SALALAH
The shining city

Many words have been used to describe the beautiful capital of Dhofar, Oman's oasis, nestled amidst the coconut trees, the orange, lemon and papaya groves, between the mountains and the ocean. According to the season it dons either the ochre colours of its rocks or the green poured on the mountains by the monsoon for several months. The ocean hems the beaches with blue and turquoise and lines the shores and cliffs with silver.
Salalah is a heaven of peace where time lazes around the coconut trees, playing with the palms while wandering along the sea. At monsoon time, the clouds hang on to the mountains like a cocoon and the mist etches the landscape shrouding Salalah with mystery.
A town of the South, it has kept deep down, the nostalgia of the Arabia of Antiquity when marble walls surrounded the cities with their golden roofs and pomegranate gardens exactly like in the tales of A Thousand and One Nights. It still bears the marks of its African past, of Zanzibar and the trading posts, of a time when they were all part of the same empire.
Nowadays, Salalah plays a crucial role. It is the capital of Dhofar, of an Omani governorate representing a third of the country's area. It is also a wilayat and the site of one of the greatest achievements in Oman in recent years: the new container port. Although Salalah has a glorious past, it now faces a challenge which will probably put it amongst the top ten transhipment ports in the world.
However, Salalah does not seem to be affected by the challenge and remains serene, the same serenity it has kept over the last 30 Renaissance years. It is true that the city is very attached to its past and its roots, to a traditional way of life where family and religion occupy an important place. Life is lived at the rhythm of the muezzin and the prayers.
Although Salalah is a busy city, there is a latent soothing force. Look at its leaders and its businessmen, they work hard but still show great hospitality when welcoming their visitors, offering them the traditional cardamom flavoured tea and halwa, a delicious cake made of honey and dates which recipe is often kept secret and can vary greatly in price, according to its origin. That form of welcome is a surviving Bedouin tradition. However the trading tradition has not disappeared either. The Dhofaris are true businessmen, just as the Muscatis and the Omanis are in general, having inherited the trading experience of their forefathers who had gone to India and Asia to sell frankincense and horses and buy spices and herbs and porcelain. In the Nejd, caravans from Asia Minor met those from Arabia and traded with the whole of the Mediterranean, Egypt, Greece, Rome....
With that experience behind them, the large Dhofari and Omani groups have today a very diversified activity: industry, engineering, construction, transport, representation, tourism...They are often led by a powerful personality, the head of a well-established family, a sheikh. They are all aware of the challenge Salalah must win under the watchful eye of the Gulf and of the world. It must show its assets and the greater efficiency of its harbour compared with the neigbouring ones in the Gulf and in the Indian Ocean. It must also make the most of the opportunity offered by Oman when Salalah was chosen as the site for the port and the many potential jobs on offer to its 135000 inhabitants but also to the whole of Dhofar with its 220000 inhabitants representing 1/lOth of the Omani population.
Most of the commercial and industrial activities of Salalah are centred at Raysut, around the port and the industrial zone, transforming the desert shores into a hive of activity. However it takes great care of its appearance and its environment. Sultan Qaboos is adamant that the traditions and the aesthetic qualities of architecture should be respected both in towns and in the industrial zones. Salalah, like many other Arab cities, has very few high buildings. It shows a preference for sprawling horizontally amongst the gardens into an elegant crescent facing the ocean.

Heavenly Gardens

The wonders of the starry skies Days following nights The rain pouring life into the earth The ship slashing the sea The bird flying The horse galloping The soul of Arabia is right here Fervent and thoughtful

