
Google: 6k77CwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016-04-14T06:02:14+00:00

20. Designs of dhows have changed little through the centuries. Here a bum unloads cargo at Sur

21. The intricately hand-carved and painted stern of this dhow shows craftsmanship of the highest order

22. Early nineteenth-century hand-carved doors. Those at Sur are among Oman’s finest examples

News of the defeat travelled fast and Thompson was blamed for the fiasco: such a defeat involving British troops had never happened before. By January of the following year a new force marched on Abu Ali, this time comprising nearly 3,000 men under the command of Sir Lionel Smith. The Abu Ali fought fiercely, but even they were unable to do battle against the artillery brought to bear on them. Their date gardens and water channels were destroyed and their fort demolished. Hundreds on both sides met their deaths.

Both expeditions were censured by the Court of Directors, but neither commanding officer suffered permanently from the results of their conduct. The Sultan was rid of his enemy, only the Abu Ali did not recover – and there always had been a grave doubt as to whether or not they had indulged in piracy in the first place.

Such is Sur’s claim to a niche in history. A sad and ignoble episode and perhaps better to leave buried beneath the blowing sands of the Wahhibas, the sands that appear to advance yearly on the mountains of the Sharqiya. Let us leave it there then and turn our attention to other mountains of Oman, higher, greener and even more dramatic – the mountains of the Jebel Akhdar.

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