Word: taimur
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...started flowing in 1967, the year when past and present began to clash in Oman. Rebel groups had already mounted an insurrection to overthrow Sultan Said bin Taimur, then 56, a paranoid tyrant who hoarded gold from oil revenues in the cellar of his ancient castle in Salalah because he believed paper currency was worthless. Under his medieval rule, slavery was sanctioned, and no one could travel abroad without his permission. It was against the law for an Omani to wear spectacles or ride a bicycle. In the whole country there were only two post offices, three miles of asphalt...
...newspaper boy who studied paleontology at the University of California at Berkeley, Phillips accumulated a fortune estimated at $120 million. By his own account, his rise began when he visited Oman in 1952 on an archaeological expedition. There, said Phillips, he met and became friends with Sultan Said bin Taimur, who informed him, "By the will of God we shall have oil, for I am grant ing you the oil concession for Dhofar" -an area the size of Ohio. Phillips went on to become one of the largest individual holders of Middle Eastern oil concessions...
Under the despotic reign of his father, Sultan Said bin Taimur, Muscat and Oman* as the country was known before Qabus shortened the name-was not far removed from the 15th century. Fearful that social and economic development would corrupt traditional Islamic values, Said turned his land, perched on the southeastern hump of Arabia near the gates of the Persian Gulf, into a 112,000-sq.-mi. jail...
...dispensaries are being established. Qabus intends to apply for membership in both the Arab League and the U.N. He also hopes to blunt the rebel movement by means of his improvements and by offering amnesty to the estimated 700 guerrillas. He has called his uncle, Tariq ben Taimur, home from voluntary exile to become Prime Minister...
Under Said Bin Taimur, the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, which lies on the southeast corner of the Arabian peninsula, remained one of the most stagnant societies on earth. The 60-year-old Sultan decreed long ago that his 600,000 subjects should not own automobiles or attend cinemas. In the capital, Muscat, the city gates are closed at sundown, when the cannon booms. People must carry lanterns at night; flashlights are banned as too blinding...