A French Consul in Muscat in 1905 by Xavier Beguin Billecocq, 1991

Our Price:  $26

Format:  Hardcover, 139 pp.                Dimensions:  (in cms.) 1.5 x 19 x 26       

Weight:  700 grams                             Availability:  Immediate

Languages:  This title contains text written in French and English.

France and the Sultanate of Oman share an exciting heritage. The major developments of modern times, from the opening of maritime routes to the rivalries between European powers, the bonds forged by the proximity of the East and the Indian Ocean, and the pleasure the inhabitants of our two countries take in discover, navigation and trade have left us with a long and rich history in common.

The establishment of a trading post in Muscat in 1785, the signature of a treaty of friendship and trade in 1844, the opening of a consular representation in Oman at the end of the last century, the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1972, the State visit of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said from 30 May to 2 June 1989 are so many landmarks in dip0lomatic relations between our two countries.

This is the setting in which the collection of photographs taken in 1905 by Louise Beguin Billecocq, the wife of the French Consul in Muscat, has been published.  The album provides a remarkable eye-witness account of the work of a representative of France in the Sultanate of Oman at the beginning of the century, of his contacts with the authorities, his everyday life and his official visits to Sur where a number of dhours flying French colors were based.

It is a warm and curious glimpse, through the eye of a diplomat, of a country and its people at a time when the everyday life of the diplomat was fraught with adventure.

I am delighted that the publication of this album should coincide with the opening of the Bait Fransa Museum, which retraces the history of relations between France and Oman.  The photographs by Louise Beguin Billecocq assembled in this work will be doubly at home there, as a photographic contribution to historical knowledge and a tribute to the lasting friendship between France and Oman.