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>> ian: the old sultan was not an inhumane man, but he was an old man, and he was deeply reactionary, so he wanted to keep his country in a medieval time warp. the thing that changed it, was the advent of a japanese transistor radio. for the first time his people could hear what other arab countries were doing with their oil, and they wanted some of that. >> anthony: by the 1920's winston churchill switched the royal navy's mode of power from coal to oil. and suddenly, everything changed. they needed oil, and lots of it. which made oman vital not for its limited oil resources, but for where it...

Not heard of it. >> ian: no they haven't. but you'd have heard about if we'd lost it, i can tell you. >> anthony: right. the war began as a local rebellion by the dhofari people against the autocratic and outdated rule of then sultan said bin taimur. who had kept his nation isolated and stunted, out of concern for his hold on power. what started as a local uprising quickly became a serious full blown communist backed insurgency, as soviet and chinese influence poured in from yemen. ian gardiner remembers the conflict well. he fought in it, alongside omani infantry as a british royal marine. an...

The sultan took this very brave, highly intelligent, political risk which i think was the difference. and i think has been the foundation of the unambiguous and enduring peace in this country. >> anthony: in 1976 the omanis laid down their weapons and never picked them up again. the resulting peace has lasted for 40 years, and while oman ain't your system and it ain't my system and it's far, far from being either perfect, or a western style democracy -- there is a palpable pride here in the collective identity of being omani. notably, as well the sultan has placed emphasis on the role of women...

Ain't your system and it ain't my system and it's far, far from being either perfect, or a western style democracy -- there is a palpable pride here in the collective identity of being omani. notably, as well the sultan has placed emphasis on the role of women, decreeing at least as a matter of policy equal access to education, to work, to political office. ♪ ♪ >> zahara: [ speaking in arabic ] i was the only one here to cook for a living. the women here used to think that it's embarrassing to cook and get paid. but when they saw me, cooking

Ian gardiner remembers the conflict well. he fought in it, alongside omani infantry as a british royal marine. and later wrote about the experience in his memoir "in the service of the sultan." a rare chronicle of the brutal incredibly difficult and almost entirely unknown war, fought in the rugged southern mountains. >> ian: the old sultan was not an inhumane man, but he was an old man, and he was deeply reactionary, so he wanted to keep his country in a medieval time warp. the thing that changed it, was the advent of a japanese transistor radio. for the first time his people could hear what ...