Oman is an outlier and I love the ways it is different. It’s oil-rich but, unlike its oil-rich neighbors, Oman has avoided the glitz in favor of its traditions and architecture and sense of community. Oman is politically neutral, so it feels calm in this troubled part of the world. It has a lot of natural beauty and fancy malls. It’s the Switzerland of Western Asia but with sand. (Or Switzerland is the Oman of Europe but with snow).
