The Voyage of Sinbad
Issued in 1981, this 130 Baisa commemorative stamp from the Sultanate of Oman explicitly chronicles The Voyage of Sinbad (رحلة السندباد), completing the narrative of the historic Sohar expedition. The stamp features a beautifully illustrated cartographic vignette mapping the transoceanic route across the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the South China Sea. A dashed red transit line traces the thousands of miles navigated by the traditional dhow, directly connecting its point of origin in Muscat (مسقط) to its historic destination in Canton (كانتون / Guangzhou, China). Cruising along this path is a miniature artistic rendering of The Sohar under full sail.
The technical and administrative framework of the issue perfectly mirrors the rest of the 1981 maritime set. The lower left corner indicates the face value as "POSTAGE 130 BAISA," while the right corner presents the Eastern Arabic numeral equivalent (١٣٠ بيسة), framing the bold central country title, "SULTANATE OF OMAN". In a slight layout inversion from The Sohar issue, the rounded portrait medallion of Sultan Qaboos bin Said is positioned in the upper left corner, balanced by the elegant Arabic script for the country (سلطنة عمان) at the top center. By preserving this historic navigation map in philatelic form, Omani administrative authorities commemorated the successful revival of the ancient maritime Silk Road, celebrating both the physical endurance of traditional Arab seafaring and the reinforcement of mid-century cultural diplomacy between East and West.
The technical and administrative framework of the issue perfectly mirrors the rest of the 1981 maritime set. The lower left corner indicates the face value as "POSTAGE 130 BAISA," while the right corner presents the Eastern Arabic numeral equivalent (١٣٠ بيسة), framing the bold central country title, "SULTANATE OF OMAN". In a slight layout inversion from The Sohar issue, the rounded portrait medallion of Sultan Qaboos bin Said is positioned in the upper left corner, balanced by the elegant Arabic script for the country (سلطنة عمان) at the top center. By preserving this historic navigation map in philatelic form, Omani administrative authorities commemorated the successful revival of the ancient maritime Silk Road, celebrating both the physical endurance of traditional Arab seafaring and the reinforcement of mid-century cultural diplomacy between East and West.