Oman stand at Vilnius book fair a hit with visitors
A special guest at the Oman stand was EglėLikaitė, a Vilnius-based travel guide who has been specialising in Oman and other Gulf countries
Times News Service
VILNIUS: Visited by hundreds of people of all ages, from schoolchildren to seniors, the stand of the Sultanate was by far the most popular spot among all the non-Lithuanian participants at the International Vilnius Book Fair which took place from February 21 to 24 in the Baltic state’s capital city.
This year, the Honorary Consulate of the Sultanate of Oman in Lithuania, in cooperation with the Ministry of Information of the Sultanate, presented the country to the guests at the fair through first-hand accounts of two travellers fascinated by what they had seen in Oman.
Mariusz Oszustowicz, a Polish-Lithuanian photographer, arranged a show inside the Oman stand on Thursday and Friday for dozens of visitors. He presented a collection of his photographs from Oman – beautiful landscapes, portraits and cityscapes – followed by traditional Omani music. He also organised a quiz about Oman, the five winners of which received frankincense burners as awards at the hands of Boleta Senkienė, the Honorary Consul of the Sultanate of Oman in Lithuania.
Speaking about his travels, Oszustowicz said he had spent two months crisscrossing through Oman, mostly hitchhiking, which is his preferred way of travelling because he loves meeting locals and talking to them about different things.
“And hitchhiking is so good in Oman where the people are so friendly and relaxed. After picking you up on the roadside, locals would sometimes spend the entire day showing you places you would never see as an average tourist. Once, I was even invited to a wedding somewhere in the countryside,” he said.
According to Oszustowicz, he travelled during the winter to avoid the searing summer heat and mostly spent his nights in a tent, which he carried with him. He does not speak much Arabic and not everyone speaks English in Oman, but even this posed no major problems for him.
“If you smile, you will communicate somehow. Apart from that, hitchhiking there gives you a chance to try some of the most luxurious four-wheeldrives,” he added.
This year’s other special guest at the Oman stand at the Vilnius Book Fair was EglėLikaitė, a Vilnius-based travel guide who has been specialising in Oman and other Gulf countries for the past several years. She first visited Oman five years ago and, as she now confesses, fell in love with the country and its people instantly.