Oman Zaman

Traces of the Past - Recollections of an American Family in Oman 1948 - 1983

Oman Zaman
Margaret Kapenga Shurdom
RRP:
NZ$ 115.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 92.79
Hardback
h279 x 250mm - 344pg
1 Sep 2022 UK
International import eta 10-19 days
9781914325175
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
"In January of 1948 when my parents, newlyweds Jay and Marjory Kapenga, stepped off the British India boat, Barpeta, in Muscat harbour to work with the Arabian Mission of the Reformed Church of America (RCA), no one imagined their stay would turn into a 35-year love affair with Oman. At that time, the country was ruled by Sultan Said bin Taimur. There were few roads, few telephones, no banks, no airconditioning, little electricity, and no city water supply. My parents always remembered life at that time as being difficult but good. During that time, Muscat and Mutrah were considered the two main towns along the coast. Nizwa was the major town in the interior and the commercial hub of many other towns. But as foreigners were not allowed to go far into the interior without permission from the Sultan, our family rarely saw that part of Oman. Later, when the country opened up with the coming of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, we were finally able to venture into the interior and our parents spent eight years working with the weavers in those once remote areas. "
Margaret Kapenga Shurdom was born in 1950 in Michigan, USA, and grew up in Muscat, Oman where her parents were working with the Arabian Mission of the Reformed Church of America. Although she and her siblings didn' t have the many conveniences and material possessions of many American children, they had the privilege of being immersed in another culture. Most of their friends and neighbors were Omanis so they learned Arabic naturally. Many idyllic carefree days were spent with friends playing simple games of marbles, hopscotch and tops in the alleys around their house, riding their bicycles, climbing the surrounding mountains, or fishing from the coastal rocks of nearby villages. As a family they often camped along the beaches or in the beautiful wadis of the interior. Initially Margaret was home-schooled, but at the age of 10 left Oman along with her brother to attend an American boarding school in Kodaikanal, a hill station in South India. Upon graduation she traveled to the US where she completed her BA in History, obtaining later a TEFL certificate and an MA in Education. Missing the Middle East, she returned to Lebanon and was sent to Oman to work on a research project for UNICEF and the Ford Foundation. At that time she was based in Nizwa and Sohar. She eventually moved to Amman, Jordan where she met her husband while working as a secretary for HIs Majesty King Hussein. She later taught at the American School and Yarmouk University and spent 18 years on the board of the Jordan River Foundation.
Status: No local stock, title imported to order
ISBN-13: 9781914325175
Published: 1 Sep 2022
Published In: United Kingdom
Imprint: Gilgamesh Publishing
Publisher: Gilgamesh Publishing
Format: Hardback
Height: 279mm
Width: 250mm
Spine: 35mm
Weight: 1100g
Pages: 344

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