Muscat - Then and Now

Hardcover halbleinen mit Schutzumschlagim Schuber mit Goldprägung + Extraschuber mit Beilagen86 grafische Abbildungen, teils farbig,davon 13 in Übergröße zum Ausklappen;5 Tabellen, 95 Fotos, davon 86 farbig.Beilagen in Extra-Schuber:8 Luftbilder s/w mit Begleittext (39,6 x 20 cm)6 große geographische Karten, teils farbig (64 x 46 cm)Limitierte AuflageThe town of Muscat on the south-eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula has a long and chequered history. Omani tradition as well as external influences have given it a particular and pleasing character. A new page was turned in the 1970s, when the reign of Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said started, beginning a new era for Oman. A particularly striking expression of this new era was the evolution of Muscat from a small coastal town to an architecturally and structurally modern metropolitan area.This book provides a history of Muscat's progression through the ages, but it is primarily about the impressive expansion and construction which began in the 1970s and remade Muscat into a city that has preserved and developed an admirable uniqueness, despite all its modernity, and unlike its northern cousins such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha.Professor Fred Scholz taught Geography at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. His research has focused on nomadism and urbanization in the process of modernization. Regionally, he covered Africa as well as Western and Central Asia, with an emphasis on the Arab Gulf States, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Mongolia.Scholz's Oman research commenced in 1970 and lasted for decades. He and his students conducted intensive field studies throughout Oman, the results of which have been published in many books and articles.It was Muscat in particular, however, that had captured Scholz's imagination since his childhood, even before he first set foot there forty-five years ago. Thus, this publication is particularly close to his heart, and is dedicated with gratitude to the citizens of Muscat and Oman who generously supported his work throughout the years.