Washington, DC: The Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center (SQCC) announces the debut of an innovative educational website: The Indian Ocean in World History (www.sqcc.org/indianocean ).
The Indian Ocean is becoming an important topic in middle and high school world history and geography courses. But there are few instructional resources. SQCC’s new interactive site helps fill this gap throughout the US and elsewhere.

The Indian Ocean in World History contains colorful illustrations and explanations about the role of the Indian Ocean from prehistoric times to the present. It provides evidence of important human discoveries and endeavors before Vasco da Gama rounded Cape of Good Hope in 1497. Teachers and students will find the user-friendly, enjoyable website a valuable classroom resource that highlights a region situated at the cultural and commercial crossroads of the world.

Each website entry offers images of artifacts, quotes from original documents, maps and other historical data. A useful guide that accompanies the website lets teachers and students download sample lesson plans and worksheets as well as a glossary and primary source index.

"It's a fabulous project and unlike any other I have seen. It's visually and intellectually fascinating," says Joan Brodsky Schur, Educational Consultant and Social Studies Coordinator at the Village Community School in New York City. "I read many of your entries and gradually a new world perspective emerges across cultures."

The Indian Ocean in World History is produced by the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center, a non-profit cultural center based in Washington, DC. SQCC is named after His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said of the Sultanate of Oman and is dedicated to educating the peoples of America, Oman and the Arabian Gulf in general about the richness of their cultures.

SQCC is a cultural arm of the Middle East Institute. For more than 60 years, the Middle East Institute has promoted respect and understanding between the peoples of the Middle East and America.

For more details about the website and SQCC, please email info@sqcc.org or call (202) 261 1690.