July 23 is Renaissance Day in Oman. It celebrates the ascension in 1970 of Sultanos Qaboos bin Said al Said who overthrew his father in a bloodless coup. Said the elder had begun his reign in 1932 and was a feudalistic and isolationist ruler.

Upon taking the throne his son embarked on a massive modernization campaign which provided electrification, telecommunications, schools, hospitals and even Catholic and Protestant churches and a Hindu temple.

Qaboos died in January 2020 without an heir. Haitham bin Tariq, Qaboos’s cousin and Oman’s Minister of Culture became sultan on January 11, 2020.