State of Oman Cinderella

     Around 1968 the “State of Oman” issued stamps with a map of the Arabian peninsula and a dromedary camel. The stamps issued by an unrecognized country are commonly known as “Cinderellas.” The map on the stamp shows seasonal watercourses known as wadis, the Green Mountain area on the north-east coast, the town of Hazwah, the Arab Gulf, the Oman Coast and the Arab Sea. The rebel “State of Oman” was based in the Green Mountain area of Oman and the region of Dhufar south of Oman. That probably accounts for the identification of the Green Mountains, and Hazwa which was the rebel capitol.
     From the time of Strabo (65 b.c.-21 a.d.) and Ptolemy (ca. 100-ca 178) the area north of the Strait of Hormuz was known as the Persian Gulf. In the 1960s it became known in the Arab world as the “Arab Gulf,” with, of course, objections from Iran. The error is that on the stamp the designation is given as the Arab Golf.