5 Rials 2020, Oman
| no number in katalog | - |
| Years of issue: | 2020 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | Sultan of Oman: Haitham bin Tariq |
| Serie: | 2020 Issue |
| Specimen of: | 2020 |
| Material: | Hybrid material |
| Size (mm): | 152 x 76 |
| Printer: | De la Rue currency,Loughton |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
The Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq and denomination 5.
Avers:
Haitham bin Tariq Al Said GCMG GCVO (Arabic: هيثم بن طارق آل سعيد, romanized: Heysem bin Târık Âl Saîd; born 13 October 1954) is the current Sultan of Oman, reigning since January 2020 following the death of his cousin, Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
Prior to becoming sultan, Haitham served for multiple decades in the cabinet of Sultan Qaboos bin Said, his cousin. He was Minister of Heritage and Culture from 2002 to 2020. Sultan Qaboos named Haitham as his successor in his will, and he was proclaimed sultan on 11 January 2020, hours after Qaboos's death. 
Centered is Sultan Qaboos University. Left of it is a clock tower, in front of the main building of university.
It is located approximately in 50 km. West of Muscat, on the uninhabited south-eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It was built on the initiative of Sultan Qaboos. Construction began in 1982, and in 1986 the first students were accepted by five colleges of the university: medical, engineering, agricultural, pedagogical and natural sciences. In 1987, the College of Arts was opened, and in 1993 - the trade and economic.
The university is located in a unique valley in its beauty at the foot of the Oman Mountains. The complex is built of white and pink sandstone, with arches and patios; His style was supposed, according to the authors of the project, to reflect the features of not only Omani but, more broadly, Islamic architecture. At the entrance to the campus, which is on the same axis with the Mecca located in Saudi Arabia, traditional massive wooden gates are installed. Further, the axis passes through the educational buildings and administrative buildings and leads to the university mosque on the western outskirts of the campus. The mosque is located above the rest of the buildings and is visible from anywhere in the university.
On the territory of the university, plants characteristic of the nature of the countries of the Persian Gulf are planted. The source of inspiration for the authors of the project were traditional Omani towns. Despite the fact that the opening of a higher educational institution was for Oman a truly revolutionary event, university rules on international standards remain very conservative. Separate entrances are arranged for boys and girls; In classrooms they also sit separately. However, girls make up almost half of the students.
In top left corner is the national emblem of Oman (شعار سلطنة عمان). It is an insignia consisting of a khanjar inside its sheath that is superimposed upon two crossed swords. Adopted in the XVIII century as the badge of the Omani royal family, it subsequently became the national emblem of the Sultanate of Oman. The emblem is featured at the canton on the Flag of Oman.
The national emblem was first designed in the mid-XVIII century, when it was adopted as the royal crest of the Al Said dynasty. Its usage was expanded when it subsequently became the national emblem of the sultanate. This occurred during the reign of either Faisal bin Turki (1888-1913) or Taimur bin Feisal (1913-1932). The emblem was later incorporated onto the canton of the country's national flag in 1970. Moreover, in order to distinguish "directly royal entities" and create a distinct symbol for these organizations, a crown was added to the top of the national emblem. This modified insignia is utilized on the badges of all branches of Sultan's Armed Forces, including the Royal Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Guard, and Royal Oman Police - among many others.
According to the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the khanjar - along with the two crossed swords - symbolize the historic weapons utilized by the people of Oman. They are attached together by an embellished horse-bit at the center. The khanjar itself is a national symbol of the sultanate, and is still worn by Omani men as a "ceremonial dagger" for formal occasions. It is a ceremonial dagger with its abundantly decorated sheath, traditionally made of rhinonoceros-horn, highly appreciated in the arab world and for that reason contributes substantially to the extinction of the rhinoceros in Africa.
On right side is hologram strip with denominations and hanjars (national emblem of Oman).
Varifeye thread and windowed security thread with demetallized "5 RIALS". In big hologram window is the clock tower, in front of the main building of Sultan Qaboos university.
Revers:
Main image on banknote - Royal Opera House Muscat (دار الأوبرا السلطانية مسقط).
This Italian-style opera house is located in Shati al-Kurm, Muscat, Oman (Shati Al-Qurm, Muscat, Oman). The Royal Opera House has become a cultural landmark at the level of the entire Council of Cooperation of the Arab Gulf States (Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf); It is also the first opera theater in the region and only the second, after the Opera Theater of Cairo (Cairo Opera House), located in Egypt, the Middle East (Middle East). The construction of the theater was started by order of the Royal Council of Oman (Royal Court Affairs of Oman); The project was created in full accordance with the norms and traditions of modern Omani architecture. The building is designed for simultaneous reception of 1100 visitors.
As in every world-class opera theater, in the Royal Muscat Opera House, along with the concert hall and the audience, there are also wonderful landscaped gardens, a market, a luxury restaurant and an arts center. Musical, theatrical and opera performances are staged in the theater.
The ruler of Oman, Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed al Said, has always been an ardent lover of classical music; Which is why he ordered in 2001 to erect a new opera house, capable of hosting the best theatrical companies and music bands on its stage. Representatives of the best architectural firms of the world competed for the right to develop a new theater project; In the end, the right to develop went to the British "Theater Projects Consultants". The British were entrusted not only with the development of the external structure of the building and supervision of construction; They were also handed over to internal design, landscaping, installation of decorative lighting, the creation of a kitchen system, management of the technical elements of the theater and the formation of proper acoustics.
It was important to develop an external design that would look good against the background of modern Omani buildings; Which is why the new opera could not do without colonnades, terraces and sculptural towers. After the construction was completed, the building was finished with a light stone - mined, by the way, on the nearby quarries - and completely covered with plaster. One of the main distinctive features of the project was a concert hall - its outer shell is mobile enough and can be easily rebuilt; The proscenium can be moved relatively quickly, giving the audience a more "theatrical appearance". Such a move helped to significantly improve the acoustic characteristics of the hall.
The total area of the Royal Opera House is 80,000 square meters; Almost half of them are occupied by wonderful artificial gardens. The outer facade of the three-level hall is decorated with the usual mineral for these places, known under the poetic name 'rose of the desert'; The interior will be decorated in a more traditional Arabic style. Another traditionally Arab element should be the souk, located to the south of the theater; Near it there will be restaurants, coffee shops, luxury boutiques and even art galleries.
The Royal Muscat Opera House is one of the wonders of the East, its very existence calling for a constructive dialogue between cultures, exchange and mutual enrichment. The theater is the only symbol of the Renaissance of Oman in the Arabian Peninsula, in the reign of Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
The Royal Muscat Theater appears before the astonished traveler like a palace from the "Thousand and One Nights". Traditional Islamic architecture is adjacent to technical innovations, the program includes not only opera and ballet, but also traditional Arabic music, jazz and musicals. Despite the fact that the building is striking in size, the auditorium is small. His acoustics, comfort and technical equipment are at the level of the best theaters in the world.
In the decoration of the hall dominates the tree, which produces a special slightly sensed exotic aroma and together with the decoration creates the atmosphere of the East. In the remaining interiors of the theater, a slightly pinkish, warm shade of marble brought from Italy predominates. The foyer and stairs are amazed. Among the public there is a colorful mixture of cultures and styles: tuxedos and evening conservative, rather closed dresses for ladies are combined with national Omani dishdashas (long men's shirt) and Keffiyehs (male headdress), dress code in the theater is mandatory.
Since its inception, the theater had to become more than just an opera, rather a musical and cultural center of a broader profile. Now only the first generation of Omanis is attached to classical Western music.
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