Calligraphy in Oman
Callilgraphy holds a special place in the art of Oman, and has has reached a new level, in which the image becomes a poetic palette of color, as the literal meanings of the forms come into focus, or transform into "arabesques" which merge and disappear .
Just as the art of the Occident was influenced over the ages by Christianity, the traditional art of Arabia has been influenced by Islam. Islam prohibits the naturalistic depiction of living creatures since this would be a new act of creation -- a human pretension to also possess divine power.
As a result of this attitude in Arabia a very highstanding and complex form of art script -- calligraphy -- was developed. The characters are released from their fixed grammatical position and positioned freely on the page, based on creative whims, or are reconstituted to form new "type faces". The literal sense in calligraphy is not encompassed by a line-by-line reading of the letters but rather of the general impression made by viewing the complete word or sentence.
The modern calligraphy of Oman disengages from the textual declaration and works freely with the letters as abstract signs in their own right -- as you may see in the artwork of Madny Al-Bakry.
Georg Popp
What makes this travel guide so special? This book is a product of the long-term personal friendship between the authors, Mr Georg Popp and Mr Juma Al-Maskari and their continuing fascination with the Sultanate of Oman. Combining their insights from European and Omani perspectives, they have produced a guide which is as much about culture and history as it is a practical guide for planning your itinerary.
