Talking Back to the Prince

The fallout from Oman's win over Saudi is still being talked about.

Crowne Plaza in Sohar

A glistening new Crowne Plaza hotel was opened in Sohar. It looks quite inviting and Sohar's beaches are relatively attractive, but I wonder if there will be enough tourist traffic through the area, especially with the current downturn, to keep the place open. It really isn't ideally positioned as a base for exploring the interior and if you're just going for the beach, isn't Salalah a better bet? It is a good stop off between Dubai and Muscat for people wanting to get away from either city. But will that keep the place running? If anyone knows what else they're doing to attract people to Sohar, please comment.

Oldest Animal Life Found in Oman

The Guardian reports on an upcoming article in the journal Nature:

The oldest chemical traces of animal life on Earth have been discovered in ancient rock formations in Oman.
Scientists found evidence for primitive sponges dating back at least 635m years, long before the sudden diversification of multicellular life in the Cambrian explosion around 530m years ago – which paved the way for all the major groups of animals 100m years later.

These were found in the South Oman Salt Basin by a researcher from the University of California Riverside.