On landing at Salalah airport, one is immediately taken in by the surrounding gardens and coconut plantations. After the high mountains of the Hajar, the incredible belt of mountains around Muscat, the fjords of Musandam, suddenly we find ourselves in the tropics.
Whether you are travelling by car or coach, it is a tradition, when arriving at Salalah, to stop at one of the many fruit stalls that line the road to drink some coconut milk. It is so refreshing and evocative of the tropical atmosphere of this garden city. These stalls are in themselves wonderful pictures that the setting sun paints a thousand colours, the deep yellows, reds and browns of the mangoes, pineapples, and of the fibre roofs that covers these stalls.
The roads seems to enjoy winding their way round the tropical gardens in the shade of the palms, along the orange, banana and coconut groves as far as the sea. Wonderful houses peak out of luxuriant greenery, dazzling white and so typically Arab in style. But like most Arab houses often hidden behind high white walls covered in bougainvillaea, hibiscus and thousands of flowers of all colours. It is in this delightful setting that the royal stables can be found.
This is where the wonderful thoroughbred Arab racing horses are bred and trained. The Holiday Inn is also nearby, overlooking the sea, an ideal place for a holiday or a break.
It is essential to relax and live at the rhythm of Salalah to appreciate its charm. Salalah offers its visitors many different attractions whether historic or cultural. Shopping is not the least of its charms! But in Salalah, one must learn to take one's time, to respect others and to wander along the corniche where in the evening friends of all ages meet.
There are many facets to Salalah, its luxuriance, its souks, its colourful and lively shopping areas, its official and administrative quarter with its refined architecture, its old districts, which for long had shown the signs of age and which are now coming back to life, some of their beautiful houses having been restored. Their terraced roofs topped by a gabled railing have recovered their perfect angles, their magnificent arched windows with their delicately carved mashrabiyas and their brightly painted or carved doors. These houses are huge, a little like mini fortresses on one or two floors.

The Sultan's palace is in the centre of town

Salalah city centre is tightly nestled between the ocean and Rabat St., Raysut Road, Al Nahda and Privet Road. The shopping area is very lively with different little souks, the gold souk, the frankincense souk, the vegetable souk, the fish souk...There are small shops, clothes stalls, suitcases and children's toys everywhere. In the morning and in the evening, the streets are busy with people, pick up trucks and four wheel drive. In the morning the Jabalis arrive from their mountains with their goats, even with their camels sometimes which can cause funny and picturesque traffic jams. The fish souk is also very lively early in the morning and in the evening when the fishermen come in with their catch. A real colourful show.

The frankincense souk

A visit of Salalah should start on the little square between the frankincense souk (Al Hosn souk) and the palace. This is where the heart of Salalah beats.
Al Hosn, the Sultan's palace overlooks the sea. It was built by Sultan Turki Ibn Said. It was extended by several sultans and has become a maze built of mellow Taqa stones housing within its walls the diwan and the palaces offices. The side facing Souk Square and Qaboos Street is closed by large teak doors and tall walls above which elegant roofs peak every now and then. The most beautiful is that of the Sultan's mosque that you can seen if you walk down Al Nahda on the left. It is possible to go back to Souk Square through one of the palace doors. This is where all the tourists visiting Salalah go. It is indeed very attractive with its many tiny shops lined up with straight piles of red and gold incense boxes, clay perfume burners decorated with red and green patterns and bags of crystallised gum. The smell of frankincense fills the souk. Spread over several streets, the souk is the most picturesque in Salalah. Although the majority of shops is run by very patient Indians, there is a street where it is the Dhofari women who sell the frankincense. Impressive, dressed in black with colourful scarves, a gold ring and flower stud in their nose, they sit on a mat on the floor with their scale and their pile of crystallised gum ready to haggle over the price. They are hard to bargain with. The white blue frankincense (hujari) is the purest and the most expensive, the red one, on the other hand, is much cheaper but of a lesser quality.
Who talks about incense, talks about perfume. There are also many people selling perfume on the market. Their bottles are filled with flower essence, musk and grey amber... The Dhofari women come to buy the various ingredient needed to make the bokhur to their secret recipe. In Dhofar, every morning, the house is scented. The bokhur filled incense burner is taken round the house from room to room and also outside round the house to ward off the evil spirits. It is difficult for tourists not to be tempted by the resin gums, so full of memories of the past and its legends.
This souk could also be that of traditions as all the traditional crafts are represented. The tailors are there and so are those who embroider in gold and silver the men's transparent cloaks (bisht). The Dhofari velvets are sheer luxury, black, indigo or green, they are spangled with beads and embroideries of silver stars, brown, red or green flowers. They become real regal outfits when the Dhofari add their silver or gold jewellery made of long and heavy chains, pearls or semi-precious stones, old coins or carved pendants. Further down, you can see the weavers of the colourful belts tied by Bedouins over their gown, other men have specialised in weaving the silver thread belts used to hook the khanjars. The cobblers are still cutting the soles of the traditional sandals worn by Dhofari men. The shops are only large enough for the craftsman to sit in, usually on the floor, surrounded by his threads, leathers and patterns.
At the tailor, the finished items hang over his head. These magnificent embroidered gowns are ready for the next celebration. At the barber, there is only enough room for one client at a time, but just outside the shop, people sit to talk with the barber and his client even if he is covered in shaving soap. People call each other, laugh, talk...Other shops bearing names full of promises. Sweet houses, sell the famous halwas, the welcome cakes. The atmosphere in the souk is happy and cheerful.

