Day 4 In Salalah, Days 5 & 6 At Sea

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Day 4 Friday April 12th



Map of Oman

After a day and a half at sea we berthed at the port of Salalah.  Salalah is the capital of the Omani province of Dhofar

Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is an Arab country on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia.   Islam is the official religion of Oman.

The city of Salalah is known as the perfume capital of Arabia.  The city is a popular tourist destination due to the attraction of the nearby mountains and abundant stands of frankincense trees lining mountain wadi courses.

Salalah is dry with generally no rainfall for 9 months of the year followed by 3 months of significant rain due to monsoonal activity.  This transforms the country-side from dry desolate landscape to green and lush.





As you can see we were here during the dry season







Our four hour coach tour took us along the roads of Salalah.  The bareness of the landscape made it hard to imagine the transformation that comes along due to the monsoonal rains.  As we drove  camels were ever present, grazing and even visiting the bus.

Camels are a source of food, transport and racing.


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On our way to the town of Taqa we visited a cemetery to view the tomb of a significant person of history.  Unfortunately we were not able to access the tomb.  However it was  interesting to view the extensive burial sites each represented by vertically place stones.  Two stones signifying a male, three stones indicating a past female.




As you can see it was very difficult distinguish between two or three stones

Sumharam
Our next place of interest was the ruins of the fortified town of Sumharam. This was a significant port from 100 BC to AD 400.  From this port frankincense was exported widely. The strategic location of this port made it one of the major entry points to India, the Middle East and Africa.




Houses in Salalah are quite large. As explained by the female tour guide.  Newly married sons will bring their new bride back to live at the houses of the parents whilst the daughters will move out of the family home to join the home of their new husband.  The guide explained the importance of the bedroom that the new couple move into.  As their own space in the new home it is elaborately decorated and the brides friends are invited in to the house to appreciate the space as part of the marriage ceremony




Felt like back in Indonesia
Salalah supports large plantations of bananas, papaya and coconuts.  The lushness of the plantations stood out against the harshness of the dry landscape.

Day 5 &6 Saturday April 13, Sunday April 14th


Cruising the Arabian Sea into the Gulf of Eden

Nothing to report right now. We have another two days at sea coming up.  Hopefully my next posting will focus some interesting snippets about the cruising life.



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