Blogpost 13 Oman Salalah

Sunday 28^th February.

Oman turns out to be a land of major surprises. The town of Salalah, now a major port of the Indian ocean positioned on the south coast of Oman bordering the Arabian sea, is almost entirely new. The present much loved sultan has transformed his country from a somewhat backward nation into a prosperous country all since 1970 according to Ali, our excellent guide. There are new buildings and dual carriageway roads everywhere, including to Muscat 1000Km to the North. It is a sprawling modern town with ambitions to build resort hotels all along the beautiful coast where previously stood a shanty town of rundown shops and houses. There is water and green grass, with a backdrop of not too distant desert mountains. The oilfields are 300 km to the east and the main industry here is tourism and the export of limestone and cement to India.

 

The air is dry, a very pleasant change from the humidity of the Seychelles, and although the temperature is in the 30’s it doesn’t feel too hot. First stop on our tour is the new Grand Mosque built in 2 years 2007-9. It can hold 6000 worshippers in the main hall, which is quite different in style from the ancient mosques we have seen in Istanbul. The decoration is simple with no elaborate arabesques, the centrepiece being a magnificent chandelier in the central dome.

 

The region is renowned for its frankincense, grown since ancient times. This is the only place in the world where the frankincense bush [see photo]is known, and it cannot be artificially cultivated. It is therefore certain that the frankincense resin taken by the three wise men to Bethlehem came from here.

We visit an excellent new museum with sections devoted to Archaeology, maritime history, political and trading history. The sultan is very keen on education – we are told that even if a village has only one child a school and teacher will be provided free, along with free healthcare and secondary education for all. Unemployment and crime are very low here and we feel quite safe even in the souk, where John buys a dishdash and headgear to keep himself cool when we get to Petra later on. He wears it over his clothes back to the ship causing Ali to say “now you are my cousin” and to give him a great big hug! All a little embarrassing for Jan. Ali has also got us a great deal in the purchase of the best quality frankincense.

 

We stop for a drink of milk from freshly cut coconut at a roadside stall selling fruits before moving on to the souk and finally back to the ship. We sail at 1600 travelling at maximum speed with all the anti piracy procedures in place as we pass towards the area of maximum risk past Yemen towards Djibouti and the Red Sea.