In the evening, the gold souk sparkles with a thousand lights

Another interesting souk is the jewellery souk which can be reached through Al Nahda Street. Right next to each others, tens of shops display heavy gold chains with the traditional Bedu design, regal headpieces with delicate hanging chains to hold the scarf; earrings set with stones, bracelets and rings. These are usually sold as a set. Women come in groups to look at them, admire, choose and try them and of course haggle over the price. Their jewellery represents their wealth and is a very important part of their life and they sometimes have the pattern on their jewellery copied on their dresses. You can also see, the little gold nose flowers or nose rings, sometimes tied with a little chain to the scarf. You will also discover that a set of rings is a set with a ring for every finger of both hands!
Some jewellers still have some old silver pieces or part of necklaces. Before, the necklaces were threaded on hemp which wore out rather quickly. But lovers of old coins can find Maria-Theresa thalers dating from the end of the 18th century, 19th century Indian rupees and beautifully carved medals (hirz) covered in calligraphy, the name of Allah or a verse from the Koran. The headpieces were of two kinds, those worn hanging down from the locks at the back of the head, round or semi circular with small belt like danglers, mounted with stones and the other type worn hanging down on either side of the head like earrings.
These jewellers and antique dealers have also some very small objects which used to be part of the Bedouins' every day life and which have become collectors' items: powder horns, toothpick, ear spoons, little picks for piercing embroidered caps, thorn picks and tweezers...
Of course you can also find khanjars. Each Omani, even each Omani child has a khanjar that he wears for special celebrations, or if he is employed by a ministry or in a public building. Their pattern is carefully chosen by the person buying it or ordering it. It is a very personal object.
From Al Nahda Street it is very easy to get to the ministry district where you can find the Wall Office, the Salalah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and various other ministries. The architecture is often very original, elegant and traditional as a look at the GTO, the Ministry of Justice, Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, the Directorate General of Social Affairs and Labour and the Ministry of Water can reveal. Every morning, there is a long queue at the Wall's office: veiled women and men leaning on their walking sticks come from neighbouring villages and from the mountains to explain their problems to the Wall who like the Sultan listens carefully and tries to iron out their difficulties. In Oman there is a real quality in the relationship between the authority and the people, inherited from tribal life and the majlis.

The Cultural Centre A homage to Dhofar's glorious past and traditions

The Cultural Centre is just behind the Wall Office very close to the administrative district. The modern architecture of the building, has kept Arab characteristics as well as the large arches. There, the Dhofar tells its history, its traditions and reveals its secrets. Some stones are carved with strange signs, with Yemeni writing telling stories of the distant past. The Stone of Sumhuram reveals the glorious past of this city which was already a great port trading with India, China and the Mediterranean. The coins, the tools, the potteries, the stone arrows are all souvenirs of the frankincense roads where merchants from the whole world met. The old and beautiful silver jewellery (the manjad, necklaces, triangular sils, bracelets, headpieces, anklets, amulets, rings worn on feet as well as hands), the wonderful swords with their carved silver handles and curved blade (kitarah), the rifles with their beautifully worked butt, or just simply made of coconut or palm wood with their butt covered in plaited cotton, all bear witness to the life of the Bedouins.
Their story is told by Thesiger who on several occasions crossed the Rub Al Khali desert with them. His text and his photographs show us their life, their strong personality, their faith in their traditions and the dignity of the men who had taken him in their midst. It is essential to take time to visit this centre and to immerse oneself in all the memories it presents. Each detail is a delight for the eye, the reconstructed homes, the cradles, the embroidered blankets, the chests, the traditional costumes from the Omani regions, everyday utensils (jars, wicker baskets...), old and new incense burners, old manuscripts, the message sent in 630 by the Prophet Mohammed to Abd and Jaifar, the sons of Al Julanda asking them to convert to Islam. The museum is the keeper of all the traditions of Dhofar. It holds many cultural events, especially during the Monsoon Festival, conferences and exhibitions. The Omani are very attached to their past and are participating through the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Culture and Heritage to all archaeological digs.

