I was deployed to Oman in 2002. Beautiful country and very nice people! Glad to hear this!
A friend of mine had been posted in Oman. His gardener had scars around his neck, from wearing a slave collar as a boy.
Sultan Qaboos, who just passed away in January, freed the slaves in his first year in office (1970), and built modern Oman from scratch. The country had only six miles of paved roads when he took over. He was a real Godsend for Oman.
I was deployed to Thumrait during the 1st Gulf War. I agree with you about the people but no one would consider Thumrait to be beautiful.