Those Omani's got around. In 1840 an Omani ship, the Sultana, entered New York harbor.
In 1839, Sultan Sayyid Sa’id commissioned his personal envoy and representative, Ahmad bin Na’aman, to the United States to celebrate this friendship.
Carrying gifts for President Martin Van Buren, Ahmad set off from Muscat aboard the tall-masted ship, “Sultana.” Navigating around the Cape of Good Hope, across the Atlantic and into New York Harbor where, on April 30, 1840, this Omani emissary became the first Arab ambassador to the United States.
The Sultan’s gifts included two Arabian stud horses, an enormous Persian rug, and a gold-mounted sword. Such a grand gesture of Omani largesse caused quite a stir, sparking intense debate concerning the giving of gifts directly to the president. Congress agreed to accept them on the condition that they belong to the U.S. government.
While the horses were sold at auction, the other gifts provided the nucleus of the original exhibits for the newly established Smithsonian Institution in Washington.
During his stay in New York, Ahmad attracted considerable publicity. His dignified demeanor and affable style endeared him to both local press and society. Several articles about him survive in the archives of the New York Daily News and the now-defunct New York Herald, as does a painting of him in the murals of New York’s City Hall. This early guest from a far-off sultanate received many honors rarely bestowed on foreign representatives at that time.
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