The Royal Opera House in Muscat has just begun a new season. We haven’t been too involved in pushing the arts, other than a few big opera productions at Masada, but we have been inspired by Oman, and in particular, by their stunning opera house. The building is so spectacular, Ronen had all our Oman programs changed to include a visit. Continue reading
The government of Dubai is paying its residents to lose weight. For 30 days beginning with a weigh-in on July 19th, reducers will be rewarded 1 gram of gold per kilogram lost, with a minimum of 2 kilos required for a pay-out. Lose 4.5 lbs, gain $82, roughly, and $41 for every additional 2.2lbs, lost, with no limit, until the final weigh-in on August 16. At the end of the month, one of the three biggest losers will be randomly picked to win a gold coin worth over $5,000. Continue reading
In the early days of developing our new regional product, which includes Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates states of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, we referred to the area collectively as the “Persian Gulf.” Other than the assertion that Oman does not border the “Persian Gulf” (except by the tiny annex of Musandam, separated from the bulk of the country and surrounded by the UAE) by one pedantic member of our ranks, the term seemed an appropriate, concise way to refer to four neighbor countries. The lone stickler for geographical correctness pushed for use of the “Arabian Peninsula” but the greater momentum was behind “Persian Gulf.” Continue reading
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