Digging

...He is fond of recounting the story of how he acquired his impressive home. Having dreamt of living by the sea since childhood, Sayyid Badr received a grant of land along the coast south of Muscat near the present-day Al Bustan Hotel. The Ministry of Royal Diwan confiscated Badr's land after deciding it would be the ideal resettlement location for the village on which the hotel was being built. Badr resisted, taking his case directly to the Sultan. Offered compensation by the Sultan, Badr asked for the nearby home of a British advisor friend that overlooked the sea, to which the Sultan acquiesced. While the house is by no means palatial, it is well appointed and has an incomparable view of the sea. 12. (SBU) He noted that beachgoers often camp on his lawn, thinking it a public park. Conscious of projecting a positive image, Badr has been known to serve tea to such interlopers. In a similar vein, his family adopted a stray dog that wandered onto the property (not a typical act among Muslim Arabs). While he would not let them in the house, his family tended to a litter of puppies that the stray dog had birthed. ... 2005 April 9, 14:55 (Saturday)

In effetti Al Bustan rimane l'albergo più bello di Muscat anche se ne sono stati costruiti negli anni di più lussuosi. Ci andavano i principi emiratini, a spese di Sua Maestà, in periodi di liti famigliari. Quello che lo rende unico è proprio la natura che lo circonda.
Con il senno di poi è facile constatare che il report sulla composizione della famiglia di Sua Altezza è incompleto e non corretto. Per un Ambasciatore non dovrebbe essere difficile reperire dettagli sulla vita privata. Specie se le abitudini di un parente possono costituire una criticità.