Paris: The Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Oman National Committee for Education, Culture and Sciences and the Office of Oman’s Permanent Representative to the UNESCO, succeeded in adding the Omani navigator Ahmed bin Majid to the list of influential world personalities.
The listing, which coincides with 600th birthday of the Omani navigator, will be recognized during a UNESCO’s International Programme of celebration of historic events and influential persons. Ahmed bin Majid will be the sixth Omani personality on the International Programme.
The announcement was made on the sidelines of Oman’s participation in the 41st session of UNESCO’s general conference being convened here (9 to 24 November).
Ahmed bin Majid figures among the most famous navigators in the Indian Ocean. His seafaring literature has enriched Arab and European libraries and constituted a basic reference in principles of navigation. His innovations include Al Warda instrument (wind compass) and the tri-sided wooden instrument for locating stars. He was also credited for developing the contemporary maritime compass.
The five Omani personalities who joined the UNESCO’s list were the linguist Al Khalil bin Ahmed al Farahidi (2005), the physician-cum-pharmacist Rashid bin Omaira al Rustaqi (2013), the encyclopedic social reformer Shaikh Nooreddin al Salmi (2015), the physician Abu Mohammed Abdullah al Azdi (Ibn Dhahab) and Omani poet Nassir bin Salim al Rowahi, both of whom were joined the UNESCO list in 2019. –ONA
