Obviously it has not all been smooth sailing, but on the whole the three decades since Sultan Qabus"s overthrow has been marked by dramatic advances for his country and people. One of his first important tasks was to end the civil conflict along the Yemen border in the Dhufar region in the south. After he gained control of the area, he underlined his commitment to the region"s peoples by building schools, roads and hospitals throughout the surrounding countryside. This is typical of his far-sighted approach to problems within his country.

             His father had rarely allowed foreigners to even enter Oman, let alone set up companies within his domain. Qabus however, knew that he needed foreign capital in order to get Oman into the modern world. He allowed the Western consortium to continue drilling for oil, and they finally had five active wells by 1972, operating under the name of "Petroleum Development Oman." Over the following years thousands of Omanis were employed to develop an industrial complex, a tank farm, a powerstation, and a marine terminal (Petroleum par 7). The lives of the local peoples were changing drastically. They had been sheep and goat herders, fishermen, and subsistence farmers for the most part. The revenues being generated by this initial investment now supported a series of new infurstructure advances: road construction, government building projects, airports and hospitals.

             Some Omani are critical of the influence that the opening up of Oman has had toward its religion and traditions. About 80% of Omanis follow the Ibadi sect of Islam, an austere form of Islam that rejects decadence of any kind, even in mosque architecture (Arabian, p148). They consciously maintain tribal customs and dress, and strictly govern their lives by their Muslim principles. Obviously the inroads made by Televison, the Internet, and other media, has created a new tension for the older traditions.