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By Viju James

JUST over ten years ago, a book called Regards Muscat was launched in the market. The book had a bright vermilion cover and a watercolour of a mosque with blue domes. It was from the Editions Michel Hetier, written by Michele Barrault and translated into English by Nadia Fairbrother. The same trio has now come out with Regards Batinah with credit for photography going to Michel Hetier.

Regards Batinah begins with the opening lines: Batinah — The Very Essence of Oman — No other region in Oman is so close to its geography, geology, history or traditions as Batinah. With these words, Regards Batinah is presented in seven chapters covering history, the economy, the city of Sohar, Batinah South, the forts and wadis of Batinah and Northern Batinah.

The opening chapter puts the Batinah in perspective and touches on the region’s history, its mineral and geological wealth and the transition the region has witnessed in a span of just under four decades. “The dhows have been replaced by giant container ships or oil and LNG tankers. The fishermen have swapped the weathered teak hulls of the badans, jalibuts and shuis for similarly shaped glass fibre boats with powerful engines that unload their catch of colourful fish directly on to the beach. The waters of the Gulf are very rich and the fishing has now reached industrial dimensions.”

The authors strike a novel approach to history of the region by saying that the Batinah boasts Oman’s three former capitals — Sohar, Rustaq and Al Hazm. The chapter dwells on these ancient capitals before moving on to talk about Sohar — the industrial port and the industrial capital of the country. The authors elaborate on the three clusters of petrochemicals, metal and logistics and take the reader on a visual tour of practically every unit in the Sohar Industrial Port Area and the Sohar Industrial Estate.

This is the chapter with the pictorial calling cards of some of the well known corporates of the world who have set up base in Sohar. This is also the chapter that informs the newcomer to Sohar about all that has happened in Sohar in the last five years and is continuing to happen. The authors quickly peep into the Sohar University, Oman’s first private university which is now all set to provide all the human resources for the new Sohar. Sohar University is slated to increase its present strength of 4,000 to 10,000 by the year 2010.

Farming and fishing continue to be the mainstay of the region and the authors inform that Batinah’s substantial agricultural production provides 93 per cent of Oman’s needs in dates and fruit and 65 per cent of its needs in vegetables. Batinah also provides the hotspots for tourism and will in December next year host the 2nd Asian Beach Games on the beaches of the region. Ten thousand athletes from 45 countries will descend on the area and participate in eleven disciplines of the Beach Games. The facilities to host the games are coming up at a site in Wudam Al Sahil and Musannah along the Batinah coast.

Regards Batinah moves inland to walk through the sentinels and secret trails of Jabal Akhdar and the towns and villages on its slopes and in its valleys. For the novitiate it is an initiation into the history heritage and culture of Oman: “Nakhl and Al Awabi like Rustaq used to guard the entrance to the wadis which were Oman’s lifeline.

The forts played a defensive role, but also a political, a social and a religious one.” “No invaders could come here and raid their villages which hang on the mountain sides and where the water from the alfaj flowed. They lived there in perfect and self-sufficient isolation.” Regards Batinah highlights lesser known wadis, villages and places of interest. The Lusail copper mines and the marble quarries near Khadra and Haylayn area are a few of these.

“The wadis in Northern Batinah are little known. Some have remained truly authentic,” says the book. The book promises a bonanza if you follow some of the wadi trails that start in Fizh. It says that as you go along there are settlements that have been abandoned as they are far too remote.

In the abandoned houses there are paintings that tell the story of those who built them and about their daily life and the highlights like the story of their pilgrimage to Mecca. “In Maggayl, like in Bat, we feel we have reached the end of the world. But we are in the heart of Batinah, a farming area which for centuries has supplied the ships that stopped in Sohar and the people who lived on the coast and in the mountain.”

The finest advice in the book says: “You do not need to know all the names of the wadis, just go and wander along this ancient world. Share a meal with those who invite you. You are like the old traveller who used to bring news and who was welcomed with the traditional hospitality of the tribes.

Regards Muscat of ten years ago had several black and white pictures, reproductions of William Daniel’s etchings and colourful scenes of Muscat. Regards Batinah has a couple of artist impressions of Sohar in the 9th century, prints of ancient paintings and for the rest is a rich collection of colourful pictures. In April this year the French Embassy showcased a photo exhibition of the Batinah Region by Michel Hetier. Regards Batinah carries the same pictures to great effect. The book is available at Family Bookshop. RO15.

Published in Oman Observer, 3rd June 3009