DUBAI: An Oman-based website is claiming the country’s oldest resident died on Tuesday at the impressive age of 127-years-old – that is five years older than Jeanne Calment who was officially verified as the world’s longest living person who died in France in 1997.
It is not uncommon for claims of longevity that, if true, would put the official record breakers to shame.
And if Salim bin Hamad bin Abdullah Qassabi’s story in the Oman Daily Observer is true, then he was born in 1890 in the district of Bahla, south of the Hajjar mountains and close to Nizwa city.
His life would have spanned 13 decades, across three centuries. He would have lived through two world wars, and countless others.
His lifetime would have seen the shifting of international borders, the creation of new countries and the end of empires.
If true, Qassabi was born long before most countries in the Middle East were even created.
During his lifetime there was definitely the creation of technologies that have changed people’s lives forever.
The atom bomb was created and used – with devastating effect. And international travel became common place thanks to the introduction of commercial air travel.
Travel was something Qassabi was familiar with according to the Oman Daily Observer.
He traveled to Zanzibar in 1940, when it was still under British rule, where he remained for 22 years, working in trade and was also said to be supportive of Omani immigrants living there.
The Oman Daily Observer website described him as a man who was known “for his good deeds, tolerance and (for) resolving disputes.”
The report added that he left Zanzibar in 1962 following a coup, and returned to Oman, but two years later traveled to Kuwait where he worked.
He eventually returned to Oman where he spent the rest of his life.
Oman’s oldest resident dies apparently aged 127, but would have outlived empires, countries and conflicts
Oman’s oldest resident dies apparently aged 127, but would have outlived empires, countries and conflicts
Cambodia takes back looted historic artifacts handled by British art dealer
- The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodian officials on Friday received more than six dozen historic artifacts described as part of the country’s cultural heritage that had been looted during decades of war and instability.
At a ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister Hun Many, the 74 items were unveiled at the National Museum in Phnom Penh after their repatriation from the United Kingdom.
The objects were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, a British art collector and dealer who allegedly had the items smuggled out of Cambodia.
“This substantial restitution represents one of the most important returns of Khmer cultural heritage in recent years, following major repatriations in 2021 and 2023 from the same collection,” the Culture Ministry said in a statement. “It marks a significant step forward in Cambodia’s continued efforts to recover, preserve, and restore its ancestral legacy for future generations.”
The artifacts were described as dating from the pre-Angkorian period through the height of the Angkor Empire, including “monumental sandstone sculptures, refined bronze works, and significant ritual objects.” The Angkor Empire, which extended from the ninth to the 15th century, is best known for the Angkor Wat archaeological site, the nation’s biggest tourist attraction.
Latchford was a prominent antiquities dealer who allegedly orchestrated an operation to sell looted Cambodian sculptures on the international market.
From 1970 to the 1980s, during Cambodia’s civil wars and the communist Khmer Rouge ‘s brutal reign, organized looting networks sent artifacts to Latchford, who then sold them to Western collectors, dealers, and institutions. These pieces were often physically damaged, having been pried off temple walls or other structures by the looters.
Latchford was indicted in a New York federal court in 2019 on charges including wire fraud and conspiracy. He died in 2020, aged 88, before he could be extradited to face charges.
Cambodia, like neighboring Thailand, has benefited from a trend in recent decades involving the repatriation of art and archaeological treasures. These include ancient Asian artworks as well as pieces lost or stolen during turmoil in places such as Syria, Iraq and Nazi-occupied Europe. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the prominent institutions that has been returning illegally smuggled art, including to Cambodia.
“The ancient artifacts created and preserved by our ancestors are now being returned to Cambodia, bringing warmth and joy, following the country’s return to peace,” said Hun Many, who is the younger brother of Prime Minister Hun Manet.