Al Balid A noble and elegant medieval city

Several excavations carried out at the archaeological site at Al Balid by a team of German archaeologists have revealed the foundations of the palace and the mosque. The 16 pillars of the mosque's prayer room have been restored. On entering the site, it becomes obvious that this must be the city mentioned by Marco Polo and Ibn Batuta. They said it was noble and elegant. It was probably surrounded by walls and a moat thanks to its two encircling creeks. The many graves that have been discovered have made it possible to date the surrounding buildings. A little path goes through the site, and the bougainvillaea and the fountain seem to tell Al Balid: we have not forgotten!
Zafar, Al Balid or Al Mansourah and Salalah have always been mentioned in the chronicles of the great travellers, so have Taqa, Mirbat and Rabat which was one of the great centres of learning in the south of the Arabian Peninsula. On the other hand we are rather surprised by the description of Salalah made by Thesiger in 1945: Salalah is a small town, little more than a village...The Sultan's palace, white and dazzling in the strong sunlight, was the most conspicuous building, and clustered around it was the small suq or market, a number of flat-roofed mud houses, and a labyrinth of mat shelters, fences and narrow lanes...
What were these wonderful old houses, so typical of Hadhramaut that you can still see when you enter Salalah, near the sea or in the district of Haafat Al Maraheen. Some of them are still inhabited by Indian families. Their colours have faded away, their washed out shutters slam with the wind and their doors are gaping. Every now and then a papaya tree tries to hide their wounds.
Made of mud and covered in stucco, these houses cannot have been built to last. Were they constantly rebuilt? They are very difficult to date. But the feeling now is that they must be saved, protected and restored. This, of course, represents a large sum of money and a lot of work, as they are very large indeed, built round a central courtyard on one or two floors. Some are as large as small palaces. Their terraced roofs are decorated with distinctive devices. Some, like the Walt's house, have been restored. It is easy then to imagine the beauty of these houses when they covered a whole district. The arched windows with their magnificent mashrabiyas reveal the richness of the Arab decorative art. Others are more simple, decorated with coloured stripes, they show the influence of the Moguls and the Zanzibar. The carved teak doors have heavy wooden locks.
There are also many mosques at Salalah. Some date from the 18th century like the one built by the Al Rawas family. Just between Haffa House and Dhofar Municipality, there is a very pretty mosque. Its dome has been restored and catches all the light at sun set. Whether old or new, they are usually very simple, like the one built by the Shanfari family near their lovely house. Many worshippers visit the shrine of the prophet Nabi Omran at Al Qwaf. His coffin, which is especially long, is believed to contain the remains of several of his friends or members of his family.
Gardens, Salalah has many. It is indeed a garden city. But many public parks have also been opened for the benefit of families and children. Although there is a wonderful stadium, where many major events are held, young people come to the park to play football like on the beach. Football is a passion. The Dhofar Municipality has carried out a number of important projects: public parks, commercial centres, markets places, housing developments, health centres. The best way to measure the development in Dhofar is to look at education. In 1971, there was only one school and today there are 145 schools, two colleges, a technical college and the Sultan Qaboos Institute for Islamic Studies. Adults can also attend classes of all kind.
The corniche is the favourite evening walk of the inhabitants of Salalah. They stroll along the avenue, meet their friends and chat. They dream while looking at the stars twinkling over the ocean. The same stars that drench the beach with an extraordinary light. It is such a pleasure to walk in the cool sand after the heat of the day.
On the other side of the palace, towards Raysut, the shores belong to the birds. A nature reserve has been created for them where many seem to have settled (flamingos, pelicans, storks, spoonbills, ospreys..) in this semi-aquatic world of the khawrs where both sea and rivers meet. The ocean is waiting for us, outlining the wonderful landscapes of the Dhofari coast.