Salalah - Oman

We arrived in the Salalah port approx. noon. The water was very clean and blue and the dock had a complete lack of debris. This was surprising as it is also a container port. It exports Frankincense, dates coconuts, bananas and perfume, mainly. It is the perfume center of Arabia. I had always wanted to know what Frankincense was. Now I know. It is the sap of a tree that crystallizes once left in the open air. The port is also a distribution center for goods coming and going in the area. The impression you get is that it is a brand new country which is not true as it is a very old area. The population of Salalah is 200 thousand. The Queen of Sheba came from this area of Oman. The ruins of a temple are still here along with old towns and forts going back thousands of years before Christ. The this area of Arabia is known as the empty quarter. It will fill up as signs of development are everywhere and it is well served with roads and ports.

We only had an afternoon to experience Salalah because of the late arrival. We had chosen a tour of the area and our first stop was at an archeological museum. It looked brand new. It was not very large and only one storey high but the artifacts were very good. There was a video on a large screen showing how Frankincense is harvested, dried and used. The main use is medicine, religious and perfume. There were documents showing how the present ruler deposed his father, promising a better life for the citizens. From what we saw, during the tour later, he had lived up to his promise. There were many old Arabic scripts going back to Mohammad and other religious leaders. We got the impression that this was just the beginning of this museum and that it would grow much larger in the future.

The coach then traveled to the mountains which seemed a long way away and lost in the mist. Driving along we passed many new houses, shops and schools. The houses appeared to have a large piece of land around them but not cultivated, just left sandy and without perimeter walls. After what we had seen in other countries where the houses were side by side this was a very refreshing site. We observed a number of sandy parks with shelters against the sun and heat, complete with barbeque for people to use. They also had lots of brightly colored swings, slides and roundabouts for the children. There were not many stores open as they close in the heat of the afternoon. Some were open and again the difference was quite obvious.

The road system was excellent with wide dual carriageways and roundabouts, beautifully landscaped. We were told by our guide that the government was making a large bid to make the town into a tourist area. We saw one resort that looked very nice. We passed plantations of bananas and coconuts. The Frankincense trees grew everywhere. Around the monsoon period the area is lush and green with vegetation supporting herds of cattle, camels and goats.

The coach climbed the mountain roads which required constant gear changes. Robert said the journey reminded him of his time in Libya. The flat sand gave way to scrub and deep canyons. We were on our way to our next stop, Job’s Tomb. This was a small Islamic style building not much larger than a shed. His tomb was marble and decorated with colorful rugs. We had to take our shoes off to visit and don headscarves, out of respect. There was a small mosque close by and we were in time to hear the call to prayer. It seemed appropriate.

Outside the tomb was a herd of camels strolling around and some sitting under the shade of a tree. Everyone was vying for room to photograph before the camels hurried away. We noticed that some of the females wore bras. Robert explained that this was to stop the young ones feeding, as they were now too old and had to find their own food. The herd must have had an owner as I am sure the female camels had not done any shopping for the bras. During our descent from the mountains we saw many herds of goats and more camels, sometimes with herders. Old dark houses dotted the hillsides, some in groups and others just on their own. The guide excitedly pointed out one house. He explained that his father owned it and that he had lived there. We were on our way to the beach. During the drive down, the guide gave us history, cultural and dress talks. He had two head dresses. He had a turban and a white veil type. He said he could choose which one he wanted to wear, He was married and had two children and was very proud of them. He had a Masters degree and worked for the government but liked to be a tour guide, when he could, to improve his English and meet other nationalities. His English was very good. However, he was delighted when, once again, Robert thanked him in Arabic which started a small conversation between the two.

There are miles and miles of good beaches. However we were warned that the sea had many rip tides and it could be dangerous to swim. He did not say if this was all along the coast or just local. We were heading for a place that had blow holes.

Reportedly, these blow holes could produce spouts up to 15 ft in the air. As we have seen these in Hawaii we were wondering how they would compare. In Hawaii they just come from the rocks. If you have any sense you would not be on the rocks as they are slippery and very sharp and away from any paths. In this area, because of the advertising, they were actually in the rock paths but covered by grids so that you would not fall into the holes. The tide must have been out as the only thing we saw, or heard, was growling from deep inside. However the area was very nice with deeply carved caves in the lava rocks which were very high. It was a nice walk and a chance to stretch our legs and enjoy the fresh ocean breeze.

It was soon time to leave. We made our way back to the ship at great speed. We were already 30 mins. late and the ship was destined to leave in five minutes. However, unknown to us, the departure had been delayed because of the late arrival. As we arrived at the ship there were coaches and taxis arriving in droves, emptying their contents onto the dockside.

It was a very pleasant enjoyable afternoon. We are now at sea having passed all the places where pirates hangout. The ship has sailed in complete blackout in the night since leaving Dubai. We did not see it, but other passengers reported a British warship escort, sitting alongside our port side while we went through the Gulf of Aden. Yeah! for the British. Our next port if call is Aqaba, Jordan where we plan to see Petra.