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Oman / History / The reign of Sultan Qaboos bin Said Sultan Said had a son, Qaboos, who was educated abroad, including a period at the British Military Academy, Sandhurst. He returned to Oman in 1964 and was immediately put under house arrest in Salalah for the next six years. His father had moved to his palace in Salalah in 1958 and seldom left thereafter, notwithstanding very considerable dissatisfaction and dissent in the country. By this time, oil had been discovered and there was income from exports which Sultan Said refused to spend. Finally in July 1970, Said was overthrown by Qaboos in a bloodless palace coup and the "arch-reactionary" spent the rest of his life in exile in a London hotel. Sultan Qaboos bin Said was 30 when he became ruler of Oman. His first act as ruler was to fly to Muscat where he repealed his father's oppressive restrictions and began the process of modernizing what was essentially a feudal state. In developing his country, the Sultan has demonstrated a strong desire to preserve as much as possible of Oman's traditional character. Old cities have been brought into the twentieth century with demolishing huge areas. Modern construction has been largely confined to certain areas, both in Muscat and in provincial cities. One reason why Oman has been slow to open up to tourism is this very wish to preserve the country's traditional culture and heritage.
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