The oldest independent state in the Arab world, Oman is one of the
more traditional countries in the Gulf region and has been, until the 1970s,
one of the most isolated.
Qatar, former pearl fishing centre and once one of the poorest Gulf
states, is now one of the richest countries in the region, thanks to
the exploitation of large oil and gas fields since the 1940s.
Bahrain, that name means "two seas", has been once viewed by the
ancient Sumerians as an island paradise to which the wise and the brave
were taken to enjoy eternal life.
