MAR-17: Salalah, Oman

[Pam is the author of this post.  I stayed on the ship to work on shaking a head cold.  Armed with her camera, she ventured out to explore a bit of southern Oman.] 

Being curious, I took a long trip on the day we were in Salalah even though the tour description did not promise much we had not seen on our inland tour from Muscat.

TOUR DESCRIPTION:  Castle, Souq & Beach

The full-day tour features a visit to an archaeological excavation and blowholes. Depart from Salalah port and head to the souq (market) where you will enjoy some free time for shopping. Then continue to the archaeological site of Al-Baled which displays exhibits illustrating the region's archaeology, history and heritage. Your next stop will be at thefishing village of Taqah, the third-largest "town" in Dhofar. Its inhabitants were traditionally farmers and fishermen, and today, Taqah is famous for its sardines. Continue to Khor Rori Creek, believed to be the site of the ruined city of Sumhuram—capital of ancient Arabia's frankincense trade. In ancient times, Dhofar was renowned as an important center of the frankincense trade. In fact, legend has it that the frankincense-bearing king who went to worship the newborn baby Jesus travelled from Dhofar. Nowadays, however, frankincense is rarely used, and there are only a few places in the world (Yemen and Oman) where these trees can still be found. Excavations at the site have produced evidence of an ancient city with trade links by sea to Far Eastern destinations and even distant Greece. It is also believed to be the site of the palace of the legendary Queen of Sheba, which is now in ruins and is undergoing restoration. Enjoy lunch in a hotel in Salalah. On your way back to the ship you will view Mughsail Beach, with nearly two miles of white sandy beaches and high cliffs at both ends. If you are lucky you will be able to witness the sprays of water (sometimes reaching 45 feet tall) gushing out of the natural blowholes in the rock face.

TOUR EXPERIENCE
We started with a trip to Mughsail Beach to see natural blowholes located where the mountains come to the sea. Having seen many blowholes, I found the drive the interesting part. It was very barren with an occasional Jelly Tree. Camels were everywhere.  Every camel is owned by someone. Beyond the barren landscape was a lovely sandy, deserted beach. I later learned this scenery runs for thirty miles with the town of Salalah in the middle.

Next we visited a local Souq.  I headed directly to a shop to buy Harry a Mssar – an Omani turban. I also purchased some Frankincense.  This section of Oman has been famous for it since biblical times.

We then arrived for lunch at one of the three hotels on the ocean. I had to put my feet in the Indian Ocean.

After lunch we visited another castle of the same architecture as those in Muscat. A good design and they stuck with it!

We drove through the fishing village of Taqah. The fishermen launch their boats from the beach to catch such things as Kingfish, tuna, sardines, etc.

At the other end of the thirty miles of desert and beach were more mountains meeting the sea. This is Sumhuram. It is an archaeological site with a naturally formed harbor. This is  where the Frankincense was brought to await shipping. In ancient times it was transported as far away as China and Europe. It was as valuable as gold, explaining why one of the Wise Men brought it to baby Jesus.

During our journey our guide Mohammad told us about education in his country. In 1970 Sultan Qaboos bin Said took over power from his father. He wanted to use oil money to better Oman and its people.  Besides the fantastic infrastructure he has built he wanted all his people to have an education. He built schools everywhere. By the mid-1980’s education was mandatory for every child six to eighteen. The schools today have boys and girls together from grades one to three. From grades four to twelve girls go to a girls’ school taught by female teachers and boys to boys’ schools taught by male teachers. Since about 1990 all students not only have Arabic, but start English in grade one. All signs in the country are in Arabic and English.  In the public and private universities boys and girls are together again. All schooling is paid by the government except private college. If you are accepted and are unable to afford a private university, the government will help. At this time the college ratio is seven men to every ten women. Many women have high government jobs. This is also true in the private sector.

One other interesting fact is that every Omani is given a piece of land.

This country is at peace with its neighbors.

I found the people proud, kind, carrying and gentle.